[Ram]

Photos moved to the initial post. -Mod Team

[sajo]

Nice car! The car must be feeling right at home on the expressway! But with just 210Kms on the Odo...How does the engine feel when stretched?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by sajo

Nice car! The car must be feeling right at home on the expressway! But with just 210Kms on the Odo...How does the engine feel when stretched?

Didn't stretch it!

Drove at a sedate 80-95 km/hr stopping and parking at two tea-shops on the way to let the engine and brakes, break-in properly.

I had to load the engine by accelerating gently in all gears, alternating between short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration to properly load the piston rings and help them seat.

Alternated between 4th and 5th gears on the expressway.

Saturday and Sunday have been lovely rainy days.

Yesterday, I started out from Pune at 08:30. On the expressway, it was pouring in sheets everywhere!

After the Talegaon tollstation, are the Kamshet tunnel#2 and Kamshet tunnel#1. After the tunnels, I pulled over at a place called Pimploli-Taje to enjoy hot wada pav and hot masala tea, and marvel at the copious rain, the misty green mountains and lovely travellers.

Reached home in Mumbai at 11:30.

The Baleno drove like a dream.

Ram

[Ram]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

'allo 'allo

congrats on your latest addition to the family, enjoy the "new car smell" while you can...

geez, this car is getting bloody popular...id better brush up on it...

cheers
karl

Thanks Karl.

The leathery, plastic, rubber scent that you smell when you get behind the wheel is indeed, one of things heaven is made of, for petrol-heads like us. Never fails to seduce and attract.

Nearly every lining, molding and panel in a modern car interior is made of cloth, rexine or plastic pasted with adhesives and sealers. These adhesives have volatile solvents that evaporate over time giving off a gentle hint of their characteristic odor.

Phthalate plasticizers used in PVC and other plastics generate much of the pleasant scent of a new car.

Genuine tanned leather tends to give off a faint zoo odor (remember the odor in a Bata shop), so some amount of artificial fragrance is added to the leather to get a fresh smell.

My Baleno has the added odor of the artificial leather seats.

[Technocrat]

Great pics Ram, Congrats again

[kpzen]

Congrats...
WElcome to team Baleno
Nice pics ram..!!!

[Nagaraj]

Hi Ram,
Congrats!!!!!!

Welcome to the Club Baleno. You have taken a right decision. Enjoy the car. Have a safe motoring....

Bye,
Nagaraj

[adya33]

A bit late to the party but congratulations RAM.
Good choice with the colour.

[theMAG]

Ram,

Congrats on your new car! I must also congratulate you on your gorgeous residential settings - there's something about lush greenery that makes all my stress melt away!

You also seem to have quite a poet in you - your recording "...and marvel at the copious rain, the misty green mountains and lovely travellers" made me want to be at that very place at this very moment you described this from !

[Ram]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Ram,

Congrats on your new car! I must also congratulate you on your gorgeous residential settings - there's something about lush greenery that makes all my stress melt away!

You also seem to have quite a poet in you - your recording "...and marvel at the copious rain, the misty green mountains and lovely travellers" made me want to be at that very place at this very moment you described this from !

Thanks for the compliments, Mahesh. I really enjoy the greenery too. And besides, it's great to wake up to a Sunday dawn, ...the smell of filter coffee and toast, with song-birds of all kinds singing in the trees -- bulbuls, cuckoos and the hooting of the great Himalayan coucal...

Makes you almost feel it not Bombay.

BTW, is that cute dog with the tennis ball, your pet?
Ram

[moralfibre]

Kewl pics and a great description. What speakers do you have?

[condor]

Originally Posted by ram

The leathery, plastic, rubber scent that you smell when you get behind the wheel is indeed, one of things heaven is made of, for petrol-heads like us. Never fails to seduce and attract.

And the sound of the engine is music to the ears!

Ram, congrats on your new love.

I think rainy days can be good photo days - the light's not too harsh. Btw, do you do a lot of Skynnrd?

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by ram

BTW, is that cute dog with the tennis ball, your pet?
Ram

Yeh - that's my cute 50 kg German Shepherd

[Ram]

Originally Posted by condor

And the sound of the engine is music to the ears!

Ram, congrats on your new love.

I think rainy days can be good photo days - the light's not too harsh. Btw, do you do a lot of Skynnrd?

Thanks for the sentiment.
Rainy days do have a uniform, diffuse, subdued light, but you must take care not to soak your camera!

BTW -- about Lynnrd Skynnrd -- the Southern rock band. Why did you associate me with them?

Ram

[GTO]

Congrats Ram! Good choice with the Baleno. After living with the 800 and the Padmini, your Baleno must feel like a dream.

I bought an Esteem VXI, and after a decade in an 800 / Padmini family, it felt like the best car on earth. Its still running reliable at close to 2,00,000 kms but the time to sell is just around the corner.

GTO