Head On: Camry vs Accord

Posted on August 24, 2009 by savaiz

Eversince Honda introduced Accord & Toyota launched Camry as their up-market luxury sedan models there has been tough head-on competition between the two.

Although the sales figures suggest that Accord has been outselling Camry looking at their specs the reason isn’t clear. Both have identical 70-litre fuel tanks, near-identical engine displacements (Accord:2354cc & Camry:2362cc) and similar Torque Ratios: 226Nm/4300rpm for Accord while for Camry it is 224Nm/6000rpm.

Top speed of Camry is listed on Toyota Indus Motors (www.indus-motors.com.pk) as 211kph for Manual Transmission version and 204kph for Automatic Transmission. Honda Pakistan (www.honda.com.pk) being more concerned with Safety & Environment hasn’t listed a top speed instead it focuses on the safety / environment-friendly features of the car.

Finally as always it all boils down to the physical ‘looks’ of the car & price of both cars. In that department Accord having a more sleek/elegant & less ‘bulky’ design that Camry (see photos for evidence) wins’ hearts & minds’ of the customer hands-down.

The other factor helping customers decide in favour of Accord is the price tag Rs.4.699M (for A/T) while Camry retails for Rs.5.999M (M/T) to Rs.6.199M (A/T).

Can’t believe this super car is an EV!

Posted on August 23, 2009 by savaiz

mercedes-benz-sls-amg-gullwing-prototype_3 A zero-emission supercar, tentatively named LS AMG eDrive, features 4 electric motors with a combined output of 392 kW (526 hp) and 880 Nm (649 lb-ft) of torque enabling it to rocket from 0-100 km/h in around 4 seconds.

This compares favourably as a matter of fact on par with the petrol-driven 6.3-liter (6208cc) V8 powered (571 hp and 650 Nm) SLS that accomplishes the same task in 3.8 seconds. The stats maybe okay for the petrol version but the electric version is as good as its gets (for now anyway).

In a statement, Mercedes-AMG GmbH’s CEO Volker Mornhinweg said, “With the SLS AMG with electric drive, we wanted to redefine the super sports car. For us, it is not just about responsibility. We attach just as much importance to excitement and classic AMG performance.”

I surely believe thay have. Its expected that the car may well be in production by 2011. When it does start commercial production it will offer fierce competition to Tesla Roadster eV & Lightning GT Electric Sportscar (both already in production phase).

PS: Photos may not depict the final production version as it has been shielded by the manufacturer & pix are only ‘spy photos’ of the prototype.

Mitsubishi Lancer – Original is better?

Posted on August 22, 2009 by savaiz

lancer-gts dmmc2 I have been driving a Japanese-assembled Mitsubishi Lancer for the last 4-years (almost) give or take a few days. Call me sentimental but the reason I like this car is its ‘virtually’ zero maintainence .

Offcourse the usual oil, oil & air filter change aside the car has never gone to a garage for any other reason. Believe it or not even the side-view mirrors, the ‘cabin’ light & front/back Mitsubishi logos are ‘factory-fitted originals’. I think that speaks volumes about itthe car’s durability.

I am not a very ‘technical’ admirer of cars but practically speaking if it looks good & is still running fine after say 5 years or so of ‘medium rough’ use I think u’d agree it MUST BE A GOOD CAR.

Imports may be a burden on an economy but imports like this are worth sending some money ‘abroad’ as they save you a whole lot more before they ‘finally’ go the way of ‘clunker for cash’.

The ‘All New’ Honda City

Posted on August 20, 2009 by savaiz

img_gallery01 What I don’t understand is that why do Honda meed ‘so many’ sedan brands? If Accord is a class apart & in the same league as Toyota Camry then why are City & Civic cutting into each other’s market share? Conceeded that City started as an attempt by Honda to make a ‘budget’ sedan but isn’t that like Suzuki’s job?

The introduction of City (which is neither cheap nor expensive @ Rs.1.139M for 1.3L M/T & Rs.1.399M for 1.3L A/T) has ‘only’ allowed Suzuki to rias its products’ prices so that City is no at par with Liana and we being a nation ‘riased on a Suzuki’ will trust a Suzuki more while viewing the ‘reduced’ price of a Honda brand (City) with suspicion.

