20 K milestone

I got my car back from the service center this evening after an overnight stay at the garage. The car's done over 20,000 and runs like a dream. I've been putting off writing an extensive review since I've had it for more than a year and put it through 80% of its potential. This review will be coming soon I promise, but my post is about something else.

When I decided to buy a Mitsubishi Outlander back in 2008 I met with a lot of disapproval from both friends and family. The most common remark was that the service at Al Mulla was less than professional and not at all a good experience. I beg to differ ! I've been getting my car serviced at frequent intervals as per company recommendation and each service was carried out promptly and to my satisfaction. All the service personell and garage staff are knowledgeable and courteous. So you can imagine my confusion... am I a lucky customer or are they really this good ??


The only bad experience I had was when I went to one of the showrooms to get a first look at the car but thats not an issue now. Anyway the car runs like a charm and I'm very satisfied with the service from Al Mulla. If any of you guys have any experiences with them kindly leave a comment. Thanks

The Stig

If you watch Top Gear then you definitely will love the "Stig Quotes". Here are some of my favorites;

"Some say that his earwax tastes like Turkish delight, and that his toes are exactly the same shape as a woman’s nipples.. All we know is; he’s called The Stig.

Some say he knows three facts about ducks/geese. And none of them are correct. . All we know is; he’s called The Stig.

Some say if he went on Celebrity Love Island, they’d all be pregnant, including the cameramen and the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring. All we know is; he’s called The Stig."

Theres more at these links

Pure Clarkson [link]
I am the Stig [link]

WTF traffic ???

Damn, reckless behavior in traffic seems to be getting worse by the day. According to the report on Intlxpatr's blog there were more than 50,000 (no extra zeroes, I counted) accidents in Kuwait in 2008. Add to that the number of people driving on the sidewalk to avoid morning rush hour !

Earlier you could get run over by jaywalking or crossing where theres no Zebra crossing. Now morning joggers, people walking their dogs and road cleaning crew all stand the chance of being run over by a mindless moron in a huge SUV who takes the sidewalk as a shortcut. And want to hear the best part ? Officers of the law are happily doing it as well ! And no.. he was not in an emergency to get to a crime scene, he was on a school run. Thanks for being a role model Mr. Officer.

Driving in Kuwait

High resolution version here

This post is dedicated to all drivers in Kuwait. As many of you know, Kuwait has one of the highest rates of auto accident related deaths in the world and the driving style of the people here doesn't make it any better. Here's some tips I've come up with from my two years of experience of driving in Kuwait.

1. Seat belts save lives, but you have to use it properly. Wrapping the belt around your seat and buckling it may stop that annoying buzzer but it wont stop you from getting killed.

2. Feet off the dashboard ! Most people drive automatics here but that's not a reason to hike up one foot on the dash.

3. Red light means STOP !! yes it really does contrary to what many people here think.

4. Emergency lanes are for emergencies, not for morons who're running late and want to get to work on time by jumping ahead of others.

4. Sidewalks are for Human Beings not automobiles ! This is something I see on a regular basis on my way to work. Idiots with huge SUVs climb onto the sidewalk and then happily drive to the next traffic signal while we're all stuck in traffic.

5. Children in the back seat. Carrying your two year old in your lap while you're at the wheel racing along at 120 kmph is really not the way you should be driving. Once again this is a common sight in Kuwait. Use a baby seat if you want to transport children too small to use the seat belt.

6. Tailgating is not a sport. I hate those people who follow me within inches of my rear bumper and then expect me to magically make way for them even thought the lane next to me is full.

I hope this list is helpful to at least half of the brain dead drivers out there. But then.. if you had half a brain you wouldnt need these tips would ya ? :)

Burglar Airbags

This is probably a world's first ! The manufacturer of this particular car is so concerned about safety that they've got an airbag for the burglar in case he has an accident during the getaway ! :D

Al Mulla Service

I had to send in my car for the 10,000 KM service this weekend and thats when I realised that I've had this car for about 8 months and have never posted anything about it !

This is my baby with the Liberation tower in the background.

