The Difference Between Needs And Wants

For those that have me met more than a couple of times, you know how much I love beautiful things. I am sort of a beauty junkie. I actually intent to write about that topic. I just love finding beauty. I go on beauty hunting days to get a glimpse of the beauty in the world. My weapon is my digital camera. I search restlessly until I find beauty. In any case, loving beauty so much, I love it in nature but also in material objects. I can't really like a Bugatti even if it is the faster most expensive cars ever: you need to install the roof top on the convertable yourself and, at 2.5 million dollars, I think the engineering should be better. I dream of owning a Porsche Carrera 4S, navy blue with beige interior. In the past, I wanted a SAAB 900S and also a mid 1990's Jaguar Vanden Plas and had pleasure in driving both them.

I guess the Porsche is coming up next. Most people that I have spent some time with me know how spiritual I am. I am not religious but believe in the world of the non visible. Can both spirituality and materialism go together? I will write about that later. On rare occasions, some people visited my "in transit playground" as I like to call it; an apartment I rented to be close to my brother and until I find where I really wanted to live. Well, my playground is the absolute basic. There is no fluff, no luxury, no expensive stuff. I just maybe don't really care about expensive stuff. Isn't there a contradiction? No. In fact, I believe there is huge gap between wants and needs and when the difference is understood, we stand one step closer to pure bliss. So, I live in a tiny apartment next to the river, with the bare necessities in it. When all people around me are chasing the newest technologies and running after the trendiest purchase. I think I found out I had enough.

Or maybe, don't want to invest since I am in transit. Or maybe, I feel I had it all. So, there lies the main difference between wants and needs. I feel like a real kid a lot of times. I love to laugh and play. I admire the world like a child and am grateful to be able to do so most of the time regardless of what my personal circumstances are. It took some practice though and I am still learning how to go back in childhood. As a child, I have super duper wants of great stuff like Porshes' and a cool Yamaha motorcycle like the one Lara Croft rides. I want beautiful things because of the beauty junky in me. I won't pay the high price for them though, that would be insane. I remember in my twenties, I had gone to a car show. I just loved looking at all the spectacular new models. It felt exhilarating. Yet, that time, I was struggling financially.

I was working full time to pay for my full time University studies and doing radio shows for the love of hearing my voice I guess and for the passion of reading books. But, I was tired and broke. 7,000 a year and my school only cost me almost half of that. I created food out of nothing and valued money a lot. I went to the car show and fell in love with a SAAB 900S. I thought it was God's creation and not men's. My eyes were shining with envy and the salesman, feeling sorry let me sit in the car. He also gave me a box of tissues because I cried for a long time. 70,000 then. Ten times what I earned in a year. It was an impossible love and I had to let go. 700. And, because I treasured it for what it was, a God's creation and a beautiful piece of machine, I never fell out of love with him.

And I say him on purpose. I even cried when I had to let him go when he died on me. My happiness with the car was ever lasting because I never regarded it as a need to get somewhere but as a want that fulfill me on its own. I think we can start being grateful when our basic needs are met. The ones for food, clothes, roof and love. The necessary ones to be able to survive that most people on the planet don't even fully enjoy the luxury of. Then, secondary needs might mean to have a vehicle and ways to learn, perhaps. What else we really need? To inspire, be remembered somehow, give back, feel appreciated. Wow, when we think of it, the rest is really pure luxury. When we really stop and think about what makes us really happy, the wants fall far from meeting that criteria.

'The UK Government Needs To Create A New Car Company After Brexit'

I鈥檓 glad it exists, because it creates so many jobs and consumer products which, in turn, offer freedom of movement to people across the world. But even I concede that when looking at the numbers, global car manufacturing is a bonkers business. This industry is colossal, superbly organised, highly efficient and deeply impressive. But there鈥檚 also an unfathomably illogical side to the car-building game. For example, I know of one large, wealthy, rough-around-the-edges industrialised country (China) that, with apparent ease, produced almost 24 million cars last year. Yet not far from China, another large, wealthy, 鈥榤ore sophisticated鈥?industrialised country (Australia) didn鈥檛 build a single car over the same period. From China鈥檚 point of view, this insane disparity is just fine. But what the hell do Aussie business leaders, workers and politicians think they鈥檙e playing at as they transform themselves from a nation churning out 300,000 vehicles a year in 2008 to a non-producer today?

