Salarios

😅 @Chaitanya D You have to let me know!

Y62's unite! Let's show them we're not driving over-glorified grocery getters, but formidable opponents in conquering the toughest terrains Ale can throw at us! 🤪

Thank you brother! Everyone is good and recovered. Been counting the days to get back in the sandbox with you guys.

Please put me on the waitlist, would love to join if someone drops out.

Hi @Denizzalbayrak it's the Hoz-e-Soltan Salt Lake which is about 130km south of Tehran. You're right it looks very similar to the Salt lake in Turkey. The landscape here is very unpredictable, completely dependant on season & weather patterns, and so it's a pleasant surprise every time we go. Here's a quick video of the lake. 98613585_539739223379890_4224739134349417800_n.mp4

Love his channel, been following it for a while. He has a calm, methodical, non-judgemental approach to helping people out of sticky situations, while also providing a lot educational tips and tricks. Carnity’s crew has a similar approach. I was thinking it would be very valuable for Carnity to make similar recovery videos on its desert drives. It would provide a lot of educational value, while also being an excellent marketing tool to promote the site and its amazing crew. It could be done on a very low production cost: on each drive, a cameraman (or 2) with a gopro is nominated, someone narrates a storyline, and an editor puts it together in an entertaining and easy to follow clip.

Ok I'm unsubscribing from this thread now because there are too many logical arguments being made which is influencing my stubborn views of driving my Y62 in the desert.

Thank you @Chaitanya D Once the COVID-19 situation is under control, I'll probably ask our friend in Sharjah to make me a bumper like this one:

Have a look at this thread for some bumper ideas. The Y62 400 has incredible naturally aspirated power and torque wrapped in luxury which makes the offroad drives very enjoyable. But the approach and take off angles in stock form are not ideal for offroading. Many of the Australian offroaders put on metal bumpers, which may or may not be legal here in the UAE (it's up for debate) . I changed my front bumper to a fiberglass shortie with a bash plate which (I hope) has fixed the approach angle. But I keep damaging the rear diffuser, and so I'm still searching for a rear bumper which looks good and performs well (both are important!).

Drove to a salt lake recently, and found this crime scene: 😂 Mistakes were made. Regrets were had. 😅 But thankfully I had the state of mind to get out and inspect it in advance, and so I spared myself a few hours of misery.

Sure @sertac . It's a 1999 Estoril Blue E36 M3 Evo imported from Japan to Dubai about 10 years ago. It currently has about 115,000 kms on the odometer. It originally came in SMG transmission which I converted to 6-speed manual, because SMG is a nightmare. The previous owner also put a Supersprint exhaust on it which is a bit too loud for my taste (I prefer engine sounds over exhaust sounds), but I haven't had a chance to change the exhaust back to stock yet. Other than regular maintenance and tire/rim upgrades and sound system, I haven't touched anything else. The story behind my love for this car started way back in the day when I used to own this red 1992 325i (AKA: the red beauty) in Vancouver, Canada. I held three jobs in high school (including a dishwasher at a restaurant) to be able to afford its maintenance and upgrade expenses. It was a lemon car, rusted out and in horrible mechanical condition, but I loved it nevertheless, and dreamed of one day owning its big brother: the Evo M3. Reason I said I know how @desertdude felt about his P38 is because I had to sell my red beauty to help pay for university. Then about 7-8 years ago I was chatting with my brother about our dream cars, and he was mentioning the Aston DB9, which was quite expensive at the time, and I mentioned the M3 Evo. It was a highschool dream I'd forgotten about. So we looked through Dubizzle right then and there, miraculously found this one for sale, called the gentleman and told him to consider it sold, and showed up with the cash. Easy sell for him, and I get to relive my childhood dream every time I look at it. Thanks for pushing me to share my love story about this car @sertac ! Cheers.

You are right, there are hidden costs associated with electric car production that doesn't get much attention. Lithium mining causes water pollution, land erosion, and lack of proper lithium recycling has environmental impacts. But the reason it doesn’t get attention is because they are local problems. And greenhouse gas emissions caused by combustion engines are a global problem. I believe the general consensus is that the overall benefit outweighs the costs, and that's why electric cars are projected to grow from around 5 million currently to over 130 million in a decade.

You broke my heart @desertdude. I know how that feels. Really sorry to hear it. But don't lose hope, find its replacement. It's true they are pretty rare in Dubai. I usually find napkins with people's numbers on the windshield wanting to buy it. But how do you put a price on something you love so much? Would love to see pics of your M3s @Barry.

This is a valid comment. Especially for cruisers/choppers that have low revving engines and are generally much heavier. But for streetfighters and superbikes, any bike over 1000cc is a license to kill! 😅

Technological advancements in automotive manufacturing is reducing production costs and delivery lead times. Thirty years ago, automative plants were 25% automated, today they are more than 75% automated. This has resulted in an increase in factory output of more than 8 times. So the expectation is that the electric vehicle revolution will be quicker than the combustion engine revolution.

Thank you Fred! It was my childhood dream to own an E36 Evo M3 (inline 6 with individual throttle bodies, and 50/50 weight distribution). Found a clean one in Dubai, bought it, will never sell it

Very There's only about 50yrs of oil left on earth at current production levels, so replacing gas-guzzling cars with electric cars should theoretically be much sooner than that. Also because of massive technological advancements in manufacturing and global distribution.

Happy birthday @Srikumar !

