[Guderian]

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Super review!! I enjoyed reading every bit of it. Very well worded! But tell me, how come all the cars in the stockyard are so much covered with dust? Don't they wash the cars at-least once a week?

Hi WAG7, Thanks for the comments !
Normally they'd wash a particular piece only when a delivery is round the corner. Rest lie around forlorn like pups in a pet shop, waiting for a customer to come in. In the early days Maruti used to have a process of washing yard cars and covering them etc. They don't do that any more. When we were purchasing the LoH's Alto K-10 sometime ago - nothing was different.
But I guess Toyota can walk around with their noses in the air as their pieces move rather fast - be it Innova, Etios, Altis.......and yes, possibly the Fortuner.
None of the other manufacturers or dealers do it either. Possibly they'll propagate this cost/effort saving move as - "Go Green", "Caring for the Earth", "Conserving H2O for You" "We Care - to Bare (Our Cars Only)" and what not !

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Sighh...I wish I could buy the completely "Made in Japan" Prado.

Hey Dev, Believe me when I tell you that you wouldn't want to go near a Prado. There was a company Prado lying around and I had a feel of it some months ago. I wasn't happy at all. possibly because it was an old bucket of bolts ! The engine noise could wake up the dead ! A battle tank would have been a pipsqueak next to it. It was fairly well maintained though - but still ! No idea about the newer Prados. Not very impressed shape-wise either. Fortuner looks far more purposeful and is truly, to my eyes, a looker.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
Thanks. But would also like to hear from people who use it on a daily basis.

Scuttle Shake:- Result of insufficient torsional rigidity.

Regards
Sutripta

Hi Su - I guess this scuttle shake is what I refer to as wiggly tail. Never felt it all these days on the Admiral. However it was a regular visitor in the Scorpio.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hey Dev, Believe me when I tell you that you wouldn't want to go near a Prado. There was a company Prado lying around and I had a feel of it some months ago. I wasn't happy at all. possibly because it was an old bucket of bolts ! The engine noise could wake up the dead ! A battle tank would have been a pipsqueak next to it. It was fairly well maintained though - but still ! No idea about the newer Prados. Not very impressed shape-wise either. Fortuner looks far more purposeful and is truly, to my eyes, a looker.

Well, I have sat in and driven a new Prado and I was kind of impressed. It feels better inside, has more features and feels like a luxury SUV. Moreover, it is these Prados and LCs that have earned a reputation for outlasting their owners across continents.

The Fortuner is quite raw in comparison since it is essentially a stripped down version of the Prado to cut costs though it is pretty much the same in terms of mechanicals.

[Guderian]

The Admiral's Charms !

March 8 - 10, 2011.

Bangalore - Belur/Halebid/Belwadi - Chikmangalur - Udupi - Kundapur......cont'd.

The drive to C'lur - was a new road for me. Some portions of the road really rotten, handled very well. I for one, never knew that the T Fort would handle lousy roads with minimal fuss. I guess the large wheels and the suspension really soaked it up. Some amount of vibrations travelled back and that was it. Maybe I was too intent on comparing it to the earlier ride and so wasn't expecting much either. But all the same a pleasant experience.
And then we rolled into the C'mlur coffee estate where we were spending two days. What a delightful place indeed ! We took a do nothing break. We lingered. Yes, it is promoted by a dear friend and an auto enthusiast himself. Anyone interested in knowing about this place or wanting to link up with the promoter - please send me a PM and it'll be my pleasure to give you the details.
Took a million snaps. Sharing a few, which has the star of the show - Fleet Admiral Togo !

At dusk, as we moored the Admiral for the night:


And dawn breaks !





Ravages of the night. A leaf comes knocking :


Two faithfuls - one frame:


Portrait in alertness. This is the estate stray, who has now been adopted for watch and ward duties and we loved the chap. He was our constant companion for two days on all walks etc. We named him Biscuit as he loved pinching tea biscuits from our hands. His original name by the estate labourers was Raja. But he ain't anywhere near a scam, even of a cracker in nature, so we renamed him Biscuit. He's also featured in the latest Outlook Traveller.