I myself (& those like me) have driven a Japanese-assembled Mitsubishi Lancer for about four years & it is yet to be taken to a garage so I will Insha Allah buy another Lancer once the current lease ends in May next year.

So the question is: WHOSE MARKET HAS THE CITY MOST ADVERSELY AFFECTED? I think its CIVIC’s which is (despite local-assembly) still priced slightly below the Lancer. (CIVIC 1.8L VTi Oriel @ Rs.1.734M to Mitsubishi Lancer’s 1.6L GLX @ Rs.1.899M – both M/T models).

I think Toyota has got it right. Instead of 2 brands they have ‘sub-brands’ within Corolla Brand such as Altis & 2.0D. (Altis of same displacement as Civic is a lot cheaper i.e Rs.1.639M while Altis 1.8 M/T SR is also priced below Civic VTi Oriel i.e. Rs.1.724M).

All manufacturers/marketers do make up their own names for similar technologies to ‘differentiate’ otherwise similar products. As far as I am concerned they all have engines, doors, windows, Steering, Gears & brake/clutch/accelarator pedals what else is there to have.

The Art of Leasing a Car – How secured is an insured leased car?

Posted on August 19, 2009 by savaiz

Insurance is the only method with which one can ‘reclaim’ some of the expenses incurred in obtaining & using a car. It is adviseable to have complete car insurance even when the car is not leased but in case of leased car the owner of the asset (bank) makes it mandatory for its customers to get complete car insurance. So what does complete car insurance mean?

Complete or ‘full’ insurance as it is sometimes called covers all expenses of repair using original parts for any number of accidents but offcourse there is a catch. The amount for which the vehicle is ‘covered’ reduces due to ‘depreciation’ of car’s value.

Who determines the depreciated value you ask? The insurance companies have a ‘fixed’ 10% annual depreciation as a ‘standard. Meaning your car is assumed to be worth only 70% of its listed price by the time 4th year of lease starts.(Doesn’t matter how well it is maintained it is just all mathematical (not good commonsense but great ‘business’ sense for the insurer).

I recently had to ‘pay’ 30% value for parts repalced after an accident but still thought it was a good deal so GET IT INSURED.

PS: Some people have even started ‘conning’ the insurers by ‘staging’ fake accidents to claim more than actual but that should be the subject of another post which I’ll write some other time.

Mitsubishi makes the best micro car?

Posted on August 17, 2009 by savaiz

mitsubishi_i_hello_kitty 800px-mitsubishi_i_1

Although it may not be virtually unknown outside its ‘native’ Japan it won the 2007 Car of the Year award from the Japanese Automotive Researchers and Journalists Conference (RJC), and two other “Car of the Year” awards, from the Carview Corporation website and the Consumer’s Choice.

It also won the “Most Advanced Technology” Special Achievement Award at the 2006–07 Japan Car of the Year awards, where it was nominated unsuccessfully in the overall Car of the Year category, and ranked first in the Japan Mini-Car APEAL Study published by J.D. Power Asia Pacific in October 2006, with a higher score than any previous winner. Aside from the 2006 Good Design Grand Prix, its style won Design Awards from the Japan Automotive Hall of Fame (JAHFA), and the magazines Popeye and Car Styling.

Even the 2008 Car of the year 2008 Toyota’s iQ although better performance wise & designed by Toyota’s design studio in France pales in comparison to the sleek shape & georgeous look of the “i”. Agreed that microcars or ‘kei’ cars as they are known in Japan are made generally for the ladies &/or ‘sissies’ but offlate the modified versions of Smart Cars having superbike engines have been known to pack quite a muscle (0-100kph in under 3.5seconds.

“i”s breakthrough success with the said market came after a “Hello Kitty” customized “i” was put on display in a large Japanese Department Store for a week in 2007. Other close rivals include Smart Mortor’s fortow & K models, ZAP (zero air pollution), Toyota iQ the proposed Aston Martin-Toyota joint venture Cygnet & Honda’s Insight.

Suzuki has also marketed its own budget version of the smart car known as Suzuki Twin while rounding off the European competition are Mercedes-Benz’s Motsy & Subaru’s R2.