If places such as Bangladesh (24,000 cars annually), Egypt (19,500), Iran (851,000) and Pakistan (230,000) can master the art of car building, so too can Australia. Former Soviet States including Belarus (10,941) Kazakhstan (30,016), Ukraine (5,660) and Uzbekistan (220,667) are also having a go at producing cars, with most enjoying huge percentage increases year on year (from a low base, admittedly). Good on 鈥檈m, I say. Assuming Brexit eventually happens, the UK Government should then be more free, open and able to subsidise and create high-quality jobs at an all-new, long-overdue, homegrown, Brit-owned-and-run motor manufacturing concern. British Motor Vehicles (BMV) PLC is what we should call the maker of mid-to-premium-class petrol, electric and petrol-electric cars, and other modes of personal transport. BMV鈥檚 badge should be red, white and blue, and its HQ probably on the conveniently located site at Swindon from which struggling Honda is about to retreat. Who cares if Munich complains that BMV sounds suspiciously like BMW? It鈥檚 all part of the car-building game in a fast-changing world, and an even faster-changing Britain.

Speaking of Q2, once launched, it will not have a direct competitor in the country, however, it will attract buyers who will consider buying a Mercedes GLA, BMW X1 or Volvo V40. Although there is no official word about the prices, we expect the prices to be within the range of 28 to 32 rupees per lakh (former fair). It is not clear what kind of Q2 will come to India, or European Q2 or Chinese Q2L with a long wheelbase. The launch list is a strong trend for consumers as buyers show increased preference for more powerful vehicles that provide more power and safety on the road, let alone enhanced ground clearance for better maneuvering on steep terrain. The launch of the Tailing the Kicks will be the Harrier, an off-road off-road vehicle from Tata Motors that could cost more than Rs 12 lakh. Audi Q2 and Q8 in India With a 2 liter diesel engine (which also meets the compass pocket), Harrier has been developed on the Land Rover platform which also supports the Discovery Sport model of the British brand. Harrier will compete with Compass and Mahindra XUV5OO and Tata hopes to achieve the same success with Nexon. Tata is also expected to take the lead in smaller SUVs, at a low price of Rs 10 per kilo, during the year. On the luxury front, BMW will launch all weapons. The German leader X4 (expected price around Rs 60 lakh) and X7 (above Rs 95 lakh) will be introduced for the first time and will also feature the new generation version of the X5 (Rs 70 lakh). The Audi Rival will offer a powerful Q8 engine (more than 1 rk crore), which will be a step forward of the Q7 muscle.

We have lamented the passing of the venerable Ford E-Series鈥攙ehicle that鈥檚 ingrained in the fabric of automotive America, and that was offered with a 6.8-liter V-10 to the very end. The ultra-efficient Transit, nothing more than a soulless breadbox. The Transit, in fact, has a rich history of a full half century, and we have assembled some of the more notable pictures from its long production run. They include some ridiculously cool one-offs. Its name, actually, is derived from the German-market Taunus Transit van, and was a last-minute change. Originally, it was supposed to be called V-series. The first Transit, a rear-wheel-drive van, was launched in 1965, with a basic design that carried on for more than twenty years. The box shape was fitted with a different nose for the diesel engine and high-performance V-6 engines. In 1978, Ford gave the van a massive facelift, with a far more contemporary look.

Another facelift came in 1984. Engine size grew up to 4.1 liters in Australia, a high-performance market until recently. The first complete redesign came in 1986, and it saw the Transit adopt a more aero style. A fitting companion to forward-looking passenger cars like the Ford Sierra and Scorpio, it remained on a rear-wheel-drive platform. Fourteen years later, for 2000, the Transit was redesigned yet again鈥攁nd for the first time, the rear-wheel-drive model was complemented with a front-wheel-drive derivative. Space-efficient and highly modern, it remained remarkably successful. The 2006 facelift awkwardly mirrored the Volkswagen Crafter van, a derivative of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Our favorite Transit of this era is the rear-wheel drive version with the 200-hp 3.2-iter Duratorq diesel鈥攁 capable drifter, as it turns out. Check out the gallery - and you鈥檒l understand why Europeans are as fond of their Transits as Americans are of the E-Series. From now on, a joint heritage will be forged. The 鈥減ig snout鈥?diesel model breaking an endurance record at the Monza racetrack in Italy.

Who Needs A Driver?

If you are a fan of future-tech, you will love Audi鈥檚 upcoming A8 flagship sedan. If, however, you are someone that loves to drive fine handling cars, you may sink further into depression. The German manufacturers, once renowned for engineering 鈥渟oul鈥?into their vehicles, continue on a seemingly inexorable march toward bland autonomy. All in the name of 鈥渕y car is smarter than yours! Let me start with the upfront specs. Length is up by 1.5 inches, but weight has been reduced, courtesy of a blend of aluminum, high-tensile steel, a dash of magnesium and a splendid carbon fiber-reinforced polymer. The result is a chassis 24% more rigid than its predecessor. Two engines will initially be available, including a 3.0L V-6 with 340 horsepower and a twin-turbo 4.0L V8 with 460 ponies and 487 lb-ft of torque. The V6 will get waft the sedan to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and I expect the V8 to get there closer to 5 seconds.