Birds of a Feather:


At the origin of River Hemavathy - a short drive from the estate in the neighbouring estate.



The Planter's Bungalow - where we stayed, lived the life of the planters and had the most delightful time of our lives ! The bungalow dates from 1853.


A melange of shots from the drives nearby, the trails and spots. Enchanting place and Admiral Togo was in his element !













Discovering his capabilities was quite a delight. Grip on any surface, thanks to the AWD, ability to power forward. Now to try the HL & LL ranges sometime soon !

[Guderian]

The Admiral's Charms !

March 8 - 10, 2011.

Bangalore - Belur/Halebid/Belwadi - Chikmangalur - Udupi - Kundapur......cont'd.

On Thursday morning before we left for the run of Coastal Karnataka, gave the Admiral a complete rub down after a wash. Was a breeze to do it. After years of maintaining a black Scorpio, the silver coloured Admiral was like a walk in the garden !
Meanwhile asked my son to use his box and snap up some shots of the Admiral. Now this bloke fancies himself to be some sort of an art photographer.......and these were the results of his efforts. Hmmmmm........not too bad I'd say, cause Admiral is truly photogenic and aided his efforts quite a bit !










We left C'mlr with heavy hearts and Biscuit trailing us for quite sometime till the estate gates.
What a delightful break !
And onwards to Kundapur/Kollur via Kudremukh National Park and some great roads and one scenic drive.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Well, I have sat in and driven a new Prado and I was kind of impressed. It feels better inside, has more features and feels like a luxury SUV. Moreover, it is these Prados and LCs that have earned a reputation for outlasting their owners across continents.

The Fortuner is quite raw in comparison since it is essentially a stripped down version of the Prado to cut costs though it is pretty much the same in terms of mechanicals.

Hmmmm......one man's likes are anothers.....! Though not very sure about it.
Anyway as a good project what I think I should do is to compare the T Fort and the Prado. There is a demo Prado at the dealership which the FNSM has been asking me to try out just for a lark. Shall take him up on his offer when I have the time and compare it piece by piece with the Fortuner. That should be a nice way to while away a few hours - some time in the future.
I hope the Admiral doesn't get to hear of this - would make him mighty suspicious of my intentions. Though he is very sure that at this moment and for some long time to come there is no way in hell I can even dream of any 'superior' creature on wheels after purchasing him.
How ? You see he feels my light wallet and nestles it warm, everytime I sit on his comfortable driver's seat !

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Su - I guess this scuttle shake is what I refer to as wiggly tail. Never felt it all these days on the Admiral. However it was a regular visitor in the Scorpio.

Hi,
No, not the wiggly tail.

If one wheel hits a pothole/ bump, and it sets off a (relatively long low frequency) vibration in the car, well thats due to lack of torsional rigidity. Scuttle shake. Most readily observed in convertibles, where removing the hood significantly reduces torsional rigidity.

Regards
Sutripta

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
No, not the wiggly tail.

If one wheel hits a pothole/ bump, and it sets off a (relatively long low frequency) vibration in the car, well thats due to lack of torsional rigidity. Scuttle shake. Most readily observed in convertibles, where removing the hood significantly reduces torsional rigidity.

Regards
Sutripta

Hi,
Ahhh......no, haven't observed that really. Well could be also that I haven't aimed for a pothole that very well ! Didn't feel much of that in the Scorp either.
I thought a Scuttle Shake was what naval crews did/danced after they scuttled their ships, not wanting them to fall into the enemies hands. Something like what the French sailors did in Toulon on Nov 27, 1942 !
Pity to learn it is just a simple ol' vibration in the wheels and body of a vehicle, all because some part doesn't show/have some spine !

[mandheers]

Hearty congratulations! You sure have a thing for the forces, that's all but evident.

My aunt's expecting her T-Fort (that's a nice acronym) to be delivered sometime soon. She likes black and BLACK only, so black it is.

Will surely take it out for a spin when I have the time off my newly acquired Red Beast.

Done reading until end of Act I, Scene III and yes I laughed at your jokes too.