The Art of leasing a Car – Flexible Tenures & Downpayment Options explained

Posted on August 16, 2009 by savaiz

While approaching the bank every potential customer has atleast some idea of ‘how long’ his relationship with the bank will be for this particular transaction or in laymen’s terms what will be the duration of this loan? This duration for which the customer will ay installment-based repayments to the bank is also known as the tenure of the loan. This needs to be pre-determined and directly affects the amount of each installment as well as the total amount that one pays for acquiring the car (principal+interest).

Usually the banks offer tenures of 1-5years with the 3-5 years being the most popular selection made by the clients. SBP has however allowed consumer lending for automobiles upto 7 years so you can always ask your banker for an extended period which will then be considered as a deferal from norm but still within the approval authority of the bank. My personal advice is that you take either a 3-year plan or a 4-year plan, reason being that the installments for 1 & 2 year plans will be too burdening on your income (especially if you are salaried individual with fixed income) while in case of 5 to 7 year plans you end up paying more than 1.5times the actual price of the car. Let me explain it through some simple calculations:

Assume that the car of your dreams costs Rs. 1million. You pay a quarter of it as downpayment while the interest rate is taken as 15% which is possibly the best one you can get at the moment then your installment per month would be as follows:

Tenure (Years) Installment Amt. Amount paid during tenure

1 Rs.71,875/- Rs.1,112,500/-

2 Rs.40,625/- Rs.1,225,000/-

3 Rs.30,208/- Rs.1,337,500/-

4 Rs.25,000/- Rs.1,450,000/-

5 Rs.21,875/- Rs.1,562,500/-

So a Rs.1million car ends up costing Rs,1.5million in a 4-5 year plan even without considering insurance which usually is around Rs.4,000/- p.m for a car in that price category. Thus you must choose tenure wisely after making calculations as above. Your banker will be more than happy to furnish you with complete repayment schedules for all tenures if asked.

Same is the case with downpayment otherwise known as equity contribution by customer. SBP allows from zero upto 50% downpayment however the baks generally allow plans for 10%, upto 30%. Again this means that you must negotiate strongly with your bank as it will affect the end outcome. Any amount you contribute towards the purchase of the car will reduce the amount provided by the bank thereby allowing total amount of markup to be reduced when downpayment increases. (The more you pay less will be the amount on which you have to pay interest).

Ending as always my suggestion is that you haggle with your bank just like you bargain with your corner-grocery storeman. The more you haggle the better option you will get. Next post will address matters pertaining to insurance.

The Art of Leasing a Car – KIBOR & its implications!

Posted on August 15, 2009 by savaiz

Those of us who have off-late ‘attempted’ borrowing from a bank in the recent past have all heard of the mysterious KIBOR. All banks nowadays peg their lending to the KIBOR & then add their spread to give their customers a flexible rate. Since KIBOR has off-late been rising steeply (atleast during the calendar year 2008) banks have minted quite a few ‘extra’ bucks by merely re-pricing their loans as part of their ‘deal’ with their customers.

Now what the hell is KIBOR you may ask. For the uninitiated (which means the most of us – non-bankers) KIBOR is an acronym standing for Karachi Inter-Bank Offer Rate. KIBOR isn’t a new phenomenon either. It has been around for atleast a dozen years but its impact on the consumer finance sector is a relatiely new phenomenon.

Bankers have lent to ‘each other’ (read: inter-bank i.e. bank-to-bank) by using KIBOR since the early 1990s when this emerged as a substitute for the LIBOR (London Inter-Bank Offer Rate) which though more stable was definitely not in sync with our ‘local’ money market therefore the local banks all got together and came up with KIBOR.

Banks initially lent using KIBOR rate to their Corporate Customers for what became known as Money Market loans (meaning: loans against borrowing from other banks). This was extended to the Commercial/SME segment during the early years of the 21st century. Once the KIBOR became high due to the geo-politcal economic reasons the banks were left with no choice but to abandon fixed-pricing altogether in faour of KIBOR-linkage (meaning: KIBOR-plus-bank’s profit spread).

Further variants of KIBOR that evolved later were attributed to its tenor (which should either match the tenor of the short loans or should be atleast half-year i.e. 6-months or 1-year i.e. 12-months).

