Ugliest cars in India - Mahindra Xylo

If there is one car which will give a manatee good company on land, then it's the Mahindra Xylo. No complaints on the kit that the sedan-(b)eater has on offer, no issues with the fit and finish and the price is really tasty. But as a looker it still is miles away from what is perceived as a good looking MUV. I do understand that it's a cruel comparison, but it looks as if it's been inspired by a manatee. Cruel as in cruel to the gentle sea mammal.

The front end is neat and classy. But as we go beyond the front door, things start losing way. Designers, haven't you heard of a space filler called a wheel arch? The plain and almost creaseless section under the third row window is dull. It's like a huge blank on a poorly done magazine page, equivalent to a white space. The resulting effect is that of an over-blown balloon. Just like it's tough-guy brother Scorpio, the rear end is where the plot is completely lost. The creaseless theme continues below the rear license plate as well. The single ridge isn't the solution to the clean metal sheet treatment.

Sedan-beater? I'll say yes, considering the 17,000 bookings in the register. Best-looker, definitely no.

Stunning frames

A contrasting sky with dark rain clouds forming the lower section and the feather-white clouds filling up the portion above. This in turn imparted the image with two different colour schemes - blue above and a yellowish tint below. The Stunner made up the foreground and the evening sun's rays struggling to make their way through the dark clouds give the pic an end-of-a-roadtrip feel.

Revenge is coming to US tomorrow

Finally the big day is here. In a couple of hours from now, the biggest movie of the year will hit theatres in Uncle Sam's land. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did please the Queen's countrymen in the UK with a blistering opening weekend of £8.35m. With ease, it beat the records set by this year's summer flicks Terminator Salvation and Star Trek. The takings were a bit lower than the record breaker - The Dark Knight, which stood at £8.6m.

The foreign market cash count right now is a total of $19 million. Almost $14 million of this total comes from UK, Ireland and Malta. The rest can be attributed to the fans in Japan. Still unimpressed? Point to mark, it's barely 4 days since the day it set the first theatre screen on fire.

As for the US opening weekend predictions, expect the three day rake to be in the range of $80-100 million. Keeping my fingers crossed, as I don't want this to be a humiliating failure like Terminator Salvation.

Ugly Duck-kitt

So I missed the first episode of the new Knight Rider. Most probably it was the 2 hour pilot which was all over the web right after its NBC telecast in the US. A decent looking Kitt and a stylish attack mode made the pilot quite digestible. So in order to catch the first season episode I set the timer on the TV to 10pm , Friday, Star World. I knew what was coming. From the first season opener, they had turned the Kitt into a monster. Not a compliment. In the attack mode t indeed looked like an ugly monster.

The style of the pilot episode car was replaced by rice boy creativity. A cross between a drag racer and a dump truck, that's what the upgraded attack mode was. They took a good looking car and turned it into a heap of scrap. The supercharger on the hood looks more like a trio of PVC pipes glued together than of anything to boost the power. The side scoops look atrociously ugly. Who designed this thing? Drag racer ambitions translates into rubber band profile front tyres and dough nut wannabe rear tyres. To finish off - a spoiler which goes all the way upto the heavens with no purpose but to make the car look garish. And what's with the neon lights? The neon glow looks so cheap and down grade. It's a car for god's sake, not a diner from the 80's.

The transformation scenes look good though. Not of Transformers league, but close. It's an entirely different matter that I just hate what it transforms into.

If by any chance you liked the car in the image, the credit goes to the photographer. He must have had a tough job finding a less disturbing angle.

Ugliest cars in India - Tata Indigo XL

Two reasons - the rear door and the boxy boot. The Indigo was not the right follow-up to the the beautifully designed Indica hatchback. The boot of the Indigo looked more like an attempt to add more luggage space, by someone who had no idea on the looks of the parent car. However the car was a wise move from Tata as it became a huge hit with its low price, cheap maintenance and practicality.