Here's to crunching many thousand miles to come.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi,
Ahhh......no, haven't observed that really. Well could be also that I haven't aimed for a pothole that very well ! Didn't feel much of that in the Scorp either.
I thought a Scuttle Shake was what naval crews did/danced after they scuttled their ships, not wanting them to fall into the enemies hands. Something like what the French sailors did in Toulon on Nov 27, 1942 !
Pity to learn it is just a simple ol' vibration in the wheels and body of a vehicle, all because some part doesn't show/have some spine !

......Ooops - read that as fall into enemy hands !
Sorry - couldn't edit in time.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mandheers

Hearty congratulations! You sure have a thing for the forces, that's all but evident.

My aunt's expecting her T-Fort (that's a nice acronym) to be delivered sometime soon. She likes black and BLACK only, so black it is.

Will surely take it out for a spin when I have the time off my newly acquired Red Beast.

Here's to crunching many thousand miles to come.

Hi Mandy,
Congratulations on the new addition to the family. Black truly is my fave colour too. And the TFort looks gorgeous in black. But for the pressures of living and driving in Mumbai I would have gone for a black TFort.
Have fun driving the black TFort.

Originally Posted by mandheers

Done reading until end of Act I, Scene III and yes I laughed at your jokes too.

You gladden my heart. You're da man !

And many thanks for the good wishes.

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Folks,
Just completed the Bangalore -Chikamangalur-Udipi - Kundapur run about 500 KMs through some superb scenic territory, real twisties and mountainous territory including the Kudremukh National Park (where the only wild animal I spotted was a drunk check post guard !).
Will post the details of the ride experience with snaps which was quite a revelation for me as far as the Admiral T Fort is concerned !

Alpha Kilo reporting in Sir.
bolded part awesome find a very common non-extinct-able species. Regarding your thoughts on the Headlights, I always fear a scorpio coming opposite to my direction. The Halogen is way too powerful even when dipped or probably the ones in chennai are never dipped . On the other hand, when ever I see the T-Fort with the projectors, I feel its subtle and polite rather than the massive politico SUV image of the scorpios and safaris.

Aren't the projectors supposedly better than a normal filament ones?

regarding your take on blind spots, for the left blind spot you can use the mirrors on the prado. The ones on the left extreme outside end of the bonnet.

over n out.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

Alpha Kilo reporting in Sir.
bolded part awesome find a very common non-extinct-able species. Regarding your thoughts on the Headlights, I always fear a scorpio coming opposite to my direction. The Halogen is way too powerful even when dipped or probably the ones in chennai are never dipped . On the other hand, when ever I see the T-Fort with the projectors, I feel its subtle and polite rather than the massive politico SUV image of the scorpios and safaris.

Aren't the projectors supposedly better than a normal filament ones?

regarding your take on blind spots, for the left blind spot you can use the mirrors on the prado. The ones on the left extreme outside end of the bonnet.

over n out.

Hi AK, I resisted the temptation of installing a fender mirror for one reason - the after market drilling of the fender. Hate it - as proper precautions are not taken by the even the company dealers as a result at a later stage rusting starts from these very drill holes. In a factory process the metal holes are drilled first and then the paint tank dip is the next process.
However in the Scorpio the fender mirrors were fastened without the drilling as I understood. But never fixed it.
You'd be surprised that the political class' current fave is the TFort for projection of power. Nothing like a white TFort, dark tints and a political party's sticker on the number plate.

Over but not out - not as yet anyway !

[ajman28]

Dear Guderian,

First of all congratulation on acquiring the Admiral.

This is a beautiful, beautiful thread. You have made the simple joy of ownership into an extremely entertaining piece of story which I am sure has brought a smile to many members.

Thank you.

The thread gets a 5 star rating.

Rgds,
Aj

[AlphaKilo]

AK reporting in again sir:

I actually saw in a car shop near my home, a similar fender mirror being attached on a safari. I spoke to the mechanic. He named some funky chinky super-glue which would not spoil the paint in case you need to peel it off. But my 2 cents use Fevicol.(Fevicol ka jod hain tuttega nahi)

Any idea of modding the interiors? How is the rear bench cooling? Well this question is for your 1 dollar passengers. Sir if I bring in people for 10 INR, can I get a free ride?

over sir