People worried by high markup rates can finally heave a sigh-of-relief as the ‘dreaded’ KIBOR has somewhat nosedived from its New Year 2009 peak of around 16% to somewhere around 11% as of 31-July-2009. (%age rate pertains to the most widely used 6-months KIBOR ask rate).

People requiring further clarifications regarding KIBOR in particular & other advice regarding Car Leasing in general are invited to leave a message alongside this post for a ‘prompt’ reply. Next post in this series will cover flexible tenures & downpayment options.

The art of Leasing a Car

Posted on August 14, 2009 by savaiz

Car leasing today seems to have become a hard science with all the islamic/unislamic/fixed-rate/KIBOR-linked rate/flexible-tenure/flexible-downpayment/insurance options ‘mumbo-jumbo’ and what not but infact it is as much an art as painting or photography. Before I confuse you further with my ‘Science of Art’ lecture here is me breaking my “banker’s code” to let you in on all the unpleasant secret “they won’t tell you” while selling you a car lease.

According to howstuffworks.com website, Leasing has two principal benefits:

(1) You drive a newer vehicle that is always under warranty and seldom needs more than routine maintenance.

and

(2) you often get a larger, more luxurious, better-equipped car.

I believe another very improtant ‘benefit’ missing from the list is the commission offered to the dealer/lease-salesperson & strictly-religious vs moderate orientation. Meaning that even in today’s day & age the car dealer or lease/loan salesperson can force you to get a lease or loan depending on which makes them more richer.

For people working strictly on commission basis the single most important motivation is how much they get out of each deal so beware of them. The people employed by the bank/FI on salary basis are genrally more reliable in their committed offerings. I am just saying that be careful and make sure that the person selling you the car lease is not just making forced sales & expecting no repeat sales from satisfactory regular clients. Let this be your first lesson while leasing a car – NO BROKERS – neither car dealing ones nore lease pushing ones.

Having already discussed the major differences between conventional Leasing & Ijarah Financing (Islamic mode) the next post will deal with KIBOR & how rates get pegged to it including a detail about its merits and demerits.

Karting Championship

Posted on May 2, 2009 by nabeel

If you look up “Motorsports in Lahore” on google this is what you get…

...

But this joke is losing it’s humor. And that’s because there have been at least four proper motorsports events in Lahore within the last year including a 4×4 mud rally, a couple of go-kart races and a so called drag race. Finally there’s some excitement in the Lahoree petrol-heads’ life.

race venue

Last weekend Lake City was home to a go-kart race organized by Racing Pakistan and sponsored by Bank Alfalah. A race track was improvised on the excellent streets of Lake City (a rare sight in Lahore). The race was held at night under flood lights to avoid the scorching heat of the day. It was a five hour endurance race so each team had 3 to 4 drivers who replaced one another at the end of a stint.

Karting is considered as the most basic form of motorsports. And although a go-kart might look like something you’d buy for your five year old boy but don’t be fooled by its benign looks. Go-kart racing is all about agility and acceleration. That’s why go-karts weigh next to nothing and have very high power to weight ratio. As a result a go-kart changes direction like a gazelle and goes like stink. And that’s why go-kart tracks are very tight and twisty.

F1 replica

This is the second time that Racing Pakistan has organized a kart race in Lahore. The first event was held back in August 2008. Adnan Sarwar is the front man of this organization who is working with Bank Alfalah to promote motorsports in Pakistan.

When I went to see this race last year I saw a Ferrari followed soon after by an Aston Martin and several Porsches. So I wondered how long would it be before I wake up. But then i was forced to realise that it wasn’t a dream. So the next explanation I came up with was that I had somehow reached a European town located on Raiwind Road. Because to me, that was a less ridiculous idea than actually seeing a Ferrari and an Aston Martin in Lahore.

Altough I didn’t see the Ferrari and the Aston this year (maybe I missed them) but the car park was still quite dream-like.

There are many things I can think of that could have been better on this event but I think it’s more important to appreciate the effort for bringing motorsports to Pakistan which is something we really need.

In case you’re wondering why you never found out about some or all of these events, well you’re not alone, because many people missed these events because they didn’t know about them. Anyway cheer up! I’ll do my best to keep you informed about any future happenings. And if you know about any upcoming events please do share this information with us.

Here are some pictures from the event…

red-bull-mini