Part # F5C412au140W from Belkin - Another thing for those long drives.

Belkin : AC Anywhere DC – AC Inverter.

Running out of power is a thing of the past with the AC Anywhere. Simply plug the unit into any 12-volt DC vehicle cigarette lighter socket and the AC Anywhere converts your vehicle’s battery power to 230 volts AC (common household current.) The AC Anywhere is perfect for charging batteries for your mobile phone, portable computer, electric shaver, TV/VCR, or virtually any device while travelling. The AC Anywhere inverter features a convenient On/Off switch and fuse protection along with an audible alarm that sounds if the vehicle battery voltage drops to 10.6 volts DC.

This sure would be a great product to have on long roadtrips where your camera keeps running out of battery.

The Ford Fusion merges well with India.

In 2005 ford India started marketing the same here, in an almost un-changed avatar to what was available in Europe. The car suffered from terrible marketing from Ford’s side in India hitting way off the mark for the Target Audience. They tried their “Hum to anything karega” and “The No-Nonsense Car” campaigns, with the later gaining some ground.

The Car is at its best on the Highways

The price and positioning of the car put it directly in the league of mid-weight sedans like the City and Ford’s own Fiesta and the lack of perceived value buried the vehicle and only a select few landed up buying it.

Looks good next to the sea as well

The Pros

1. The car is not small, in fact the inside dimensions are huge with ample leg and head-space for everyone. The car looks like a hatch but it’s more like a Mini-Estate. Once you open the rear hatch, you realize how much space this fellow packs in. With rear seats completely folding in to create a flat bed, storage options are endless.
2. The car comes with all the goodies that are expected in a car. It comes with reading lamp for all 4 passengers, things that are unheard of in the Japanese and Korean makes. Seat heigh adjustment for the driver. Coin holders at the right places, fog lamps for front and rear built in even on base version.
3. Comes with a stereo with 4 large speakers in its ‘+’ version. The dash has the provision to put in a dual-din as well. If you want to amp it up, there is plenty of space under the front seats to put amplifiers of your choice.
4. The ‘+’ version also came with 15″ Alloy Wheels, Tubeless Radials, and ABS + EBD if you opted for it. Sadly though, the airbags never made it to India.
5. Even the petrol version is economical. The car gives anywhere from 10 – 12 Km/L in the city and 16 – 18 Km/L on the highway. For a motor that produces 100+ PS power, and a car that can hit the 100 mark in just over 11 seconds, it’s quite an achievement. Not to mention, it has enough space to carry a cow as well.
6. Handling is the other best part of this car. It handles just like a hatch should, has an incredibly small turning radius for its size, does not roll much for it’s height. And when thrown into corners, it does not threaten to roll over either. In fact, it is possible to do some drifting with this one (see video), although not really recommended for the weak hearted. The 198 mm (3mm more than a Safari) ground clearance ensures that you don’t rub your belly anywhere.
7. At higher speeds, the car is still at peace. The 100 Kmph comes up quickly, so does the 150 kmph mark. Ford claims a top knock of 158 Kmph in the manual, but it has been proven otherwise on many occasions. The car comfortably sails past the 165 mark even with a full load. Now these are not numbers from proper equipments, and external factors are at play on such claims. Nevertheless, the car has enough muscle to master the highway and that too with style and stability.

And here are some bad bits that may need some patience to live with, specially if you are looking for a car that’s Not This.

The Cons

1. Not many people buy this car, and as a result, not many mechanics know what’s inside. This directly results in shoddy service even at Ford’s own centers. There are very little or no accessories available for this car as well. Not that you would need any, most things come pre-fitted in the ‘+’ version.
2. The engine is loud. If you like a snarly noise from your car, something like a sports exhaust would make, you will be happy. Or else, you will be wondering if anything has gone wrong with it. The rev happy Duratec Engine happily snarls away when given the leash.
3. The ride quality at low speeds are appalling. This is the direct result of having harder suspension to compensate body roll in the car. Once you cross the 40 Kmph mark, things suddenly become a lot – lot smoother. The low profile 195/60 R15 tires are also to blame partly for this.
4. The looks are not to the liking of many. It’s not a sedan, or a regular family car, and it really does not make effort in that direction. The looks are butch is a more “run things down” manner.
5. The plastic and general quality of interiors were not that good in the first version. It has improved with the second version, but still far behind competition. Things generally tend to fall apart after a few years in a typical Ford Truck kind of fashion.

With the vehicle, what you get is the confidence to carry 5+ people from point A to B with luggage in probably the most un-cramped manner. The car also has enough steam to beat the rest from the start line, when you are not carrying humongous loads. Drive it sedate, and you will get highway mileage that can put an Alto to shame (in Petrol). The Diesel is ultra economical and we are not even talking about that. And you can carry your pet Cow to the Vet as well without breaking a sweat.

