Ooh, so much information. If you paid 6 bucks by metro each way, then u must live very near my house..ha ha! Yes, the amberoid looked too super to be true!!
Blogging affords me the chance to play auto journalist and commentator. 
I travelled by EMU and not via the Metro. 
Coming to think of it, the Ambierod could perhaps become more amenable to Indian road conditions by replacing the low-profile tyres with radials that are more conventional.
i must say that the successive crops of "new, improved" cars coming off the world's production lines leave me, by and large, cold. there is so much emphasis on gadgetry and techno-wizardry in the mid to higher ranges.
simple, mechanically sound cars seem to be largely a thing of the past. until two years ago i drove a 1996 e36 bmw 318is (yes, it was a five-speed manual - the only way to go with an e36). i bought it second-hand and for six years i had the time of my life driving it.
it had a four cylinder 16-valve engine (unilke the more anaemic 8-valve in the four-cyl 318 ), which put out a mere 140 bhp. but boy did it handle! and the steering was so pinpoint accurate and perfectly weighted that i would go way out of my way to zip through my favourite s-bend.
from what i've read it had some but not too much electronic-gizmology. no vanos or any other kind of variable timing. it had high profile (205/60-15) tyres and a single tailpipe. what you'll find on small "family" cars these days.
i've lost count of the number of times i bounced off the 6000+ rpm rev-limiter in first and second gears. it was just so free revving. yum. i miss it.
oh and it was bright red, of course.
it seems that we are become more and more superficial in our preferences. it's all about looks, gadgetry and on-paper performance ratings.
all i want from a car is that it start first time, doesn't pack up too often, and that it be light and fun to drive. which is not quite what i get from my current 11 year old (auto) honda civic. (but hey, there's absolutely no electronics in it that can get fu**ed up!)
i have to say, though, that developments in the lower price categories are welcome. cheap, affordable transport for everyone is something that should be a measure of economic progress (without going into the environmetal cost attached).
I've been looking up a bit about your Beemer and found some info on the engine at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW.../
BMW_M44#M44B19 and a few pics at http://www.gbnetwork.co.uk/bmw/
m...mypictures.html
Sounds like you had a lot of fun driving it!
I agree with you about developments in the lower price segments. Meanwhile, a lot of the environmental impact hype has been created by Tata's competitors. It's not as if all prospective two-wheeler buyers are now going to buy Tata Nanos instead, since one can still buy at least two two-wheelers for the price of one Nano and the costs of fuel and maintenance are also, obviously, considerably higher for the car.
from the pictures it looks like a well-maintained example of an m44-engined 318is, with a fair bit of M-foolery thrown in. the only bit of M-foolery i indulged in was the replacement of the stock shift-pattern cap on top of the gearshift lever -- somrthing like the one in this picture (just the circular plastic bit on top):
http://i24.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/d...da/ac/
0d_10.JPG ).
yes sirree... lotsa phun was had by moi.
Oh, even though a gas guzzler that Hummer looks an absolute beauty.
@Kinkminos: It looks good!
@Mridula: Yes, it does and it can scale a 16-inch verticle surface without any trouble too!
It should be good if more efficient engines or those running on 'greener' fuels can be built for it. A lot of effort, I believe, is already being directed towards achieving that.
being NOT a fan of the "suv" concept in general, i find the hummer to be quite an eyesore. the prettification of it is particularly annoying. comparing it to the rugged chak-de-phattay bellicosity of the original humvee, i often analogise it to a well-fed heavyweight pehlvan (e.g. bholu) wearing lipstick, eye shadow and nail polish. that's right... ewwww!
(with apologies to fans of the thing)
Hehe...Well, civilians can't have the Humvee, so they have to make do with the Hummer!
BTW, American regulations have played havoc with the off-road capabilities of most SUVs, by having the ground-clearance reduced considerably.
oh, don't get me wrong. i wouldn't want to drive a humvee either. i have a thing for low centre of grav numbers with tight (can i use that word here tight suspensions.
if i'm not mistaken, the original hummer (was it the H1?) was more in keeping with arnie schwarzenegger's runabout tank of choice (i.e. the humvee)
as for reduced ground clearance, thank god for that. i live in constant fear of my dinky little (relatively speaking) civic being steamrolled by any number of overfed suv's on any one of dubai's death traps (aka roads).
If I had the money, my collection would include sports-cars as well as SUVs, besides street-bikes as well as trail-bikes! :D
Besides luxury cars and cruise-bikes, of course... 
BTW, the SUVs are pretty well-suited for the sub-continent's road conditions.
I wish I could go to the Auto Expo myself. Just didn't get the time to go there in business hrs.
BTW - You have been tagged
ooops.. the tag is at http://dharakhoh.blogspot.com/20...01/
imagine.html
Your blog brings back memories of travelling to Delhi to attend the Auto expo in the cold with Dad..a car/bike fanatic.
The British Motor show was held last year at the London Excel Arena and it was p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c...I was missing Pragati Maidan..maybe someday I shall be able to see it again.
What was the 4x4 scene? how is it being taken in India?
Oh god ... I'm too stunned by the beauty here to write something ... wait I'll be back after shock-absorption
@Nomad: Let's hope you have better luck next time!
I'll do the tag as soon as I can.
@Morpheus: It's good to know you liked what I wrote
The Auto-Expo's even better than the Brit show, you think?
Sounds great! Let's hope you're able to do that some time soon.
As for the 4x4s, those have been an essential part of the auto-scene for ages, as you'll probably recall, with Chrysler Corp's Jeep being produced for the army as well as civilians, By Mahindra & Mahindra. People used to purchase old Nissan Jongas at the army's auctions too. The Maruti Gypsy came on the scene much later though.
More recently, the Tata Safari has undergone yet another upgrade, as has the Mahindra Scorpio.
Among the foreign makes, Toyota are selling their Landcruiser Prado here, Mitsubishi are selling the new Pajero as well as the older version that has higher ground-clearance and has been outlawed in the West for that very reason, Ford sell the fabulous Endeavour, Porsche have launched the Cayenne and Nissan sell the monocoque X-Trail which appears more car-like to me than an off-roader should. Folks have also been purchasing those like the BMW X5 and the Mercedes M-class.
Besides, as I've mentioned in the blog-post, others like the Hummer and the Volvo XC90 are well on their way here.
@Asma: Hehe...Sure enough! Looking forward to that...
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