I agree with @desertdude, riding in the UAE is extremely dangerous. Had a friend's brother pass away a few months ago due to a fatal crash in Dubai Marina. Another crash took the life of another friend's colleague a little while ago because someone ran a red light and t-boned him. May both RIP. My brother who's also a rider tried to use this analogy to dissuade me from riding: a car and a motorcycle crash is like a collission between a melon and a pen: the melon will always get punctured. So please avoid motorcycles like the plague. But if you're still intent on riding (like me), here's my experience: - I owned a Harley Iron 883cc a few years ago, and loved the community; but the Harley ride is extremely rough and unenjoyable. Never rode a tractor, but I imagine that's what it feels like. - I have a Honda Shadow 750cc, and it rides like a cloud, really smooth and built like a tank, with a great riding position. Can put bags on the sides which makes it practical while maintaing the cool factor. Can also install a shield in the front, which reduces turbulance in highway speeds and makes it tolerable in long rides. Most importantly: cheap to buy and cheap to maintain. - I owned a Benelli TNT300 and hated every minute of it. Threw money at it with aesthetic upgrades to fool myself into keeping it, since it rode so badly; but ultimately couldn't stand it and ended up selling it. Benelli is a Chinese bike with an Italian name, so you get what you pay for. Same story with CFMoto. - I currently own a Kawasaki Z800 which gives me a dirty look if I don't speed with it. It sounds and revvs incredibly, with the only downside being the forward riding position which is really straining on your wrists on long rides, even though it's a streetfigher and not a superbike. I also have a Ninja 300 (the white one in the above picture) which I feel more safe riding than the Z800, as it's less likely I'll kill myself in it. So in conclusion, I have two recommendations: A) please don't ride. It's too dangerous. and b) If you MUST, go for a Kawasaki or Honda in Dubai. Don't go above 800cc and don't go below 300cc, as it's more dangerous either way. And don't spend more than 25k AED, as realistically you'll only ride 2-3 months out of the year. Sorry for the long post. Hope it's helpful. Cheers!

Hi @Nizam Deen I assume you have a Y62? @Chaitanya D and myself had our front bumpers replaced in a workshop in Al Nahda in Sharjah (Mr Mohammed 050 886 4047), and also installed a thick bash plate to absorb some of the forces. @Srikumar recommends that the bashplate be as thick as possible (4mm?). So it would be good to talk to them before making your final decision. Keep us posted as to how you get on, and give us some before and after pictures.

What a genuinely thoughtful and refreshing comment. Thank you @desertdude

This is an interesting and educational conversation so I’d like to keep it going. Because they launched the Y62 in the middle of a global economic recession, and it was an expensive, gas thirsty behemoth. And also, because they didn’t offer diesel which was a big no no in the diehard offroad community at the time. So there was no demand for a Y62-type-car when it launched, and again, not because it was an incapable offroader. The Y61 though, ticked all the boxes to meet market demand: lower gas consumption, cheaper to buy and maintain, and was offered in diesel. I agree. But you can’t deny that advancements in the automotive industry can be useful offroad. Crawl control on the Toyotas to automatically get itself out of sand? Very impressive. Sonar on the Defender to detect water depth? Amazing. Auto-inflate and deflate from inside the cabin using a switch on the G63 6x6? We’re living in the future. Let’s embrace it and not resist it. Oh come on Gaurav you’re a PR expert, you know this better than me: companies segment the market and develop marketing campaigns that appeal to the largest portion of their target market. Off-roaders are a tiny minority for them. So why would they market it to them in the first place? The Gazelle is different though: it’s designed to entice the minority offroad community. Nissan knows they’ll sell very few of them but they don’t care, because they’re using the Gazelle brand as leverage to further cement their offroad credibility. The existence of Gazelle increases Nissan’s brand value, which they hope will be enough to stand out in a competitive market so they can sell more of their “cash-cow” products (high margin, high volume products). I’m getting off-topic, but just want to illustrate the point that companies aren’t in the “honesty” business. They use a series of well-known tactics to separate us from our money. You’re right, technology doesn’t always make it better or easier. A 3m derham 6x6 Brabus in my hands is still inferior to a 20yr old TJ in the hands of experts in this community. And that’s why I‘m open to having my opinions changed in a year. But all I’m saying is let’s not stifle diversity in the Carnity community. Let’s not discourage the use of a particular offroad car to form a convoy of wranglers and Pajeros. Diversity within the group is what will make it more interesting for all of us. And most importantly: “let’s root for eachother & watch eachother grow” even if it’s a Y62! Much love to all, - Salar

The two cars were not independently designed and manufactured by separate engineers; all of Nissan's experience and knowledge through extensive R&D gained through designing the Y61 for over 20 years went into upgrading their flagship offroader to the modern era with the added benefit of technological advancements in automotive engineering. Did you know the weight difference is only 220kg? That's two adults. But with 3 inches of additional ground clearance, several hundred more horsepower and torque, independent suspension, and a host of techological advancements such as hill-descent, hill-start, hydraulic body motion control, active tire pressure monitor system, and a dedicated off-road monitoring system. This is not a fair indicator of Y62's offroad capabilities. The price point makes it difficult for the majority of people to justify it for offroad use. And Nissan's Y62 marketing campaign has mostly focused on luxury, rather than offroad capability, which has influenced people accordingly. I'm a traditionalist more than the next guy, I love the Defender over a Range Rover due to its brute force, simple mechanics, and easy maintenance, but I would never invalidate the engineering accomplishments of its successor.

Sure reviews are biased, but it still doesn't negate some of the facts presented: that you're paying 300k for a car without many options and luxuries which are often found in this price point. And so as you said, the manufacturer is taking the buyer for a ride.

It would be great if the RSVP feature could also include a "waitlist", so that those wishing to join a drive can be automatically added if someone drops out -- according to their position on the waitlist. Marshals can also know exactly how many more people would potentially join the drive, if they were given the opportunity, so that additional convoys can be arranged if possible.