In Total, if you plan to have just one car to run around in the city and take the village roads to that camp ever so often, this is India’s official Compact Bad-Roader.

The Fusion TVC from Europe

Doing the Drift

The Fusion Crash Test (Note: This is with Airbags)

Relevant Links

• Ford Fusion UK Website
• Ford Fusion India Website
• Ford Fusion on Yahoo Groups

10 ways to connect your iPod

What are the ways you can do this?

1. Using an FM Transmitter adapter on the iPod.

There are quite a few of these available in the market. Most of these have a fairly good audio quality, although they may be patchy as compared to a direct input. The adapter connects to the headphone jack of the iPod and needs a battery of its own. The downside is, you have to worry about loosing charge on the iPod as well as the adapter that is powered by a separate battery.

FM Transmitter for headphone socket.

2. An FM Transmitter plus Charger.

Manufactured to suit a car’s cigarette lighter socket, or the DC 12V socket, these connect through the iPod connector port at the bottom of the iPod. These do not need any batteries, and also keep the iPod charged at all times. Since they are powered, the audio quality is marginally better than the ones that are powered by a battery. Both the options (1 and 2) use the car stereos FM receiver to receive and play the audio signals.

FM Transmitter + Charger for iPod

3. Auxiliary Input on Head Unit.

Many head-units that are available in the market today support the connection of an Auxiliary input on their front panel. An EP to EP stereo cable can be used to connect the headphone output directly to the head-unit. The process is simple, the audio quality is good. However one still needs to select and play music from the iPod directly.

1/8" Stereo Jack for iPod and Head-Unit Auxiliary link.

4. USB Connector.

Most new head-units come with a USB connector. Any data device like a USB pen drive, a MP3 player or an iPod can be connected directly through this cable. The cable supplied with the iPod to connect to a PC is sufficient for this purpose. Audio quality in most cases is great. In most cases the iPod can be controlled directly from the head-unit, which makes life while driving a lot simpler.

iPod USB connector cable.

5. USB Connector + Adapter.

Many head-units in the market do have a USB connector but some older types may not be able to directly interface with an iPod. In such cases, manufacturers of the USB head-unit will have an adapter available in the market to control and use an iPod. Third party compatible adapters can also be used.

6. Connecting through the CD Changer.

Most older vehicles came fitted with head-units that were capable of playing music from multiple CDs stored in a CD changer. There are many iPod adapters available in the market that connect directly through this port of the head-unit and give limited control of the iPod. However, being older technology, the adapters may or may not be compatible to newer models of iPod.

7. Using RCA inputs.

Some head-units come with RCA inputs at the back of the unit. An EP to 2RCA stereo cable can be used to connect the iPod to these types of head-units. These head-units are very rare in the market. The audio quality is good and the iPod needs to be controlled directly.

Stereo to 2 RCA - Monster Cables

8. The Tape Adapter.

Back in the 90’s when car stereos did not have CD players and did play a cassette tape, an adapter that is shaped like a cassette was used to transmit the audio from the headphones of the hand held CD player to the head-unit. The same contraption can be used for an iPod as well. Attached photo of Griffin Technology’s SmartDeck.

Smartdeck. A truly well styled cassette adapter for the iPod. By

9. The Bluetooth Audio Adapter.

Not too many of this type are available. The adapter sends FM signals to the car stereo to play the music. The adapter is also fitted with bluetooth display and controls (that mount of steering wheels) so view playlists and control the iPod. These adaptors are very useful but very complicated and cumbersome to install and contain within a car. Attached photo of Harman Kardon Drive + Play.

Harman Kardon - Drive Play for iPod. Again, a very well styled, must have iPod adapter.

10. The Separate Player.

A very radical and effective way to use your iPod in the car will be to carry a sound dock made for an iPod along with you in the car. Many sound docks give very clear music, some actually come with charging capabilities through the 12v socket. The advantage is, you can take your music even when you are not in your car.

Obviously, one could also directly use the headphones supplied with the iPod in the car, but that would be downright dangerous and ridiculous.

White petrol fumes and black diesel fumes are common sights in our cities. Diesel being more prevalent.

Many will simply say, Diesel obviously, since it emits much lesser CO2 and goes more kilometers to the liter of fuel. Other’s will say Petrol, it does not give out that black smoke which to many is perceived as direct pollution.

Here are some bare facts.

First about petrol. The white or no fume from a petrol vehicle contains twice as much CO2 in it than the black one that comes out of a Diesel vehicle. In return, you get a vehicle which is low on Torque (needed to move from inertia) and high on Horse Power (needed to move faster). Different gearing helps a petrol vehicle overcome the Torque shortcomings. Apart from this the petrol motor is less noisy, has very little moving components requiring lesser maintenance, lighter, and technologically old and settled.

• Cons

1. More CO2 emissions, hence bigger hole in the ozone.
2. Lesser torque.
3. Mostly older technology, as very little is wrong with it and it can’t get any better.
4. Higher taxes in India and Europe over Diesel.

