Mirror Mirror on the wall which one is the quirkiest of them all??

Each car manufacturer follows a design principle to avoid design mishaps. Below are some examples where things went bad.Feel free to comment and follow my blog.

Mahindra KUV100

Today we look at this urban SUV from M&M the country's largest manufacturer of tractors.

M&M can be classified into a very rare species of innovators in the Indian automotive industry.

XUV 500 has managed to make in roars into the SUV segment by providing a new age chassis, exterior and interior design. The design seems to be overdone but the size of this car hides these glitches.

KUV 100 is a sub 4 meter offering that comes with XUV DNA in terms of styling. This time the bulky wheel arches and the shoulder lines look too big for KUV. The side profile looks pathetic. It is surely value for money but they should not have gone overboard with the muscular look.

What went wrong?

The front looks fresh and upmarket, rear looks more like an MPV and the only oddity is the side profile. The lines that start from the headlamp unit in the front do not resolve well. In an attempt to give these lines a smooth resolution the designers end up screwing up the design around the A pillar.

Same is the case with the design around the C pillar, the extrusion over the rear wheel arch is irritating to the eye.

Mahindra Nuvo Sports

Mahindra's first attempt at the sub 4 meter SUV was Quanto. The design was extremely disproportionate, add to it the very ugly front and tasteless rear with very poor driving dynamics. Quanto was surely designed to fail. 

NuvoSports is Mahindra's attempt to revive the Quanto with a newer chassis, engine and a sportier design. The interiors remain the same as Quanto and look dated. Nuvo Sports has a better looking front when compared with quanto but the headlight with DRLs are not very pleasing to the eye. The front bumpers, grill and fog lamps look much better. The rear looks same as the Quanto but with better color usage for taillights and the spare wheel. 

What went wrong?

The Quanto has left an indelible scar on our minds in addition to that the new design too does not give us a reason to smile. The logic behind launching this when they already had the TUV300 in the market is still not known. 

The problems with the driving dynamics of Quanto still exist in NuvoSport but this car is much better when it comes to handling.

Apple Magsafe Charger "Why so serious?"

Apple is always known for their human centered and intuitive design. I couldn't agree more on this having used Microsoft products recently.

The Macbook line provides great value for money when you look at how it boosts your productivity. You can do so much on it at work or at play. I have used Macbook white for 4 years and the only reason I had to sell it off was the damaged charging port.

This made me think about the design of the L type Magsafe Charger. Back in the day this used to cost around Rs. 5000 and is delicate like anything. No matter what justification you provide for the cost it is only a charger!

The charger has three major components.
1. Trasformer
2. Wire
3. Plug

I really liked the way the the adapter is designed with claws that open up to hold the wire. The wire itself is made of rubbery material and one needs to take care of the same as it is prone to cuts and wear. The part that bothers me the most is the magnetic plug. I believe it is a very bad and unreliable design.

The plug has four delicate pins that rest on a spring and are housed inside the magnetic casing. When the plug is engaged the pins press against the charging port on the laptop and touch the lines that send power. These pins are used to feed power and also create a feedback loop that will protect the charger and the device from bad current.

Do we really need a mechanism this complex?
There are slim laptops in the market but apple decided to have such a complex mechanism in place for a component that will be used very frequently day in and day out.

In the Indian scenario the port is prone to dust that can cause heat generation in the plug and charging port. This further damages the components.

We have used windows laptops for years and this was never a problem!

Check out the below blog for tear down.
Ken Shirrif's Blog
http://www.righto.com/2015/11/macbook-charger-teardown-surprising.html