Come monsoon… and the very thought of rainfall makes us nostalgic. dark clouds, intermittent showers, green foliage, spick and span black roads, hazy vision, cold weather, smell of soil in the air, earth seems dancing to monsoon tunes…
It was (still is) raining cats and dogs. By 1700 it became gloomy, as I watched out of my office window it started raining heavily. Again, I am the kind of person who wants to get drenched in every rain.
I do enjoy getting soaked in the first showers, just to welcome rains (and to thank god for giving us the much needed respite) … enjoy the rest of the season from the clean-dry surroundings of my office / home :-). Never did I think that I would enjoy the rain driving alone in a car.
Enter my dream possession... a 4x4, MHawk engine, 2.2 liter, Black SCORPIO diesel, this beast changed it all. As I was watching out of my office space, each drop of water hitting the pane was inviting me, challenging me rather… “come out and race with us”. Looking at the torrential rains I could not resist the urge to drive. I crossed my legs, leaned back, I saw my NIKEs’ yelling at me - ‘Just Do It’. I dumped my lappy, stuffed other paraphernalia and left office.
I never dared driving in rain in my old Alto. I must say that, my trusted Maruti, never ditched me midway…never. I always reached home / office early for the fear of breakdown…as low BHP, less torque and ground clearance, smaller wheels etc. made me drive it with extreme caution. But it was very-very reliable and I respect Maruti a lot.
Enter my dream possession... a 4x4, MHawk engine, 2.2 liter, Black SCORPIO diesel, this beast changed it all. As I was watching out of my office space, each drop of water hitting the pane was inviting me, challenging me rather… “come out and race with us”. Looking at the torrential rains I could not resist the urge to drive. I crossed my legs, leaned back, I saw my NIKEs’ yelling at me - ‘Just Do It’. I dumped my lappy, stuffed other paraphernalia and left office.
I never dared driving in rain in my old Alto. I must say that, my trusted Maruti, never ditched me midway…never. I always reached home / office early for the fear of breakdown…as low BHP, less torque and ground clearance, smaller wheels etc. made me drive it with extreme caution. But it was very-very reliable and I respect Maruti a lot.
Anyway back to my (yet to arrive) SCORPIO...
So got myself strapped in the ‘cockpit’, ignition – check, auto headlights - check, auto wiper - check, defogger - check, fog lights - check, iPod with gazals - checked. I was all geared for the wet combat.
...visibility was poor, a few hundred feet may be, streams and growing puddles of water everywhere, potholes camouflaged underneath. Traffic was off-road, small cars were driving slow... almost at halt with their fog lights on… I smiled as I remembered my time during ‘Alto’ days. Trucks were crawling on left. Bikers took shelter where ever they could. And there I was in my mean-machine, feeling safe like in a cocoon.
So got myself strapped in the ‘cockpit’, ignition – check, auto headlights - check, auto wiper - check, defogger - check, fog lights - check, iPod with gazals - checked. I was all geared for the wet combat.
...visibility was poor, a few hundred feet may be, streams and growing puddles of water everywhere, potholes camouflaged underneath. Traffic was off-road, small cars were driving slow... almost at halt with their fog lights on… I smiled as I remembered my time during ‘Alto’ days. Trucks were crawling on left. Bikers took shelter where ever they could. And there I was in my mean-machine, feeling safe like in a cocoon.
All the while the auto wipers were doing their task well - never had to bother changing the speed – they had rain frequency sensors ;). Defogger kept the windscreens clear. Bridgestone Desert Dueler 604V provided that mind blowing grip... Desert duelers were being soaked in rains...they were not complaining.
Once on clear highway, I pressed the paddle and touched 80 KMPH as I wanted enjoy the drive and did not want to finish my drive soon, but my exit came in 5 km. The feeling was so electrifying that decided to drive further along the 4 lane. Another 30 km on the highway, took a ‘U’ turn, and made another 30. I felt I was part of the ‘Highway Patrol’.
Every puddle whizzed past… effortlessly. With an amazing ground clearance of SCORP , today I was hunting down puddles… tackling them head-on rather than steer clear of them…without fearing about water getting in the hood or bottom hitting the road surface.
With ABS light winking at me... reassuring their capability of stopping the beast at short notice.
The performance was numero uno...I was overtaking the fancier breeds like VDIs’ LXIs’, VGT’s etc. and occasional 350i and A4… in rains they all seemed toys… dwarfed!!! Clear patch gave a strong urge to hit the magical number of 100 kmph, but I decided not to... else my dream run would end earlier ;)
Eventually the 5 km drive back home turned into 70 km of sheer pleasure.
"There is no replacement for displacement" - Wolfgang Bernhard, Chief Operating Officer, Chrysler Group
…I want to do this really when I own a Scorpio some day !!! and I will take you all along !!.. until then...enjoy monsoon, drive safe...
simply amazing sirji
ReplyDeleteThanks Parthoji :) let's get ready for the 'Manali to Leh' expedition in our 1400cc lesser god !!
ReplyDeleteNo wonder, one can accomplish many a things in a mere dreamy state. And as far as getting in a SCORPIO, its all in the mind and heart...
ReplyDeleteI am sure that feeling of heart and mind would get into reality very soon...
Till then ... Daalvada ho jaye...
Nice blog.
ReplyDelete