Both engines mate with an ultra-smooth and unobtrusive 8-speed automatic. The latest Audis continue to read fine in external view, but they have lost that sexy swagger from previous designs. Sure, the new A8 is stately and classic in proportion, but I fear a bit too restrained in overall design. The latest take on the Audi hexagonal grille is a bit of a wart as well, as it is too prominent in the front fascia. The interior does live up to previously tasteful Audi standards, with rich materials and crisp design. The big change you will notice here is the presentation of Audi鈥檚 MMI interface, with a second centrally mounted 8.6-inch touchscreen below the main 10.1-inch navigation/multimedia screen. The lower screen is dedicated to HVAC and seat functions, replacing myriad buttons, knobs and doohickeys. It is all very tastefully done and reasonably user-friendly and intuitive. The 2019 A8 is being touted as the first production car capable of Level 3 autonomy. Christened Traffic Jam Pilot, the system works from all stop up to 37 mph fully controlling steering, speed and brakes in traffic. Who needs a driver? On the good side of the ledger, the A8 has an available all-wheel steering option, which makes the sedan feel much smaller and nimbler on the road. Another option is an electrically controlled active suspension that can literally lift a wheel over 2 inches to aid in traversing bumps. The overall driving impression is smooth, capable and quiet, with just a hint of that diving soul peeking out every so often. Will it be enough to make enthusiasts happy? Will the prodigious tech make luxe car fans happy?

The most diminutive of BMW 4-door models, the 1-Series hatchback, has been reengineered from the ground up. The Bavarian hot hatch gets all new sheetmetal, although the redesign is what I would categorize as mildly progressive in regards to the previous generation. Showing cues from BMWs current design direction, the new 1-er sports a similar grille treatment as the recently updated 7 and 5-Series. The car鈥檚 side and rear hatch treatments both show subtly tailored improvements as well. Overall the car projects the sporty persona that BMW is known for. Speaking of sporty, the F20 (factory production code) maintains rear-wheel drive, quite possibly the single most important aspect to many BMW aficionados for the handling characteristics this imparts. Two engines in five different flavors will initially be offered. The 116i and 118i use an in-line 4 cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine outputting 136 and 170 horsepower respectively. Three diesel variants, also a 4 cylinder turbocharged engine, will power the 116d, 118d and 120d models. The interior of the little Bimmer looks to be nicely put together with the expected levels of quality materials and fit and finish. The latest iteration of BMW鈥檚 ubiquitous iDrive navigation system will be optional. The car will be available in two pre-packaged configurations, labeled Sport Line and Urban Line. And now for the bad news鈥?the American contingent will again be bypassed with availability as the decision makers in Munich continue to feel that small premium hatchbacks are not in demand. Maybe we can change their minds..!

BMW Motorrad India has announced the variants and India prices of the F750 GS and F850 GS. Prices for the F750 GS start from INR 11.95 lakh while the F850 GS is available from INR 12.95 lakh. BMW Motorrad had announced the prices for the two middleweight adventure motorcycles at the Auto Expo 2018. The F750 GS was priced at INR 12.2 lakh while the F850 GS was available at INR 13.7 lakh (both ex-showroom). The final prices turn out marginally lower. The relatively budget F750 GS is primarily designed for on-road riding with soft off-roading capability. Thus, the motorcycle comes equipped with alloy wheels, instead of wire-spoke units. The F750 GS features a conventional telescopic front suspension to keep the prices low. It even features a more accessible seat height so even shorter riders can enjoy the motorcycle. The F850 GS is more premium. It鈥檚 also more off-road ready than the F750GS.

Thus, the motorcycle comes equipped with wire-spoke wheels that give it more rugged look and capabilities. The F850 GS, unlike the F750 GS, gets upside down telescopic front suspension. Apart from being more off-road ready, the F850 GS packs more power and torque. Both motorcycles use an 853 cc in-line twin-cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with two counterbalance shafts and a firing interval of 270/450 degrees. The engine on the F750 GS is tuned to deliver 77 hp of maximum power at 7,500 rpm and 83 Nm of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. The F850 GS, with the same motor, pushes out 95 hp of maximum power at 8,250 rpm and 92 Nm of peak torque at 6,250 rpm. The motorcycles feature selectable 鈥楻ain鈥?and 鈥楻oad鈥?riding modes. Rider aids on the motorcycles include BMW Motorrad ABS and the ASC (Automatic Stability Control). The BMW F850 GS features wire-spoke wheels, upside down telescopic front suspension and relatively higher performance numbers than the F750 GS. The BMW F750 GS and F850 GS will compete against the Triumph Tiger 800 range, the Ducati Multistrada 950 and the Honda Africa Twin in the Indian market.