Let's make cars more lively, are you listening the Car Makers?

What is luxury?

The first definition, which Google suggests is a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense. However, latter part of the definition may not be always right because, for an instance, an access to greenery or fresh air is luxury for me while for the people living in forests or mountains it’s just part of life. Or in another sense, luxury can be defined to achieve something you craved for. In addition, in this sense, I want to have one luxurious feature in my car, which I don’t find in any of the available cars in India.

So, what’s this feature which I call luxurious?

Through out the year when I am driving car in NCR, there is at least 30% times when I wish a special feature in my car. This feature is something, which should allow fresh air inside the cabin.

You moron! Don’t you have AC in your car? It has fresh mode. And even if you don’t have AC, who stops you pulling the window glass down.

Hahaha, I know and I have AC in my car and that’s also FATC. But point is I don’t want processed air which has come up through the evaporator core, picking up a stale smell from the evaporator and always at higher temperature than that of outside air. I want it direct.

What nonsense are you talking? Again, who is stopping you from pulling the window glass down?

Hahaha. It’s direct but sideways. I want direct from the front. I want to have a feel of soft fresh breeze over my face, over my body like the one gets while riding the bike at lower speed.

But there are sunroof in cars to have a feel of bike and more?

I know but I don’t think you can enjoy that feel while driving a car even though it has SUNrooof. Sunroof is a luxury. Somebody might have thought, wished and got the car with sunroof. Why not another luxury feature!

Okay... what is the feature?

Hnm, So now you are ready to understand this feature. OK. I’ll explain. But before I go to the feature details, let me explain it’s utility first.

To understand the utility of the concept, 3 cities of India have been considered. The data for ambient temperature pattern as shown in the graphs has been taken from  www.worldweatheronline.com. As per the yearly temperature data of Bangalore, during most of the time of the year temperature is between 20 deg C to 30 deg C. This temperature range is called comfort range. It means, for the cities like Bangalore, if my car has a feature which allows fresh air from the front, I don't need to on the AC most of the time as ambient temperature falls in comfort range. The thick blue arrow shows the time period when comfort range is available for 24 hours / day and it is named as 'Blue comfort range' while thick purple arrow represents the time period of the year when comfort range is available for certain hours a day and it is named as 'Purple comfort range'. Therefore, it is clear that fresh air feature, which will be explained in the consequent paragraph, is very useful for the cities like Bangalore.
for the cities like New Delhi, where ambient temperature is higher, also witness comfort range temperature during certain period every year. As shown in Temperature graph of New Delhi, from October to April Purple comfort range is available. Therefore, fresh air feature is useful for the cities like Delhi also.

 The another city considered for ambient temperature analysis for fresh air feature is Pune. As it is clear from graph that Blue comfort range is available from June to January and Purple comfort range is available from January to June. In contrast to the Bangalore temperature, Pune witnesses Blue comfort range for longer duration each year. It means cities like Pune will be most beneficial by new luxurious feature.

So, now I think the utility of new fresh air feature is clear. Now, the details of the new fresh air feature can be summarised as
1. The feature will be available just at the top edge of front windshield where it meets the roof edge.
2. This feature will be applicable for driver as well as co-driver side.
3. This feature has filter provision which can be cleaned on time to time basis.
4. This feature will have adjusted openings which allow required fresh air flow directly to the driver / co-driver.
5. This feature will incorporates design methodology which helps it to give soft breeze in cabin at any vehicle speed.
6. The feature design should ensure the noise due to air  entry is within acceptable ( < 70 dBA)  limit.
7. The feature does not foul with wiper.
8. The feature design should ensure no water entry inside cabin in rainy season.

The above image shows the location of fresh air feature in side view of a car. The feature location can be easily accessed by hand for it's operation. (On/Off/speed variation)

Why this feature is desirable provided fresh air can be have in car through 1. HVAC 2. Side Window ?

The first answer is- FEEL while another reasons are

1. HVAC air in fresh mode is little bit hot because there is always some hot air leakage in HVAC.

2. HVAC air odour does not feel good.

3. Driving with open side glass is noisy and unsafe.

The silver bangles

It's been probably 3 or 4 weeks old when I told a story to Neha. Probably it was not a complete story, which I had freshly picked from the lift of my society when coming up to my flat at 24th floor. it was a incident or a general conversation of a group of persons, that I listened in the lift. I keep on making Neha bored with my fresh observations, some stories, office work related talks and some mechanical stuff of cars and buildings. This story was also like any general conversation I had with Neha.

It was Sunday, around 12 in the noon. I was coming from a saloon after hair cut when I entered the lift after four maids in a age group 25-50 years old. It hardly takes one minute to reach my floor, which is top most of the building, from the ground and all maids had to get off somewhere in between as the button panel showed. So, basically it's a few seconds conversation of maids among themselves which I found compelling to share with Neha as I reached my flat.

conversation went like this:

Maid1: Tabiyat kaisi hai? (How are you? How's your health?)

Maid2: Tabiyat sahi kaise rehbe. time se roti hi nai milti. ye waqt ho gya hai (12 in the noon) par abhi tak roti hi naseeb nahi hui. (how can it be good! we cant get food on time. It's 12 in the noon, still I am empty stomach.)

Maid1: sahi keh ri ho. waqt se namki roti mil jaye to insaan kabhi beemar na pade. (you are right. If one could get minimal food on time, one would never fall ill.)

All agreed because all had the same problem. I also agreed upto some extent because same fact applies to my maid and I know she also comes to my home empty stomach. That's another thing that Neha offers her tea or something to eat sometimes.

"Yaar, they are struggling to get couple of roti timely. After so many years of independence, poverty is widespread." I said to Neha.

Today evening, when I enter the lift at ground floor, the maid2 and a boy, who looked 12-13 years old, also entered after me.

"Namastey aunty. kaise ho? (Good evening. how are you Aunty?)" The boy said cheerfully in heavy voice which was quite contrary to his physique. His voice was the proof that he had just entered the adolescence. 

"Badiya. (I am good)" maid said.

He smiled, slightly looked towards me and said, "bas sab badiya rehna chahiye. Aur kya chahiye jindagi mein. (yes, all should be well. After all, what else one wants in life?)" 

Such heavy words from a young boy!

"Mitti lag gayi hogi. (I think it's mud.)" The boy said when he found the maid scratching her torn out, old thick bangles. 

"Na. pani ka kaam krne me kharab ho gayi.(No, it's torn out due to house hold work which involves water.)" she said and got off the lift at certain floor.

The boy looked at me and said, "kisi maaldar ki bethi hogi. chaandi ke kade pehan rakhe. (she must be some rich dad's daughter. she is wearing bangles made of silver.)"

I smiled, still his words buzzing in my mind. "tum doodh deliver karte ho. (you give home delivery of milk)" I said as he was carrying two packets of amul tond milk. I looked at his clothes which had multiple holes in it but his facial expressions full of happiness.

He nodded in approval.

"Tumhe kaise pata ki ye chaandi ki hai? (how do you know bangles are made of silver?)" I enquired.

"wo dikh rahi hai esi. (they seemed to be so.)"

Her bangles looked quite old, torn out. I smiled again and said, "wo chaandi ki nahi hai. wo artificial hai. (they are not made of silver. they are artificial.)" 

"Hnm" he said convincingly. "chaandi ka pani hoga. (they must be having a layer of silver polish)"

I said, "Yes" and he got off the lift at another certain floor.

The boy unknowingly had completed the story. The concept of riches and poverty is just a parameter of relative comparison and perception while happiness is an absolute thing. 

And then I repeated the incomplete story and shared the complete one to Neha.