Kaar: Of continuity and [something that means 'building upon what's already there']

I happened to visit the facebook group of Shell Eco Marathon Asia one of these days, and getting straight to the point, I noticed that at least five teams, in a wannabe attempt to publicize their team or their vehicle, have posted the link to their respective facebook pages. All very well, but...what really caught my eye was the fact that two of these teams were from Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, while one each were from University of Engineering and Technology Lahore, and Pakistan Navay Engineering College Karachi. Ok, this didn't catch my eye. This did: these teams appear to be totally unrelated to the ones that participated last year (2010), which in turn seemed totally unrelated to the ones that participated the year before that.

It appears that these guys are...well, just following their whims, aspiring only to participate in an 'international event'; there appears to be a lack of general direction in which a vehicle, a technology or an idea gets gradual but constant nourishment in the longer run.

But then again, if everyone would have been doing it, we wouldn't be so unique. And here I go with the kaar-dogma once again...

so lets quit while we can. You get the point, right? :-)

[Edit: removed a picture of Kaar's design; have no idea what I was thinking when writing the post originally]

Technical Submission

Never knew designing was such hectic work. Let's heave a sigh of relief then.

*Sigh of Relief*

Sigh of relief is heaved.

Now then, the technical submissions for Kaar and Primus were made yesterday. They were most probably in time as well. But this, by the way, is semi-unofficial. Which is less official and more unofficial than something really official. For which you would have to check out the EMENENTS website.

Apologies for wasting my time.

Design Submission

Design Elements submitted today...normal transmission expected to resume soon :-)

Follow us on facebook!

EMENENTS

Of Sleep and Slumber

Recruitment. Publicity. Hype. Crap like that. And turns out, we are sleeping.

We really are. So if you were thinking we were too busy to post, you were wrong. Which brings the spotlight back to our malingering.

Maybe hollow words will reinvigorate us now. Apologies for the dull post. We have had it coming.

The Case for an Electric Car

Ten. That's the number of hours of load-shedding The Nation says that Karachiites were protesting against today (12th October).
Five. That's the amount, in thousands, of Megawatts that Pakistan is facing a shortfall of.
Thirty-two. That's the amount in billion, of dollars, some report by some organiztion claims Pakistan needs to put in the energy sector to be able to meet demands uptil 2020.


Ok, so I am not good at this sort of dramatization, but you get the picture. Right?


In short, Pakistan is facing a gargantuan shortfall of electricity. And you must be wondering, what's wrong with this guy...carrying out a bloody propaganda in favor of an electric car, while giving stats against it.

That's how you define a nutter. But we aren't talking about me.

We are talking about the fact that while Pakistan does meet about 75% of its electricity requirements (15,000 MW production against 20,000 MW demand), and about 40% from renewable sources (8,000 MW from hydel), Pakistan can meet only about 15-20 % of its petroleum requirements. The rest is made up from a hefty import bill. About $12 Billion on petroleum and petroleum products.

The figures are staggering. And yes, I have been reading a newspaper article regarding our country's energy deficit.

But my point is that petroleum = bad. Electricity from renewable sources is good. And as the oil crisis (which may not be a crisis at this time, but we all know its running out) takes shape, the future is all electric. Renewable Electric.

We are looking at a time when solar cells and windmills become ubiquitous. They have to become ubiquitous; there is no other way (lets just rule out sources that are toxic, harmful to the environment, etc, etc). And when they do, the electric car can become the chief mode of human locomotion.

So, electric car is good. Buy it.

No...don't buy it. Wait for us to make it, optimise it, test it and bring it to market. That can take...some years...or some decades...or maybe some centuries. Hang on.

Emenence at ARG Design Competition

Good thing about EMENENTS is that the third letter is not I. Which means that if we claim emenence somewhere that doesn't necessarily mean that we were good.

At the Design Competition's first round - the last post I made was as a member of ARG - we fielded one-and-a-half cars. Or something like that. That we would have twice the chances of going through was tertiary at best. The governing motivation I described earlier, but allow me to redundantly reiterate: one car (kaar) for the present/near future; the prototype, with its electric driveline, for the futuristic and renewable energy future.

