Category Archives: News & Events

Drag Race in Lahore

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As promised, Car Advice has some decent coverage for you folks, regarding the first ever Drag Race in Lahore. In fact, the first ever organized drag racing competition in Pakistan. Period.

The competition was held at Walton Airport.

Just look at the number of people who actually were present at the event, and you will be forced to call this event a success – and credit goes to TDCP for this.

TDCP organized this drag race after successfully carrying out a string of rally races across Pakistan – those rallies were well-received. And like stated earlier, just the sheer turnout of the people, with and without their cars to show off, makes this event another feather in TDCP’s cap.

The Cars

The cars that one got to see were of all types and breeds. From Porsche to Nissan to Mazda to BMW to Chrysler, all hot looking things of beauties were strutting their power and their shine on the open, long track of Walton Airport. Apart from the racing, the ‘non official’ hair pins and burn outs were the real crowd pleasures, with swarm of people shouting ‘Burn out, burn out’ to drivers of cars as varied as a Corolla and a BMW Z3. (videos coming up)

The Drag Race Event

I personally do have some reservations with the management of the event, given that people were crossing the actual track WHILE the cars were racing on it! But as this was a drag race and only one car at a time was being timed, nothing untoward happened ‘so far’. Surely, this kind of loose management is something to correct for future events.  Some families were not happy with the arrangements at all (interview coming up, stay tuned), but agreed that the event was a very good effort and should be improved for next time.

Nothing like the sound of a revving engine and screaming tires.

Videos and pictures, coming up!

If any one of you have any pictures or videos, do let me know so I can display it here. You can either submit the video and/or pictures for CarAdvice, or perhaps provide a link to your media on other websites like YouTube.

TDCP Drag racing in Lahore

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Car racing on the streets of Lahore – especially the Main Boulevard – have been around for some time now. Every Sunday, people from all around the city with their Firebirds, RX8s and what not would gather at the McDonalds on Main Boulevard and then race from the famed ‘fawara waala chowk’.

Well, this type of racing has always been considered dangerous, if not illegal. NO MORE, it seems.

TDCP is arranging a drag racing ‘competition’ this Sunday (Feb 1st, 2009).
This by all means, is an interesting development.

Drag racing is in fact the only format of racing that we can afford here, given the lack of any circuit of any sort.

All the Fast and the Furious type people with their souped up cars with monsters under their car hoods are all expected to show up on this event.

Stay tuned to CarAdvice PK for all the details.

Petrol shortage in Lahore

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Hunt for petrol is becomming a norm these days. 

A couple of days back, I was hunting for petrol.

 

  • There was no petrol at Shell Petrol pump (called Battleaxe, located on Shami Road, Cantt). 
  • There was no petrol at PSO Gulberg (in Industrial Area Gulberg, near Pepsi Factory Lahore)
  • There was petrol at Shell, M M Alam Road! Thank God. The line was long, as expected:
After waiting in the line (and right after I took this picture), a fight broke out. And what a violent fight it exploded into! One guy started cursing the petrol pump staff for not getting him to check the petrol meter. The curses soon were replaced with the customer swinging wild, well-aimed punches at the employee’s face.
And that is when all hell broke lose! 
Practically all employees, with their red coats and sticks and punches and kicks, literally beat the pulp out of the customer. They ran out on the street (M M Alam road) after him. Right in front of me, one employee – as red in anger as his coat – tried to snatch the pump-action gun from the petrol pump’s guard! Thankfully, the guard was not as furious and managed to drive away the raging employee! This kind of situation could easily have lead to a person’s death right in front of my eyes. 
Right after the fight, they closed the petrol pump down! Well! What a time to pick a fight! 
I – hoping against odds – went to Total petrol station (on M M Alam). Thankfully, there was petrol there. I got out of my car, and told the event at Shell to the Total pump’s management. They seemed to take heed and immediately started regulating the hodge-podge of rickshaws and motorbikes on one of the station in to a proper line!
Finding petrol was never this eventful, I am told. What do you think? :/

Some Cool Car Videos

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Fifth Gear, the TV show, should not need any introduction to most of you.

Check out the videos that these guys put out, some of them are just, well, some of them are just too cool.

