[Guderian]

Originally Posted by dkaile

^ Nice photos
Observation-
1. - The faux wood shade on the upcoming corolla is really nice ; much darker; this one's is nearly the same as my corolla - plasticky
- Too much chrome? more the merrier...
2. - The stepney retrieval system is the same as on the qualis
3. - do you really think the side body cladding is that important?

Hi dkaile,
Thanks.
1. I would have liked it if there was no was no wood at all...faux or any-type. Simple, good quality, understated plastic would have been fine. Or if very concerned - tightly held leather inserts. Would have made it look plush. Right now its rather gauche.

2. Yeah and continues to remain rather cumbersome too ! Some items take a long time to change eh ? Like that grammar on the ORVMs.
It would have been much better if they could have, as a part of design improvement, added a high quality rubber protector around the aperture to prevent damage to the bumper and paint. Something like this (in the snap below) - which can be replaced easily after some wear and tear :


And also improve the quality of the tommy - a three piece, fragile, contraption now.

3. In Mumbai as I have mentioned earlier the side cladding is a real boon. Does help protect the metal skin and door edges underneath. Please see the last Sunday's post where in the door's opening/s in restricted spaces means that the cladding took the beating and not the metal.
Also, to my eye, the cladding gives the TFort a muscular look !

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Good Evening General (Attack!),

I do not want to bore you and followers of your channel by saying how good and unique you are in sharing regular update of your ride.

2. Thanks, I have seen those pics and read few paragraph about the general. It may sound a bit off-topic (again!, you see, I have to think twice before posting anything in your fantastic ownership thread so that I don't get infractions, still taking the risk!) it reminds me, couple of my favorite movies - Where Eagles Dare and Operation Day Break (though not directly related to the general but related to the consequences, somewhat)

3. BTW, today it rained heavily in Pune and I was driving that time with very minimum visibility (11:30am - 12:30pm), and for around 02kms I was sandwiched by 2 Fortuners, white one in front and I was enjoying the black one on my orvms. One funny thing with these vehicles, especially in-front is - my avg. speed increases, because the auto-wallas and cabs gives way easily and one need to just follow the brig-bro

Hi AA7, Many thanks for the words of appreciation and thanks for being around.

OT - Operation Daybreak is one of my favourite war movies - and especially the last scene which has been so skillfully picturised - of the cards gently floating away in the water used to flush out the members of the Czech & Slovak resistance who got Heydrich.
Well Where Eagles Dare was a so-so school day movie seen mainly for Richard Burton and Clint really.

3. That's nice. Idea ! Why don't you get a TFort and have it to be your leading escort through the dense traffic of Pune ? While you peacefully potter around the road behind it in your regular ride ?!!

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Good Evening General (Attack!),

Right, heard that, loud and clear, the first time around !

[F150]

Originally Posted by F150

Was it Poona motors ? I went there to ask for Bosch Wipers, he said he has a imported product which is more or less equivalent. I was not able to find any dealer information on BOSCH wipers, so had to go with what poona motors offered. I purchased a set of wipers for my swift @ Rs 600. These are obviously better than the stock wipers, no noise what so ever. But I cannot comment on the comparison with BOSCH.

Worst experience today, it was raining in the evening today while driving to my home, all of a sudden my wipers started making that krr krr krr krr sound. I drove straight to poona motors to get it checked,I was offered a replacement but swift wipers are out of stock. I told him I want bosch aerotwins, and I was told they cost Rs 900 per wiper which makes a set cost Rs 1800. I was surprised at the pricing. I need your help to find the exact price of bosch aerotwins. I will also ring up the dealers tomorrow, all of them shut shop for today. Finally Poona motors offered to replace my wipers with bosch aerotwins and I will pay the difference X-600.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by F150

Worst experience today,

Sorry to hear that F150...do check whether what Poona Chaps gave you was an original Swift replacement. Otherwise no reason for it to go krr...krr..so fast.
And that price quoted for Aerotwins may be a little too high is what I think, as I was always under the impression that it costed about 900 a pair - but no harm in carrying out a survey. Do let us know !