What, or rather how, we want to proceed with the two concepts is basically to encapsulate the same spirit which ARG is supposed to work. Instead of teams making different cars, we are teams working on chassis, body and drivelines, etc, giving us more focus in the fields our members have chosen. By a few causal relationships, that I don't feel like explaining, and which might be self-explanatory all the same, more focus means better cars and better engineers.

Where the ARG has stumbled, as it has been difficult to ignite the group as members are an eclectic bunch with generally diverse aims, EMENENTS would not.

ONWARDS EMENENTS!

ARG: Design Competition

The first stage of the Design Competition organized by the Automotive Research Group, at EME College, in a bid to raise the bar, or create one, with regards to College's participation in the Shell Eco-marathon 2011, was held on Thursday, 7th October.

Despite rumour's of a delay, and one team's insistence that their design would be plagiarized, it all went as planned. 6 teams presented their design, plans and progress: 3 each for the Urban Concept and Prototype categories. 4 teams seemed to want to rely only on the internal combustion engine, one each for a series hybrid and all-electric vehicles.

Electronic Fuel Injection was a popular claim. Simulations and final design stages was apparently the progress report. Here is a look at each of the teams:
1. Pakwheelers
Urban Concpet - Gasoline
The team that voiced fear of their ideas being copied naively presented the most detail in design. So much so that they were cut short slightly. While keeping to the Hybrid concept from last year, they said that they were aiming for an EFI system. This would complicate their circuitry, and we might see a repeat of this year's performance again. Anyway, their 'master stroke' was a rear diffuser for aerodynamic efficiency. Interestingly, EMENENTS (that's us) had already done preliminary CFD analysis with a rear diffuser. Despite their tantrums, they look among the favorites to go through.

2. Team Panache
Urban Concept - Gasoline
With their name as that of the GIKI team from last year, the hallmark of their design was a small sized CVT. They have a large team, with help from Post-Graduate students, but they also have lots of dead weight too.

3. Primus
Prototype - Plug-in Electric
They took the event in their stride, and impressed everyone, with a great presentation. With their focus on an all-electric vehicle, with everything in the right place, awesome computer simulations, experienced team, they have emerge as early favorites to go through.

4. Emenents
Urban Concept - Gasoline
Their focus was on simplicity and reliability, and the introduction of an EFI system. Captain Barbossa's presentation was generally thought to be better-than-expected, but I thought it was rubbish as usual.

5.
Prototype - Gasoline
This team didn't have a name. Apparently. Nothing very remarkable.

6.
Prototype - Gasoline
I forgot their name. But the presentation was in Urdu, which was nice to see. Less pretense that way. Going for EFI, and looking for a 'win-win' situation. Whatever that is.

What else:

• Mergers on the cards. My expert analysis says 4 teams could be given the ticket. 2 finances.
• A Quality Control team headed by Sir Fareed and a witch, to overlook the compliance to rules and overall quality of the vehicles
• Next round, with greater focus on design, to be held later this month

To Kaar or two cars?

It's slightly confusing. It's meant to be. The caption. Hope you didn't understand.

We at EMENENTS are thinking big. Thinking long-term. Now we are thinking of changing the world. Or some part only. Or some part of some part only. Or some part of some part of some part of the world only.

The idea is to develop Kaar as what it is supposed to be. Vehicle for the ordinary Pakistani. An interal combstion engine, gasoline driven car that we can bring to the market sometime in the foreseeable future. Smarter use of existing technology, as I like to point out ever so often.

But this is not where the idea ends. On the contrary, that's where it begins. The second part of the idea is to develop new technologies that are expected to be dominant in the future. More futuristic future.

And what, where and when are we looking at? We are looking at the depleting fossil fuel resources in the world. We are looking at the renewable energy future.

We are looking at an electric car. Our aim is to develop one as a prototype for Shell Eco Marathon, who have been kind enough to include the all-electric, plug-in category from 2011 in the event. In time, we would like to take what we learn into the present, via the urban concept category, onto Pakistan's road.

Ambitious. But that's us.

PS: now, I'd have to make some posts defending the logicale of the all-electric car too :-(

EMENENTS

A Flyer I tried my hand on. Didn't get approved by the EMENENT high command :-(

Emenation

You'd probably be wondering where did that team from Pakistan at the Shell Eco Marathon 2010 go. What was its name?Yeah...Bekaar. A useless bandwagon of useless people, with their Kaar.