The rocking success made Tata go one step further and do the unthinkable. An increased wheelbase, luxury amenities, a name which obviously refers to its size and it was time to say, "Hi XL". The misproportionate looks continued, but this time with more vigour. What's with that mile-long rear door? They could have added a panel in between the two doors which is the standard design feature of most limos. Sprinkle some creases, curves and plastic inserts on the panel and that will make it less boring. That requires re-tooling, but of course not as much as what was done for the rear door which can also double up as a fortress gate.

I'd rather choose to say "Bye XL". The manufacturer chooses to call it a luxury limousine. It has acres of space inside and the luxury car ingredients. Still, it doesn't qualify as one. Point acknowledged, that it's cheaper than many sedans in the C-segment. Will that part make the brand conscious buyer turn to the XL? The answer is a big NO. Or an over-ambitious "may be".

"Look ma, a long Indigo" looks don't help. Who'd choose to pay a premium for a luxury car which hasn't got too many distinguishing features from the so-so budget sedan next-door? Or let's make it worse, it looks exactly like the city cab at the next intersection.

A word to Tata. Either make a proper stretch limo or don't make it at all. A "limo" which is mid-way between a short wheelbase sedan and an executive class saloon isn't the right way to (Indi)go.

T1 may be Can'ned by CanAm

So you thought the Caparo T1 is the closest that it'll ever get to an F1 car. You were so right. Let me modify that phrase a bit. You "were" so right. Confused? Continue reading.

What you see in the image is the Hulme CanAm, a supercar from the land of the Kiwis. It shamelessly borrows a lot from the T1 when it comes to styling. To the casual onlooker, CanAm looks exactly like the T1. Even the promotional car colour is the same. The low stance lends it loads of grip and the highlighted F1 car feel. The F1 racer inspired styling continues bumper-to-bumper. The narrow nose, the chunky side panels and the high set spoiler contributes to the toned down F1 machine looks.

CanAm's power and torque figures will make the T1 run for cover. 600 Bhp in power ratings and 600 Nm of torque, all of which are drawn out from a huge 7 litre V8 Chevrolet engine. A six speed gearbox mated to the powertrain makes sure that all that numbers are put to good use on the road. Speed freaks will be amused by its projected top whack of 320kph.

At $700,000 the CanAm isn't in the same price range as the T1 which retails for around $500,000. However the elite buyers of the CanAm will consist of those who find the 575 Bhp power and 420 Nm toque of the T1 quite less. Point to note is simple and clear. Every good thing comes at a price. This just happens to be pricier.

Carbon on a roll

Pack your bags, Fords and Chevys. You are about to be dismissed from the highway patrol team. Crown Victorias may go back to the taxi business or take up under cover jobs with the Feds and Impalas may do whatever they are suited for. Yes, the recession has taken its toll on everything in sight. But that’s not the reason why these old ladies are being shown the door. We have a new gatecrasher in town – the Carbon E7. A whopping 10,000 cars have been ordered by various police departments in the US. Interestingly, the cops are willing to wait for four years till they take delivery.

The name Carbon E7 suits a carbonfibre bodied sportscar. But the subject is not one. It’s a built-for-the-job cop car. While the Crown Vics and the Impalas have to be modified to suit their high voltage job profiles, the E7 comes factory-fitted with all the equipment needed for the action. Being a strongly built machine, it can multi-task as a car chase terminator too.

Powering this enforcer is a 3 litre turbo diesel which churns out all of 300bhp.A six speed automatic gear box transfers all that brute force to the wheels and with a 0-60mph figures coming at 6.5 seconds. A top speed of 155 mph will make the E7 remain in the rear-view mirror of those with too much of need for speed. Cops won’t have to break the chase with stops at the gas station too, as the E7 is a frugal machine. So inter-state chases will be a non-stop breeze.

The oldies have all the time till 2012 to plan their less eventful future. Cabs get to be part of high-octane chases only in movies. Not in the streets. Bad luck ladies.