What's up with Hatim?

I had been planning to sell my (crappy)Suzuki Alto VXR ,2003 to some (un)-lucky shopper. I had already put up an ad on the back of my car and received many calls. I was hoping to get 350,000 Rupees out of this car. Eventually I sold it for 338,000 Rs (roughly 200$ less than my asking price), but I think it was a good deal. The car had an accident and was not in the best of shapes but it looked ok. I will be using my Dad's Honda Civic from now ;).

My Dad decided to be generous to me and give me Honda Civic for my useage ,although I doubt it will be the case as things unfold. Even if he is not using it in the future, I would probably be not able to afford such a fuel expensive car. But in any case we are planning to get the Civic converted on CNG. One concern that I had was that since this car is automatic transmission, it will losse its performance edge. But come to think of it, other than the extra pounds of CNG kit which sits in the trunk, the car will run about the same if it is run on fuel.

So on my way back from GIKI early morning last thursday I brought in the Civic. I have to admit, you don't know what kind of piece of trash you are driving, unless you get to drive some thing better. Lets hope I get rid of the Suzuki soon. 

I will post pics of CNG conversion. We are planning to use the kit of our <sarcasm>beloved</sarcasm> Vox Wagon (aka Foxy)  

After my car's accident back in July I have had to endure many things from it. Its compressor ball bearing got jammed making its fanbelt stuck. It's head light switch got loose one day, draining all the battery power. On top of that I got a really retarded electrician to look at it, who convinced me to replace my battery (which was 2 years old,but was just discharged). Even after I got a new battery I was getting fumes from my steering assembly (there was some  shortcircuiting). Then to top it all, as I had lost my central locking remote control, the car was put on some funky mechanism by the electrecian which would make the engine stop stop if any one opened a lock. I got all these problems fixed one by one over course of last month. But it has taught me one thing, once a car gets into a major accident, it starts loosing it's self.

About two weeks ago I had an accident. I was driving my suzuki VXR late at night to get some chicken nuggets from a near by MacDonalds drive through. it suddenly started raining. My glass became foggy in an instant. I was driving relatively fast (ie highway speed 75km/h) when suddenly I came to a point where high way was dividing into two. I hit breaks the usual way, ie after pressing the clutch( normally in emergency one should not press, but that would have been fatal in rain as the car may have over tunred after stoping so fat in the rain). I hit the raod divider , big time.

The whole engine compartment got compressed a bit. Engine was damaged and car won't move. I got out and found that I had injured my nose. Thanks to japanese technology there is no air bag in any Suzuki car in Pakistan. It was raining but some people were kind enough to lend me a hand and help me out. Eventually I had to call up my cousin and ask for his help. We had to call up a tow truck and got the car placed in a safe place. Then I went to hospital. It was really scary scene there as there were two fatal accidents on the highway that night. The whole emergency ward was in action. Rainy season is not very safe to drive in Pakistan, especially on highway where you have an ammalgum of micor fuel leaks on the road by heavy transport.

My poor car is being rebuilt. It cost me about 500$ to get this thing repaired. So goes my Summer of Code signing bonus. Allah has his own ways. Any who I am safe, at the end of the day this is what all matters.

Edit: I am selling off this piece of junk Suzuki and hopefully will be driving a better/safer car from now on wards.

It is loved by some and loathed by a few, but mostly it goes unnoticed until you are related to it some how. My current mode of transportation is a 1970 Volkswagen aka Foxy (in Pakistan) , aka Daddu Car (car shaped like a toad). Needless to say the thing drives good considering that its almost 35 years old and has survived pakistani roads (drivers?) .

It is not the ideal thing to drive during the rain or during a very dark night. But at least I am able to get to my job on my own. Since my new job is not in a very posh area I don't feel the chronic attacks I was afraid of If I were to drive this thing in rush hour in Islamabad proper. I am not sure why I felt that way. Perhaps the un coolness I have attached to this vehicle when growing up has some thing to do with it. Cool or not, this still drives me back and forth and in the end this is all what matters