[mdsaab]

Seems like yet another perfect sunday you had there.
The chrome photo's you clicked are nice, like the reflection of the cars from the door handles.
The wood panel, Yikes! Toyota need to do something about that and FAST! How about a re-call and free upgrade to the new Corolla darker shade?
Little Tommy is a bit fiddly eh? LOL!
This Stanley franchise is a huge success on the big screen and now the assembly line too.
Nice mini meet up snaps, reminds me off the meet we had not too long ago.
Look forward to a meet up soon.
Chicca's work shall begin today, look forward to getting her back home soon.
Drive Safe!

[F150]

Originally Posted by Guderian

Sorry to hear that F150...do check whether what Poona Chaps gave you was an original Swift replacement. Otherwise no reason for it to go krr...krr..so fast.
And that price quoted for Aerotwins may be a little too high is what I think, as I was always under the impression that it costed about 900 a pair - but no harm in carrying out a survey. Do let us know !

Admiral,
I have checked the prices with Tapia enterprises,hadapsar. The prices are as below.
Regular Bosch wipers - Rs 340
Bosch aerotwins - Rs 1750
The above prices are dealer prices, and certainly there is room for negotiation.

[Guderian]

I Miss...

Hi,
Admiral Togo, my T-Fort, had crossed 7.5K KMs on the odo and over 3 months of ownership a few days ago and I thought it was about time I put up a note - on not the comparision between Guderian the Scorp and Admiral - but on what I miss in the Admiral today ! And remember Guderian is a Sept 2005 creation and the Admiral a Feb 2011 born...

1. I certainly miss the VMS box...or the Voice Messaging ! Believe me when it
came out many people simply trashed it as a major irritant but I was pretty
neutral and didn't deactivate even a single warning - not even the welcome
address on the first start after 12 hours. And today I really miss it. In the
Scorp it saved me from trouble many times - Handbrakes engaged, door open,
fasten seat belts warning etc etc did help me on many, many occassions. And
today when I slip into Admiral in the morning I certainly miss the welcome,
however corny ! The VMS somehow gave Guderian a very human touch. And to think that in some parts of the country the Scorp SLX those days was sold as 'The Talking Car' !!!

2. I miss the windshield washing system - front and back is far more comprehensive, I dare say sophisticated too and ergonomically better designed on Guderian, the Scorp. As mentioned earlier here, the Scorp washer programme has a delayed last single swipe of the wiper after a spray and initial couple of swipes which is missing in the T-Fort. This helps mop up the last streaks of water that come down from the arc above. A very neat feature on the Scorp - helps safety and concentration on driving. Also the rear windshield wash system was far more easier to use, thanks to the button/switch located on the dash, than the current stem based one on the TFort which is ergonomically not very convenient, at least for me.

3. The stepney (spare tyre) stowaway mechanism is far more easy to use, for
bringing down and securing the spare tyre, on the Scorp than the cumbersome
mechanism on the T-Fort what with its three piece tommy tool as well ! Far more robust as well I think despite the elephant chain holding the spare in place on the TFort.

4. Engine bay layout - was far more easier to clean Guderian's E- bay !

5. The steel panels on the 2005 CRDes were worthy of being fitted on a battletank ! Not that the TFort panels are bad but the Scorps panels of those days were really magnificient.

6. Steering wheel grip was lovely. Chunky feel.And when I swathed it in leather- simply grand. But of course now very used to the not so thin wheel of the TFort.

7. The rear door system is better than the hatch on the TFort to deploy in
places very short of space. Much easier to just open the door a wee bit and pull out things in a crunch situation. The max space is on the side of the door and not underneath like with the hatch when opening it a wee bit.

8. Loved the body coloured outer and inner door handles and OVRMs on the Scorp. The chrome on the TFort is gauche !

9. The steel but 'alloyish' or 'mag' looking wheels of the 2005 CRDes. Neat
design. TFort alloys are well...so so...

10. Roof rails were much better designed and solid on Guderian.

11. The rear step ! Surprised ? It really gave the Scorp a retro look ! I liked
it and it also saved me many a blushes acting like a shield when blindly
reversing.

12. And finally behaviour - Guderian had a very impish, boyish demeanour with a lot of verve and wave. Admiral keeps throwing back at me in behaviour and looks a very mature (over mature ?) and sort of sarcastic outlook to life.
("Hmmm...you are cleaning my engine bay ? Good, but remember even if you don't nothing's going to change and you certainly are not doing me a favour").
Not sure as of now whether I like or dislike it ! But then as they say as you age this is the kind of behaviour that you need to portray ! Or is it ?

