
This should get me a bit of hate mail but it’s true. Okay, not ALL skateboarders are buttheads but the vast majority that I run into on the streets are. The ones that go to the skateboard parks and other safe areas to do their acrobatic feats of derring-do are no problem at all.
The ones that careen through traffic trying to race Death out of Darwin’s gene pool: now those are the giant buttheads. They care for little, not themselves, nor anyone else and have the arrogance that equates to a short life.
We have many forms of locomotion; cars, buses, bicycles, feet, motorcycles, roller blades and skateboards. Skateboards are the least suited to sidewalk and road. Bicyclists and motorcyclists ride small wheeled vehicles with their flesh exposed to the elements and the hard metal of other machines. They wear reflective and protective clothing, and helmets. Of course there would probably be a few death-wish hopefuls who would try to ride without helmets if it weren’t law, like it’s cool to have your brains splat on pavement or something. Cool to be stupid: that’s attractive.
Bicyclists, if they want to remain alive, pedal along beside cars as they can’t go as fast. Drivers and bicyclists should always respect each other’s space and cut out any ego issues. Unfortunately there are attitudes on both sides, but we can always dream of better tolerance. But back to skateboarders; they don’t wear protective or reflective clothing, they don’t wear helmets. Two fails right there.
Pedestrians have the right of way of sidewalks. They walk on them, not on the road where they would soon be road pizza. Of course there are butthead pedestrians who jaywalk in front of cars as if they own the road. But most stick to the sidewalks where they belong. Skateboarders get another fail for having a wheeled object on the sidewalk. Bikes aren’t allowed there; neither are skateboards.
Skateboarders don’t fit the rules of the road because they can’t go fast enough, not even as fast as a bike unless it’s downhill. They don’t wear the proper gear and on top of that they’re kicking a leg out and veering, long undulations in and out of traffic. Skateboarders don’t fit the rules of the sidewalk, because they’re on wheels. They’re hazardous to the pedestrians and often swerve all over the place.
On top of all this, they, who are least protected on the road, take the biggest risks, rolling down the middle of the street, nonchalantly getting out of the way–eventually, when a driver has had to break or slow down for them. It always amazes me that the less protection a person has from vehicles, it’s almost as if the arrogance goes up exponentially.

The SX4 - The men in black
Well the headline maybe disappointing for many who own the SX4 and all men, but I do need to mention that the SX4 has some cool properties as any men would do. If one compares the SX4 with the erstwhile Baleno, which the SX4 replaced, it is silly to do so as the SX4 sedan is brilliance personified in comparison and built on an all-new platform. Sporting an Italian design, the SX4 has been developed as a crossover of designs for developing markets. Maruti has also introduced the all new aluminium M-series engine (M16A) for this car.
The SX4 looks pumped up shoulder to shoulder when compared with its predecessor, slightly longer I guess, much taller and wider. The well designed cabin looks massive and carries on over the boot which has ample boot space. the bonnet is steeply raked and there is plenty of room for passengers to park themselves both in the front and the back seats. The looks (both interiors and exteriors) which could be the best fit for the song – hey muscular, hey popular, spectacular…. A stunner when it comes to looks. The steering is slender and there are lots of nooks for storage in addition to the twin glove-boxes.
But pappu can’t dance sala as that’s not all that you would look for in this segment and a clear benchmark would be the arrow headed Honda City. As an automobile freak and having driven the Honda city from their initially launched model, I have fallen in love with the Japanese elegance called the City. Maruti is well-aware of this fact and ensured that the SX4 is not an ‘also-ran’ vehicle. It comes fully loaded and is available at an attractive price. So, is it good enough to give a run for the City at the helm?