Crouching under some desk. Hiding behind a tree. Embarassed. Ashamed. Disgruntled.

Errrrrr...No.

They have been busy. They have been busy changing their name. They are now called EMENENTS. That's a lot of work. They are back and stronger, better, faster, slimmer, fuel-efficienter, cooler, brillianter, higher, eminenter, and a whole lot more ******er (where ****** isn't necessarily a six-letter word, and isn't definitely a bad word) than ever.

The following goes on thier new website:
" The Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010, held at the Sepang International Circuit Malaysia, saw our team’s emergence as one of the leading teams from Pakistan. While the engineering aspects of our vehicle would definitely have helped in raising the bar with respect to energy efficiency in vehicles, the Team ‘Bekaar’ and our vehicle ‘Kaar’ captured everyone’s imagination, with descriptions ranging from ‘interesting’ to ‘creative’ to ‘sporty’.

It was, however, decided that from this year onwards, the team would bear the name EMENENT, a name more representative of where we come from and what we do. It is also a statement of our commitment to a greater cause, which is to promote energy efficiency in our lives, find green solutions to our automotive problems, and eventually give Pakistan its very own fuel-efficient vehicle.

While there has been this change of name, the creativity and the resolve are still there. Our dynamism and the thirst for success is stronger than ever. The end of the last academic year saw a few of our members graduate. The ensuing recruitment programme not only helped us find new and vibrant members, but was also an assertion that EMENENTS will always be there to carry on the good work begun over a year ago."

No marks for guessing who wrote this.

Visit us: http://emenents.com/

Just so you know...

Kaar's Propaganda - At top left :-D

Alive and Kicking

If I were to make an ad on kaar today, it would go something like...

What's it called? An ECG. So the screen of the ECG shows (with all sides and corners blurred to add to the dramatization). A straight line runs right across the screen, without even a sign of a sign of a sign of a sign of a sign of a dent. That's how lifeless you are supposed to think Kaar is.

But you know it's not dead. You just know. Thats when they show a couple of 'doctors', with a set of spanners, rather than tweezers and scissors, trying to reinvigorate the beast. You see those...'shocks'...you hear a vrooooo...um!

You hear another vrooo...um! It's struggling to find life, but it's there or there abouts. You hear the vroo..um another couple of times, but then...it goes vroooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom.

That's when you start hearing some good-hope-brought-soundtrack, something like the one they ran in the intro of Commandos (Men of Courage). Kaar is alive and kicking again!

Ready to bear that onus of bringing innovation towards a fuel efficient future, towards the dream we call Pakistan-a-developed-country. These are far-off objectives and our part in getting there is small, but we live and work with the satisfaction of never having to regret that we didn't try.

More Quotes

"Aap gari bananay say ab khaana bananay par agaye hain?"
A cousin, in the aftermath of the Shell Eco Marathon.

"Mamoo! Hum nay bhi Malaysia jana hai!"
Aabis and Farzaan, Senor Mujahid's nephews.

"Our ambitions are much higher!"
Deriding Bekaar, Col Khattak (Supervisor of Pakwheelers) to Commandant in Sepang. His team managed to collect the second-to-highest amount of garbage at the circuit.

"50 Ringgits"
"5 Ringgits!"
"Go **** a dog!"
Some woman on a street in Brickfield.

"50 Ringgits"
"5 Ringgits!"
"Go **** yourself!"
Another woman, on the same street I guess.

"Come on Kaar!!!"
James May, TopGear host. Or did he say 'car'?

Memorable Quotes

A small collection of memorable quotes on Kaar and Bekaar. Some weren't very nice, one more reason I didn't manage to forget them.

"Gari nahi banti! Leadership he nahi hai"
Kaar's Captain Barbossa

"Gari? Nahi banti, aur bolo"
Some professor at College

"Tum? Hahahahahahahaha!"
Good friend, Hammad Zaidi. I guess he was only joking, and had complete faith in my uselessness.

"If we sponsor you, Bekaar would have to go."
The marketing guy from Indus Motors.

"Ay dekho! Dunya kahan say kahan pohunch gayi hai, aur inhon ne ye daddoo banaya hai"
(Look at this! The world has moved ahead, and all they have done is make this frog!)
One of the catering guys at college mess.