Ahhh...so many memories...but then life is all about moving on and perhaps progress !

[dkaile]

^
The Toyota's are famous for being "boring" vehicles. Why? Because they get the work done "without" any fuss involved, which somehow people like in their other cars... the feeling of involvement, perhaps.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Seems like yet another perfect sunday you had there.
The chrome photo's you clicked are nice, like the reflection of the cars from the door handles.
The wood panel, Yikes! Toyota need to do something about that and FAST! How about a re-call and free upgrade to the new Corolla darker shade?
Little Tommy is a bit fiddly eh? LOL!
This Stanley franchise is a huge success on the big screen and now the assembly line too.
Nice mini meet up snaps, reminds me off the meet we had not too long ago.
Look forward to a meet up soon.
Chicca's work shall begin today, look forward to getting her back home soon.
Drive Safe!

Hi mdsaab, Thanks.
Glad to hear about Chicca's progress !

Originally Posted by F150

Admiral,
I have checked the prices with Tapia enterprises,hadapsar. The prices are as below.
Regular Bosch wipers - Rs 340
Bosch aerotwins - Rs 1750
The above prices are dealer prices, and certainly there is room for negotiation.

Hi F150, Thanks - that is indeed useful information. Those Aerotwins are really pricey indeed !

Originally Posted by dkaile

^
The Toyota's are famous for being "boring" vehicles. Why? Because they get the work done "without" any fuss involved, which somehow people like in their other cars... the feeling of involvement, perhaps.

Hi dkaile, You bet ! And I am discovering that KM after KM.
Perhaps the lack of fancy bells and whistles, except the most essential, in most of their vehicles as well the fact that there are minimum niggles leads to a feeling that Toyota vehicles lack character !
Well between character and niggles free, bells and whistles free sorroundings of the Toyota - I'll take the Toyota please ! Thank you.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by Guderian

I Miss...

Hi,
Admiral Togo, my T-Fort, had crossed 7.5K KMs on the odo and over 3 months of ownership a few days ago and I thought it was about time I put up a note - on not the comparision between Guderian the Scorp and Admiral - but on what I miss in the Admiral today ! And remember Guderian is a Sept 2005 creation and the Admiral a Feb 2011 born...

Ahhh...so many memories...but then life is all about moving on and perhaps progress !

General thats a long list you have here which you miss. So then the question came to my mind why did you let the Guderian go. But got the answer at the end of the post - Life certainly moves on....

I guess there was a tinge of sadness and misty eyed General while putting in this post.

[mdsaab]

Loved the Comparo between the Scorp and TFort.
lot's of points mentioned there, and clearly shows a well planned vehicle from Mahindra.
Giving you lots of bits to miss, even though you upgraded to a vehicle which costs almost twice as much. I think that's saying quite a lot.
Keep em coming...
Drive Safe!

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by F150

Admiral,
Regular Bosch wipers - Rs 340
Bosch aerotwins - Rs 1750
The above prices are dealer prices, and certainly there is room for negotiation.

Hi F150, What I'll also do is that on the weekend shall try and get the prices of these babies here in Thane. I think I've spotted a Bosch service station near my residence. No harm in popping across. Let's see if there's a difference.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

General thats a long list you have here which you miss. So then the question came to my mind why did you let the Guderian go. But got the answer at the end of the post - Life certainly moves on....

I guess there was a tinge of sadness and misty eyed General while putting in this post.

Hi Amit, Frankly there is no tinge of sadness any more - have got over it. I think (sniff).
However it truly was a look at the two vehicles at a sort of superficial level from the user's point of view. And a realisation that the Ol' boy never let me down. Not once. And also realised that 'we' (the family & I) had a lot of pleasant memories associated with it. And only pleasant.

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Loved the Comparo between the Scorp and TFort.
lot's of points mentioned there, and clearly shows a well planned vehicle from Mahindra.
Giving you lots of bits to miss, even though you upgraded to a vehicle which costs almost twice as much. I think that's saying quite a lot.
Keep em coming...
Drive Safe!