• Pros

1. More horse power, so you have a much faster mark to the mile.
2. Less noisy, it can be very very silent.
3. Has very little moving components inside, requiring very minimal service, hence more reliable.
4. Less components translate to lighter engines, and lesser weight overall for the car.

Now the Diesel, the motor our green brigade loves so much to entertain as the fuel of the future, after biogas, ethanol, biodiesel, hydrogen etc. Petrol comes a dirty last before paraffin maybe on their lists. A Diesel motor is built for the pulling power, the technology is compression based and not ‘fire in the hole’ what’s prevalent in Petrol. The Diesel motor has more Torque and hence its easier to pull larger loads with it, it has less horsepower so you really won’t be beating anyone to the finish line. It has much lesser CO2 emissions and much more particulate matter in its emission (which no one really bothers about as yet), the technology is developing and almost every other day you get a new version out. Diesels are much noisier than their Petrol counterparts and the Fuel enjoys tax benefits in most countries including India.

• Cons

1. Lesser horse power, means lesser speeds as compared to petrol of similar capacity.
2. Very noisy, again when compared to Petrol.
3. The engine has a lot of moving parts and that generally translates into noise and maintenance in the long run (newer ones are getting better by the day).
4. Still developing technology, what you buy today is outdated in the next one year.

• Pros

1. Humongous amounts of Torque, to pull elephantine  loads.
2. Usually cheap as it gives 30% more kilometers to a liter.
3. Fuel is cheaper and enjoys tax benefits, as most load carrying vehicles run on Diesel.
4. Less CO2 emissions.

Now some hidden facts.

1. Diesel needs 25% more oil to manufacture than Petrol. So, even though the end user runs lesser to the gas station, he is getting almost same mileage to a liter of Oil as Petrol.
2. Diesels produce more particulate matter in their exhaust. Only high end expensive vehicles have particulate filters that contain most of these inside, the average road going sedan and hatch do not. These particulate matter are what we see as Smog and Dust in highly populated cities.

Quoting a more detailed website here (I am no scientist or researcher anyway):

There are three size categories of soot particles: Source: http://www.grinningplanet.com/ and http://www.ucsusa.org/

• Large soot particles (>10 microns) deposit from the air into your nose, throat, and lungs, causing coughing and irritating your throat, and are ejected from your body through sneezing, coughing, and nose blowing.
• Coarse soot particles (~10 microns) are inhaled into your windpipe and settle there, causing more irritation and more coughing.
• Fine and ultra-fine soot particles (less than 2.5 microns) are the most successful at invading your body—they’re small enough to travel deep into your lungs. Once there, these soot particles can irritate and mutate the most sensitive tissues in your lungs, your alveoli. These air sacs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air you breathe with blood in your capillaries, thus allowing your circulatory system to carry oxygen to the rest of your body. Soot particles, however, make this task more difficult because they cause inflammation and scarring of the alveoli. This also strains your heart because it must work harder to compensate for oxygen loss.

There is more.

Soot also finds other ways to harm your body, including:

• Chronic Bronchitis,
• Asthma,
• Reduced ability of respiratory system to fight infections and remove foreign particles, and
• Cancer.

Petrol engines give out particulate matter too, except that the amounts are negligible as compared to Diesels.

Originally designed to pull loads and get more miles to a full tank, Diesels are best suited for trucks, buses, long haul trains, and the highway cruiser and SUVs. In a city, it’s not as much of a Saint as it’s made out to be. In the end, you just pay higher to deplete the same amount of Natural Oil, create more particulate pollution and enjoy lesser fuel prices.

Particulate matter are not permanent pollutants like CO2, they do settle down, they just need time. But when you use a diesel in the city, you simply do not give it enough time to be ecologically viable.

Moral of the story, use it where it makes more sense, for the long haul.

Polluted Cities

Trucks on a highway, diesel delights.

Most cities now look like this.

Smartbots Direct Webpage. The website was designed by us, e-commerce is yet to be enabled for direct online ordering.

This is not related to roads or road travel at all. Smartbots Direct will be selling WowWee manufactured Rovio in India in collaboration with Reliance Digital.

The Smartbots Direct website is designed by us basing it on a very white, empty and clean look. Feedback is welcome.

This is an innovative solution for a city where having Maps can be as confusing as Not Having them. The same may hold true for many other cities in India as well.

Screenshot of the VidTeq website.

Here’s what this does.

You input the start and destination, which is assisted with intuitive spelling guesses. The result that pops up (see attached link) gives you a Map, a turn by turn guide to the route, and.. this is new.. an actual video footage of the turn by turn route as well.

Helpful!! Maybe..

However, the video may get confusing depending on the time of the day, and the constantly changing shape, size and image of each road. But overall, a very helpful and innovative approach to route mapping. Improvements an be made in the quality of video and usability though.