"Kya Bekaar ka wohi matlab hai jo Hindi main hota hai?"
(Does Bekaar have the same meaning as it does in Hindi?)
Some guy from an Indian team at SIC Malaysia.

"Waisay 'Bekaar' humain ziada suit karta hai."
('Bekaar' suits us more!)
Some guy from an India team. Don't know if it was the same guy.

"Creative!"
Faria Syed, of The Express Tribune, at the Sending Off Ceremony in May.

The Automotive Research Group

Back to the present then...

After the supposed debacle in Sepang, there was much activity here as previous participants set out to right the wrongs, and new aspirants arose to start (another) revolution. With EME College buzzing with 'Shell Eco Marathon', someone came up with the Automotive Research Group, a group formed to look after events like these, and more, and in the larger picture, play a role in uplifting the automotive fortunes of the country.

Because we don't even make cars, having them go green is pointless. In this spirit, this blog will remain green (at the top, literally) and will also go grey, and black, and blue, and silver, and yellow, and red, and...

Morsels of Triumph

In all my complaining, ranting and burlesquing, if you think that all we got from the experience was experience, then you are mistaken.

Let me round of this reverie with revellations. Good ones.

We are proud to acknowledge...let me say this again. We are proud to acknowledge...and again. We are proud to acknowledge that Kaar, or to me more apposite, the chassis of Kaar was nominated for the Autodesk Technical Innovation Award in Malaysia. They said it was an Early Registration Award, but how late can you get than sending the package after the deadline, and over 6 months after the registration begin? So let's all assume that the award recognizes the technical innovation aspect of Kaar.

Eerily (and I say this with dripping sarcasm, because it was not eerie but an act of brusque outrage) the Supervisor of another team (any guesses? I'll give you a clue: from our own college, their car in black and orange, urbanconcept category...) asked a member of his own team to get to the stage and 'take the honors'. Take the shame rather. I was going to write 'Suck on that! *TEAM NAME*' at the end of the last paragraph, but those guys don't need any invitation.

Anyway, below, Hassaan Ali takes the Award on our behalf. (Kaar's behalf to keep matters straight).

On another front, Kaar - as the business idea in INVENT, the entrepreneurship competition organized by IBA Karachi - was selected among the top 15 ideas on a national level.

Sadly, the organizers went back on another round of competition, that would have given us an even better chance to get our hands on the Rs. 500,000 prize-money, and we had to settle for - lets call it - a 6th place finish, and prize money of Rs. 50,000.

The material gains don't really signfy a gratifying return from all our effort, but will do as a nice appetizer. It's the full course meal we are after for next time.

The Fall Out

Back, but blatantly ostrasized. Initially, that is. Don't know what the college's administration people were thinking when they supposedly banned all those who had been to Malaysia for the Shell Eco Marathon. I am remided of a line from 'A case of exploding mangoes' by Muhammad Hanif. He says, "You can blame our men in uniform for anything, but you can never blame them for being imaginative."

Enough rant already.

Thing is I can not defend the debacle in Malaysia for the sheer number of vehicles bore Pakistan's flag. I am hearing defences from here and there arguing that it was only the first time. Hell it was, but it was also the first time for everyone else. For the Indonesian team that did 237 km/L. For the Japs. The Chinese. Everyone.

Logically I should also put my head down with shame, and disappear somewhere, but that is not going to happen. The thing is also that there can be no substitute for the hands-on learning the SEM experience provided. The thing is that such moments are to serve as lessons. To stimulate us further in pursuit of the greater good.

Ban? Sit back, and live the rest of my engineering degree in peace? *SNORT* you bet!

Been there, done what?

(excuse the dismissive tone of this post; our Kaar is also part of this expedition)

80 teams, 80 cars from Asia. 20 from Pakistan!

You would think that this place is the craddle of Asia'a automotive industry. Some Maranello or Stuttgart, where they make Ferraris and Porsches and Mercedes and BMWs.

Truth is, they don't make a single production car in Pakistan. They tried making one, the Adam Revo...but its bubble burst well before it could stimulate a revolution. They tried making Suzukis via a technology-transfer agreement, but that flopped too. So what were twently 'fuel efficient' cars from Pakistan doing at the Shell Eco Marathon?

I am thinking of uploading pictures, with captious - you would be surprized how many such words they put in the GRE book - quips, but spare me that effort. That just one of those 20 managed to complete a valid run of the track suffices to indicate the difference between quality and quantity. China sent just one team (or maybe two) and those pandas crossed the 1000 km/L barrier.

