AutoExpo 2014 : A business day invite and loads of fun

Its never easy being a blogger and even never easy to say no to a business day invite to an exclusive event to the Autoexpo 2014 - the grand daddy of all motorshows in India. I had just got a call for the business day invite to Autoexpo by Honda. Decided to go for it this time as I had always heard that how grand it was and all such stuff. The next day it was destination Greater Noida. Along with Prashant, I was the other person heading there. I was carrying no expectations and it was all a case of lets go and see it for myself.

Even though it was a business day but there was a huge rush. Thanks to Diwakar, we had our business passes ready. We made an entry and immediately figured out that was it pathetic in terms of marking of ways and directions. There was no place which was clearly defined and marked out. Had it not been for Diwakar guiding us, we would have not been able to make our way to the hall. Hall no. 14 straight infront and Hall no. 9 to the left. Dont know what were the planners thinking?

So we were in the Honda hall now surrounded by beauties ( the cars as well as the models). It was a really tough competition. After roaming here and there, clicking pics and observing the Honda hall it was time for the presentation to start. A nice video about the existing and upcoming better technologies from Honda so that the environment doesnt suffer. I was surprised to note that the future engines of Honda would be somewhat smiliar to the KERS systems of Formula 1 cars where braking energy is stored as kinetic energy and can be used later on. Thats what I call as #STEPINTOTHEFUTURE. 

Asimo

Dancing to Bollywood beats

Everybody must have remembered ASIMO- the almost human robot from Honda who made waves years back in the world. He did make an appearance here too... on the screen and challenged a few of us for a Dance. Match his moves and prove you have it in you for some rythm.

Next infront of us was Franz Harary- the famous illusionist who had made the Taj Mahal dissapear. Now it was his turn to shower some illusions on us. He took a ring from one of us and made it dissapear before our own eyes...and where did it appear??? In the hands of a girl inside an empty barrel kept behind him. How did he do it I dont know. Next he called up a guy and suspended him mid air while removing the supports from beneath to prove it was real...now I am speechless. I know it was all illusion but how did it happen I didnt knew ever. He left and we were given a chance to experience Honda Mobilio first hand. 

                             

The model there at Autoexpo was an Indonesian one and I just could not experience it in home conditions as I could not gauge the real thing. When it comes to India, there would be a lot of changes in it so that it suits the Indian market and the Indian consumer. I got the chance so I experienced it otherwise I was really not happy. The carmakers should atleast put up only those models which they would launch. It looked just like the world was offering F-22 Raptor jet ( the fighter customised to American needs) when the Indian Air Force really needs is an Sukhoi 30 MKI (tailor made for Indian pilots). Such a mismatch.

Its not that I didnt like any cars from Honda..all eyes were on the concept cars- they were sleek, beautiful and awesome. Just stole the heart ( yeah...the car, not the model this time). The Honda Vision XS -1 was cooool... it had a digital speed console just like from the Need for speed series and doors which opened just like the Batmobile. They slided back, not upwards. We were the privileged few to capture the shots of those concept cars although touching them was out of bounds. We could go only as far as the camera would allow us.

The show stealer for me was the Honda NSX. Dont knew what all I held inside itself in terms of performance and power but it looked a total mean machine.

The Honda Accord Hybrid was another concept car but after seeing XS 1 and NSX it looked just like water after wine. The real power was with the real 2. Waise....how much price for the NSX ??

Honda City.. one of the most successful cars from the stable of Honda. Its new with sunroof , a bit more comfortable backseats, front ones seemed a bit narrow and they come in Diesel, Petrol variants - manual and automatic both.

For the rest of the cars and the rest of the AutoExpo we could see in the limited time we had afterwards, I take you on a tour of the various pics clicked. The most Impressive stall was BMW nevertheless. Awesome cars and even a covered up Formula 1 car waiting to be unveiled later on. That was awesome.

                         

Mobilio console

In the end it all came down to how I saw it -

1. Even on the last business day, there was such a rush that i was thinking what would happen on the general days.

2. Parking was a problem that day and jams would surely follow once the event got over each day.

3. A lot of people would surely go lost - no clearly defined ways or directions on the outside and not to mention nobody knows where the food court is, which is darn expensive.

4. Its all a mixture of glamour and cars. The glamour factor being the girls standing besides the cars and they surely do know about the car and its specifications like the back of their hand. 

I might have gone the next year too but seeing how ill organised it has been this yaer, I think I`ll give it a miss. Although I and my friends would have loved to explore a bit more but time was surely not on my side and seeing how chaotic it was, was in no mood to go again - on a sunday too. I`ll just relax thinking about the experience I got on getting an exclusive chance to see the concept cars...nobody from the public would be allowed I am sure. Like I said, being a blogger comes with its own set of advantages.

The group