Hi mdsaab, Thanks.
The old CRDe Scorp was truly a magnificient creature - for the price of course. I wouldn't even want to compare it to the current lot of MHaHas.
But then let me also state that I had no options as well when talking a call on the new ride except the TFort. Even though it has its own woes and there is nothing called a perfect vehicle even today, as before. But then its positives far outweighed the negatives. And so it was - the decision. And of course I knew that the TFort met a majority of my requirements though the price was a pain.
Comparision was in bits and pieces - in terms of missing features or what appeared to be features (Rear step ? I got to be kidding - didn't use it even once !) but overall as a package I am clear which one wins even after equating the price. T-Fort of course before anyone pops the Q !
But yes and at the cost of repetition let me state those early Scorps were really something. And I of course like those pre- CRDe Scorps the TDI ones which were/are even tougher.

[mdsaab]

Went to Tapia this evening and got the Matiz wipers changed.
The Boss was out of country just as he had mentioned, So spoke to Joseph the manager.
The cost for a pair of Bosch SADA wipers for the Matiz was 325.
Did not bargain just picked them up. Could have probably got them for 300.
But was in a hurry so just picked them up, got them fitted, and left.
The cost of Aerotwins varies according to the size of the wiper.
The range starts from 700 to 1200 for 1 wiper.
So if your wipers are of the same size just double the figure.
and for the Civic it will set you back by 2600 a pair .
The civic ones are a special size and hence the price difference.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by noopster

What OE wipers do Jap cars come with?

Mine are Bosch! Perks of having a German car I guess!

Hey Noops,
Finally checked the Admiral's make of wipers. Had to twist and crane etc and finally discovered that they are NWB...or Nippon Wiper Blades...possibly made in Malaysia or Japan. We'll see how good they are duly.

And now that you have German (Bosch) wiper blades all that is left is to have a Japanese car behind it, to complete your bliss !!!

Originally Posted by mdsaab

Went to Tapia this evening and got the Matiz wipers changed.

Hi mdsaab,
Thanks for the info. Going by the quotes here the Aerotwins are indeed pricey.
What I think I'll do is to complete the life of the NWBs on the Admiral - if good then continue into the next change with NWB (will also retain the Admiral in stock condition !) if not go in first for Sada Bosch, test it out and then go for Aerotwins.
Any idea what is the additional value add from the Aeros ?

And futher...vignettes from the daily drive:

- As I drove down to work today, saw a black Innova with GJ 16C XXXX number plate with a sticker on the rear windshield - My Place of Birth East Africa.
Now what is that all about ? First time, for my eyes at least. Thank God there was not other clarification - My Place of Conception.....! Or some such thing.

- The local hordes are back on the roads of Mumbai, after the summer vacations. Groan.
And the FE readings from the MID showed an immediate fall, since yesterday, to 12.3 KMPL from a range of 12.5 - 12.8 KMPL.

Toodely hoo !

[dot]

Originally Posted by Guderian

We'll see how good they are duly.

With the volume of rain that Bombay normally gets, I am not surprised that you have a concern here. However I have a feeling that the stock wipers will sail through and wont wipe off that smile.

Originally Posted by Guderian

go in first for Sada Bosch, test it out and then go for Aerotwins.

Sada Bosch, DK Bosch, Aerotwins (reminds me of Douglas DC3 somehow). Just leave the stocks alone (sorry Roger Waters)

Originally Posted by Guderian

with a sticker on the rear windshield - My Place of Birth East Africa.
Now what is that all about ? First time, for my eyes at least. Thank God there was not other clarification - My Place of Conception.....! Or some such thing.

OT:
Probably some unmet psychological defence mechanism (Was watching Shutter Island yesterday. Could not complete as son had to watch Penguins and Avatar).

[f1fan]

Originally Posted by Guderian

As I drove down to work today...

Guderian,

I have been following your thread from day 1 but this is the first time I am writing here. It has been an excellent thread to read about your experience with the T-fort.

By any chance, where you driving on the EEH today. Noticed an silver colored MH-04 ET-XXXX T-fort at approx 7:50 AM near Godrej junction with a T-bhp sticker on the back. The only vehicle I could think was yours, hence posting here.

I also did take some snaps of the vehicle. Will post later (if it was you).

Cheers
f1fan