Pakistan's one team that did complete the track did a breath-taking 53 km/L.

So the question is, what are we doing? Are we really making road-worthy - or even Shell Eco Marathon worthy - cars, or are we rolling up fiberglass on aluminum and hoping it works?

I don't know about the vehicles from other countries, but for us - maybe there were exceptions, but we weren't among them - the ratio of engineering to mechanicy stand at an unfavorable location. While one may doubt the caliber of Pakistani students, I am dead sure that there are two things wrong in the whole process. First, there is a little bug in our programming: For us, competition is all about going to Malaysia. Well, its not. I like to see F1 as something on which we can model our participation in Shell Eco Marathon. The best teams win. The not-so-best teams fight and try to get better. They compete in the long run. You can make a fuel efficient idea in a second, but fuel efficient vehicles will take years to mature (If hybrid was so easy and charming, Fords and Fiats would have their hybrids everywhere). Blah Blah Blah.

Second, in Project Kaar at least, I noticed that the engineering part - that we did - worked. I have come to conclude that engineering~planning~works. Mechanics find solutions that cause another problem. Their solution to the next problem causes another one. The cycle continues. In short: plan and trust yourself.

Enough patronizing. Now, get the hell out of here!

SEMA 2010: Of Kaar and Bekaar - 3

The Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010 brought an end to a terrific - and tumultous - camaraderie. The octet with little in commom but one goal of Kaar deserve, despite the ups and downs, a parting salute (not that all of us will literally disperse and all). Here is to the year and all the hard work.

Naturally, I should begin with my picture. Because I am the most important person on earth. But then, everyone would say, kya pagal hai, itni gandi tasweer laga di hai sub say uuper. And anyway, I was probably away sulking at something.

So, we begin with our Supervisor, Fareed Sahab, who we never knew...no, no...he provided us with lots of moral encouragement, technical support, even sponsors. The best supervisor ever! Pity I don't have any of his snaps alone. He might not have liked it anyway.
When the chips were down, in front stepped Sohaib. As in, literally (in the picture below). In turbulent times, Sohaib conducted the opera in a high-visibility shirt and a Ferreli helmet.

'Watch out for the five red lights at the top of your screen...and savor the sound of these V-8s...and here we go...'

Ossama in the lead, in a Pakistani flag!!!

The guy with solutions to everything. Chipping in with another role as reserve driver. That involved the hefty task of sliding into the coolest racing suit ever (which we borrowed from someone). The Kamal ka banda.

Shell Eco Marathon vehicles do a mere 40 kph at the most, and Kaar didn't even do that on track. But who says the drivers therein are not in demand? Senor Mujahid with ample proof.

This picture might have been a representative one had food in Malaysia been any good. Malik sahab engrossed in one of the things he does best.

Senor Raheel looks, for the umpteenth time at his creation. Shining. Wah jee wah, kya baat hai teri.

In the background of Bekaar, the Pakistani flag (with jashn-e-Azadi written on it, despite a whole month from the day) and a team of Chipmunks from Singapore, Senor Anas looks on. Ever smiling. We might have failed (in a shallow perspective) but all hope is not lost. Saad bin Fareed is all set and ready to bear the onus in coming years. Witness the future of Bekaar!

SEMA 2010: Of Kaar and Bekaar - 2

Having come all the way from Pakistan, it would have been such a shame if those nobodys - Schumacher, Riakonnen, Massa, Hamilton, Alonso, Barrichello and company - wouldn't be able to brag about having touched the same tarmac graced by Kaar.

SEMA 2010: Of Kaar and Bekaar - 1

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Ok, that's not exactly how Kaar fared at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia. Not even close, by the way.

One word sums it up: disappointment.

With such high hopes - so high and heavy, that Kaar wilted not to carnal loads (it weighed a neat 145 kg) but under the weight of these hopes - it was convenient for us not to anticipate problems. That proved to be Kaar's undoing.

There were sideshows of the seat belt (that cost RM 199 and lots of headaches), the fuel tank (a small glass vessel for which $ 218 seem absurd), and the suspension (lightening may strike twice), but before the technical inspection, Kaar seemed to be running perfectly fine.

