When one enters history

When one enters history

Since Henry Ford’s first model T rolled off the production line, there have been only a handful of common-man cars that have entered history. This means I’m not talking of all the fancy Maybacks, Rolls Royces or Bentleys.

One of the few such models would be the infamous Mini. Yes, there’s many many variants, but still, the mini remained unchanged since 1959’s very first model till 2000s last one, before the shop closed up and BMW presented the new fancy Mini. But the drawback was, the new Mini had a wheelbase just a foot shorter than a Land Rover Discovery 3! Yes, on the inside it was hardly a practical daily runner. For a 2 door hatch it had neither a proper rear seat nor a proper trunk. And it wasn’t exactly in the price range for a common man either. So why DID it sell? Most say that it was purely on the name “Mini” that its predecessor created.

Yes, let’s look back on it. The now almost dead British motor industry half a century ago was solely another government organization. It all revolved around 4 letters BLMC. British Leyland Motor Corporation. A large company that had its fingers dipped in too many jars that it was simply not working. The Cars weren’t cheap, they weren’t reliable, and they weren’t appealing to the buyer. And one by one, the companies of BLMC fell. But one car among all this became popular. Yes the Mini. It sold like hotcakes. But still BLMC wasn’t happy. Why? In their desperate attempt to create a name for themselves BLMC ended up selling the mini at a loss. With every car it sold, it piled up its losses. Yes, the every-popular Mini entered history, bring its builder only financial loss.

Today we see the next Mini roaming the roads. No, it’s not called a Mini, nor is it made by BMW. It isn’t even from the same continent. Yes, it’s the new Suzuki Swift. The next generation common man’s car. It looks unique and outstanding, yet blends into its urban surroundings when it needs to. It comes with 4 doors all its practicalities, and even a reasonable price tag.

So, what’s the measuring stick to judge is a car enters history? Well, there is no such scale. But we see it on the roads from outside the Hilton to outside a Hawker Center or Koththu Kade. But when you walk into a toy-store and among all the scale models of exoric European sports cars and fancy American vehicles, you see an in-production Japanese hatchback, you KNOW that that car is part of history.

The Mazda 3

The Mazda 3

Ahh, a car that I dislikes from the very first day that I saw it. Yet, it has me fascinated and dying to understand it. The Mazda 3 I think is one of the few Japanese cars that has had so many variants come about without actually doing what most manufacturer’s call a facelift… The front grill can be a body colored single think line, or a black single line and even a black mesh. But then even on the single think line the line’s thickness varies. And then we go to the back. We see the lights in red transparent, standards colored plastic and even clear crystal lights with a black base and colored bulbs, or even a black base with colorless bulbs. It’d help to know exactly which car came first and which is newer, but the there’s the many combinations of the front grill and rear lights. Oh, then there’s the front bumpers’ styling.

Mazda seems to have built quite a fan base with the Mazda 3, on its looks (which for some reason I can’t see what Mazda buyers see) and interior styling. But come to think of it, till recently the mid-size sedans that all manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan even Mitsubishi put out have been pretty darn ugly. The only car I would have considered would have been maybe a Honda Civic, but that’s just because that’s the one I dislike the least, not because I LIKE IT. But Mitsubishi has taken the family sedan to the next level with its 2008 model. Yes, the new Lancer EX, is bang on the dot! A family sedan with the looks of a rally car!

And what does this have to do with the Mazda 3. Well, you’ll all know when you see the rear end of both of these! The resemblance is uncanny! But the Lancer’s rear lights are much nicer looking. It’s like a Mazda 3 that had plastic surgery. But it could seriously do with a different shade of plastic for the rear lights. I don’t think the faded red plastic suits it best. But I’m sure it’ll be jut a matter of months before you can get a decent set of black or crystal aftermarket lights for it!

But still, here I am coming back to the darn Mazda 3! It is so freaking hard to understand the styling variants on that car, and this mystery creates a curiosity in me to find out more and more about a car that is simply butt-ugly!!

the 1st post

I dont know what drove me to create a blog today, considering the fact that i have a mid term tomorrow afternoon.. ah, the distractions of the internet.