I dropped of the car at the Mitsubishi service center at Al-Rai today morning at 8 and was promised delivery at 2pm but since today was a holiday I told them I'll pick it up in the evening.
A lot of people have told me that the service at Al Mulla sucks and that I should have reconsidered buying from them but I've yet to come across any bad incidents. From the time I went there to take a look at the car till date I've had really good service. But please avoid the showroom at Soor street. The salesmen over there hardly have time to take you over the features of the car. Maybe they didnt think I was a potential customer... well bad luck suckers !!! I bought the fully loaded model from the Al Rai showroom so you can kiss that commission goodbye !


If you are going to the Al Rai service center, there's a service rep called Mr. Janson who will take good care of you but all the staff there are very nice anyways.

On the road !

I ventured out on Kuwait roads today under the watchful eyes of my driving instructor Basheer. I'd informed him at the start that I used to drive back in India so I guess he was confident enough to relax his grip on the secondary steering.

I have registered for 3 sessions of 2 hours each. The car in question is a Nissan Sunny 1.8 , but it felt very lethargic and no matter how far I mashed the pedal it wouldnt go above 100 Kmph. I guess they must have some kinda speed governor on the throttle.

We headed out to the practice grounds at Mishref and spent about 2 hours making left and right turns, straight line reverses, left turn and right turn reverses etc. Whew ! never thought I'd be bored of driving but the session at Mishref was mind-numbingly dull. The high point of the day was when I freaked out Basheer a couple of times by breaking late into corners and taking a sharp inward turn, I could feel the feedback from the steering as he tried to counteract my turns :) Keep watching this pace for more updates.

Raring to go !

I woke up this morning expecting a call from my mandoop* about my pending driver's license. Soon after 7am he called me from the Traffic Dept. I showered and got there on the double. Since it was so early in the morning the queue was just starting to form, and there was the mandoop with a smile on his face, as always. Why go with a mandoop ? Coz he possesses a magical thing called "Wasta**"!

My license would be issued from the Farwaniya Traffic Department and I had to go to the testing center in Qortuba for an eye exam. The eye exam was over in a few minutes and I went back to the Traffic Dept. at Farwaniya. After submitting the test results and stamped documents I heard the dreaded word "Bukhra" which means tomorrow !! Damn ! Now I've gotta come back tomorrow, but anyway I got this far without a hitch. I've heard horror stories where guys had flunked the driving test 8 times before getting a license. As they say in Kuwait Inshahallah !

* a mandoop is a sub species of homo sapiens that has the power to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks. When us normal humans get tangled in red tape, the mandoop comes in handy to move things smoothly ;)

** Wasta is an intangible item that is used to get things done in both government and private offices.

Million Dollar Plates !

This is just amazing.. a mutilmillion dollar number plate !! I hope he's got a car to match the plate !

[...]A number plate auction in Abu Dhabi has raised $27.2m for people with special needs and accident victims, reported Gulf News. A total of 41 plates were auctioned off with the cheapest number, 99599, selling for a mere $27,780. The most expensive plate, the number '5', was sold to an Abu Dhabi based businessman, for $6.9m; he also spent more than $3m on two other numbers[...]

Source : Ameinfo

Dodge Demon

(picture courtesy Autonet.ca)

Heres the new Dodge Demon. If you thought the Viper was a little 'too much car' for you, then this is the dodge for you. The Demon features a 2.4 Liter engine with a 6 speed tranny.

More info at Autonet.ca

Rise of the Koreans !

(picture courtesy : www.nytimes.com)

No, I wasnt referring to North Korea's nuclear ambitions by my headline, I'm referring to the South Korean auto makers like Hyundai and Kia. The buzz from the NY Auto show this year was the unveiling of the Hyundai Genesis concept car. This is a V8 engined rear wheel drive luxury car !! Thats right I used the words 'Hyundai', 'V8' and 'Rear wheel drive' all in the same sentence !

Many industry pundits are comparing the Genesis to the Lexus LS series when it first came out years ago. Many were sceptical of a Japanese luxury car competing with the Germans, but Lexus proved them wrong and the rest is history. But this is always not the case. Its hard to change your image from being a maker of economical people movers, to that of a luxury car maker. Does anyone remember the "Phaeton" ? :)

Only time will tell if Hyundai can pull it off.

For more information visit Automobilemag.com

More cars from the NY Auto Show





(picture courtesy : www.automobilemag.com)