But when the chain tensioner decided to go on vacation, it all stopped palpitating. The chain came loose. We fixed it. The chain came loose again. We fixed it again.

Just moments before we ran out of time, everything seemed to be working - the starter motor, the spark, the fuel line - but it wouldn't just start. Anyway, Kaar did go through the Safety and Technical inspections ok, but decided it had enough on the slalom. Yeah, BAD.

So, when everyone was away...we sneaked Kaar onto the track...hang on for the pictures.

Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010: Pictures

Shell Eco Marathon Asia 2010

To more relevent stuff.

The Shell Eco Marathon's first edition in Asia was a great event, given the representation of the third world. There was no Fghench finesse or Jurman efficiency or bragging Brits. There were just plain old Filipinos, and Thais, and Pakistanis, and Indians, and Indonesians, and Malaysians, and Iranis, and Vietnamese...the event was a harbinger of the rise of the third world. Hopefully. Participation by teams from China, Japan and Singapore gave the event credence, but hard-work and innovation by all teams, from all countries, gave it near-perfection.

So much so that results of Asian team ecclipsed those of the American version of the Eco-Marathon. Take that, you imperialistic American *****!

If these results are anything to go by, Europe, whose edition has been going on for a quarter of a century, could be in for stiff inter-continental competition.

The actual results...can be found somewhere here:
http://www.shell.com/home/content/ecomarathon/asia/media_centre/news_and_media_releases/2010/thai_singapore_teams_set_first_sem_asia_records_10072010.html

A belated hindsight

Might I just add that what I write here is my personal opinion...that of a highly capricious person, and not of any team, institution, etc etc. Allusion to any person, thing or thing is ,however, usually very intentional. :-P

Of mutiny and mutineers

tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun tun

(Enough tuns; just make yourself a breaking-news-type-tune...for something that happened 2 months ago)



"In not entirely an unexpected development, Team Manager of Bekaar was deposed and then arrested for charges ranging from corruption, bribery, assault, contempt, mismanagement of official resources and malpractices in recruitment for official posts.

It is believed that members of the cabinet, as well as those from the Bekaar High Command, are behind the indictment. In his personal blog, he came down hard on this move, and referred to those behind the move as mutineers. He did, however, make no comment on the charges themselves, further arounsing suspicions that they may be correct.

A spokesman for the 'mutineers' while not elaborating the charges did say that official records indicate a gruesome disorder with funds, recruitment and Bekaar state machinery. However, with all his service for the Bekaar national cause, it is believed that he is likely to get away with a light sentence."

Evolution of the Revolution

Excuse me for the unnecessarily solemn language (the title at least) but this post began well before we shipped Kaar, and were a tad more sentimental...Here goes:

We didn't set out to change the world. We didn't set out to change anything.

Mind you, we haven't exactly changed the world. We haven't changed anything. At the end of some 12 months of using our 'hands and minds' to the laboriuos cadence of engineering, design and jugard, we have a bludgeoning green monstrosity we call Kaar.

The green ogre with four wheels isn't eaxtly...avant-garde. I mean, for an ogre, it is state-of-the-art-stuff;but for an automobile, its slightly archaic. Uncle Ford has been making vehicles for a century. True to his legacy, if it actually is, we have put a couple of white stripes running right through Kaar...just like that do with the GTs...



It hasn't been smooth sailing.It hasn't been sailing at all. The extraordinary amounts of problems we encountered and solutions we came up with provides a juxtaposition that would look good on canvass but not on an aluminum frame. Still, ours gets along just nicely.
The most important thing about what we have come up with is that it works. Tires that spin. Engine that revs. Steering that steers. Brakes that brake. A car that moves. Kaar is as practical as a car with the wrong spellings.

This is as far as I got, and am unable to renew the flow above...sorry. The end :-P

This is a post

:-)

Back!

Ok, so I am back! Not that I was missed (apparently). The counter moved from around 930 to 1000 since I was away, and that it moved this much was because I visited this page 69 times. Ok, you got it, nobody visits this page...I have to visit my own blog!

Anyway, where were we? Up, up and away...or something like that. A lot has happened since then (which wasn't necessarily nice, and one more reason for the hiatus), and a lot is going on...so I WILL UPDATE :-)

Since I have missed many posts that should have been made, it would be...well, nothing...if I were to stuff everything in one place. So I will make many posts and...many posts :-) If the counter isn't rolling, at least the posts shouldn't stop :-D

So here goes...