The above is taken from YouTube and is part of an effort to set up a community for CarAdvice.pk and get the car love flowing all around ;)

Barack Obama drives a what?

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With all of the USA’s brand-spankin’ new President’s talk on conserving fuel/energy and going green, it should come as no surprise that the record breaking Mr. Barack Hussien Obama drives such a cool, hybrid car. He drives an eco-friendly SUV (an apparent oxymoron, no doubt!), the great-lookin’ Ford Escape Hybrid 2008, an American car through-and-through.

Just check out how mmm, un-green the car looks! (read: great lookin’ car!)

Ford Escape Hybrid, 2008

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But it was not always like that

The new President-elect did not always drive this green beast. When he was in the car-making haven of the United States, Detroit, telling the American automakers to cut down on poisonous emissions from cars, he himself drove around in a gas-guzzler.

But my oh my, what a beautiful gas-guzzler it is!

The problem with driving an eco-friendly car is not that people do not want a hybrid or something in those lines. It is just that say, a Toyota Prius looks like, frankly, a dork car. That elusive political will has been missing for way too long. Now that the auto world has waken up and is rubbing their eyes to the new realities, it is people like Obama who will (hopefully) provide the much needed political will to make eco-conscious cars that are actually beautiful.

And this is exactly where the difference between the good and the better really is; Obama was smart enough and did not have a ballooning ego to not review his commitments with respect to his actions. He talked about fuel efficient cars but did not have one. So he changed. He got a car that is relatively at least, much more eco-friendly. Yup, change he can. :)

Perhaps someone driving a hybrid can drive the American nation to a far better place. More mileage, more traction and a helleva lot more safety.

End note: American cars in Pakistan

We have quite a few American cars roaming the streets of our country, but I wouldn’t call it a fair share. Seemingly, for good reason. The first and foremost being the one main factor that Obama promises to address: fuel consumption. Fuel here is expensive (comparitve to our earnings) and driving cars that get famous because they consume like a mmm hog is a sure-shot dealbreaker. But I am sure quite a few of us have spotted the covetted Hummer pulling out of a petrol station (how appropriate!). I have heard that there is an Escalade in Islamabad as well. That is a sight for sore eyes for sure.

Launch date of The New Honda City 2009

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I know a lot of people in Pakistan are curious to know the exact launch date of the new Honda City 2009.

So now it is confirmed, Honda City 2009 is being launched in Pakistan in February of 2009.

A review of Honda cars in Pakistan in general, and Honda City in particular is coming up here at CarAdvice.pk, and if it is anything like the Suzuki Mehran review, you guys better stay tuned. :)

You can book the new Honda City for PKR 1,052,000. The engine size (and the engine technology) seems to remain at 1300 CC. (As opposed to the anticipated 1500 CC only).

Honda City 2009 is definitely more pleasing to look at as compared to the current City that you see on the road nowadays. The backside of a bus looks more pleasing than the current City, but let us leave that for another post ;) .

If your internet connection permits, check out this video of the new Honda City at YouTube.

The Canadian Connection: cars stolen in Ottawa end up in Pakistan

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Thieves in Ottawa, Canada are renting out cars and then shipping them off to their international clientelle! Pakistan, being the ever-ready market for cars, is on the list of destinations for these theives, as reported by driving.ca.

The 1999 Honda Civic was the most frequently stolen vehicle of 2007. This is the model’s third year in a row as the most popular vehicle for thieves.

Honda Civic 1999

Just have a look at the 1999 Honda Civic model as served to the Canadian populace. Apart from the fact that car model vary tremendously across countries, a younger brother so to speak, of this model of the Honda Civic is already in Pakistan.

Also, the car shown here is a two door thing of beauty and I sure as hell hope that they don’t call it Orial!

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Read the full story on Canadian auto theft here

Honda City 2008-2009

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The new Honda City is set to be introduced in the Pakistani Market.

Couple that with the news item that Corolla is now only coming out as a 1.6, this leaves the middle class market totally empty for Honda to eat up! The new design is much better than the horror that roams our streets. If this is what the new Honda City looks like, then all is goood.

Images courtesy of pakwheels.