Up, Up and Away...

Loaded on to a ship...and away to Malaysia. Hopefully.

Kaar in Karachi

At the end of the first leg of its journey to Malaysia, Kaar has reached Karachi.

Suddenly, Karachi is more Kaarish!

Pity, the only place it's going to see is the shipyard...

Obstacles to Progress

***DISCLAIMER: PARTS OF THIS POST HAVE BEEN CENSORED TO PREVENT ME BEING KICKED OUT OF COLLEGE***

Pakistan is sixty-three years behind the developed world. That is only because Pakistan is sixty-three years old! Our 'stellar' rise in the comity of nations suggests that thirty-seven years later, we would be a hundred years behind development benchmarks; nine-hundred-and-thirty-seven years later, we would be a millennium behind.

There is one small reason why this is so. There is something horribly rotten at the heart of this nation!

I speak as a staunch nationalist, one who would want to, and work to, make Pakistan the country of the dreams of its founding fathers. But one who is saddened at the state of affairs today. I speak not of headless policy-makers or heartless politicians. I speak of the common man.

There have been many things I have learnt during its fabrication, but manufacturing Kaar has proved to be an eye-opener for me. The assertion is simple. Every man...EVERY single person, whose services we employed, would go to any lengths to eke out those extra bucks that would put his earnings in the shadow of immorality he doesn't actually care about.

While for the guy who changes tires at a shabby square for fifty rupees, there might be justification of need, xxx xxxx xx xxx xxxx-xx-xxxxxxxxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxx xxx Rs. 200,000 xxxxxxxx xxxx xxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxx xx xxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxxx?

My anger vented out slightly, and in hope that I don't get kicked out of college for this...

In a wooden crate and away...

Kaar, ready-and-running, was squeezed into a wooden crate, and loaded onto a container going to Karachi, from where it will be shipped to Malaysia. Hopefully. Without much ado. Hopefully.

One very very very stupid team member forget our camera at his home, and so we failed to give Kaar a fitting photo-shoot before the final sending off. That stupid git! May God have mercy on Kaar on its way...

In racing strips

The Test-track. Kaar managed 2 laps before encountering a slight malfunction.

Kaar on the test-track

The new green-with-white strips Kaar, with more bite than the original colors. Do tell me it looks like a cross between a Bugati, a GT40 and...something green.

Bekaar no more!

With great relief, enthusiasm and some other nice words, we wish to announce that KAAR IS READY!

So extremely extremely technically, we are Bekaar (without-Kaar) no more.

Stupid Sending Off Ceremony

Stupid Shell People organized a stupid sending off ceremony in which they invited the stupid Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gillani to show off the stupid 'talent' of Pakistan.

Team Bekaar and Team UET were the only ones to bring their cars in their entirety, while Pakwheelers and Zaafir also brought their vehicles.

Kaar stole the show as the glimmering body made it onto different news channels :-)

Yaay!

Round 3 :-)

Where have I been sleeping?

The idea of Kaar was one of those shortlisted - propelling it into the next round - in IBA's Invent, the entrepreneurial challenge.

http://invent.iba.edu.pk/news-and-events.php

This is obviously testimony to the corporate promise of this engineering idea! (Ok, just kidding)

Anyhow, this entitles us to PKR 25k!

FORZA KAAR!

Kaar Driver Unscratched in Accident!

Ok...so I am not good with headlines.

But the news is real...Kaar had an unfortunate little accident that saw the roll-bar crumble down AFTER fulfilling its role. Thankfully, Mujahid, who was with the steering wheel, was unhurt in the minor accident.

Preliminary testing underway!

Blots, Bruises, Burns and a shit-load of Commitment

Fact of the matter is that it is not easy to make a car from scratch no matter how elementary. I have no idea how Ferrari makes the 599 or how Volkswagon makes the Beetle. But for us, making Kaar has literally brought forth our sweat and blood.

Good thing is that we had oodles of commitment towards making this project a success...

With a Ying, and a Yang, and a Yippity-Doo

When it dawned on to us...

A nice day to cap a hectic week. Dawn news was there to cover the first test-drive of Kaar, which finally got going today. Making a separate entry for the test run...