I am what I drive

Old and new cars are getting modified to be an individual statement

September 19, 2014 09:23 pm | Updated 09:23 pm IST - KOZHIKODE:

Boys outside Adonz, the car stop in Kozhikode PHOTO: S. RAMESH KURUP

Boys outside Adonz, the car stop in Kozhikode PHOTO: S. RAMESH KURUP

Dijith’s car is his statement and business model. The 2007 model Honda Civic is now a far cry from the one he bought. Flamboyant in canary yellow, Dijith’s modifications to the car travel from the front tip to the rear. The front bumper is pulled down and finished in metal. The headlights have been fitted with Angel lights. If the front tyre is 18-inch wide, the one at the rear is a 9J. Spoilers deck the rear. The roof is marked with black. Inside, it is a world in red — from the sports seats to glossy mats. On the left hand corner above the dash board are three projections. He helpfully explains, “They are the RPM metre, volt metre and oil metre.”

The car, his first assignment, took him four months. The HR and management graduate worked in a handful of companies before quitting his job almost a year ago to take up what he always wanted to do. “For the past seven months I have been doing car modifications. So far, I have overhauled 10-15 cars,” he says.

For a segment of drivers in the city, cars are not just machines that make commute easy. Instead, are strong individual statements. For them, driving the company model is being part of the crowd. Their machines are tweaked; enveloped with skirtings, adorned with meshes, fitted with projectors and other zillion adaptations. Getting into Adonz, the car stop as they call it, is stepping into boys’ zone. At a given time there are enough guys here to make a classroom. Automobile modification, they say, is combined passion. “We always work as a group. People have different skills and they all pitch in for an order,” says Ajay, who along with Nijaz and Habib, are the owners. They are supported by a core team of Ranjith, Arjun, Shanib, Anoop and a multitude of others. Started almost a year ago, they have lost track of the number of cars they have modified. But the range of cars varied from a Maruti 800 to BMW Z4.

“A modified car is instant head-turner,” they vouch. A completely modified machine identified by the individual who owns it. If one assumed it to be a fancy of the young who pleasure in zipping back and forth to make an impression, those in the job tell a different story. “We have a lot of older people too coming to get their cars modified. For instance, we recently had two people well over 40 years who wanted their Mahindra Logan and Maruti Alto,” points out Ranjith. Be it professional stickers, meshes or head lamp, the older lot want it too, he adds.

“Yeah, youngsters come to me, but so too the older customers. I recently had customer who was close to 60 and wanted new Angel lights and projectors for his car,” pitches in Dijith, a freelance car modifier.

Those at Adonz argue car modification is never only about flashy high-end models. For youngsters with often never too much money to spare, it is a way to re-incarnate an old model. They draw attention to their 1990s model Maruti 800 now a shimmering red, the look complete with Sparco seats and modern gadgets on the dashboard. “A little modification to an old car and it is new. So people come to us with old, second-hand vehicles,” says Shanib. Among the cars Dijith has worked on is an old Maruti Esteem, Maruti Swift and a newer Hyundai i20.

While cost depends on the extend of work, a complete modification, say those in the field, come for anything between Rs. 1,50,000 to 2,00,000. Basic modification work start from Rs. 2,500 onwards at Adonz. Among the most sought-out modification is alloy wheel. Striking wheels are supposed to take the machine a few notches high on the allure factor. “Seventy per cent of the appearance of a car depends on the wheel,” says Dijith. A round of skirting, head lamps, spoilers and a dash of the sporty, the car is meant to belong to a different league.

Colour overhaul also make a good part of the modifiers’ job. But they assert aloud the need to get the new car colour or combination of colours immediately registered at the Regional Transport Officer’s office. Dijith’s colour modifications have ranged from fluorescent orange and green to purple.

At Xpress Garage which is also a branch of Pete’s in Kozhikode, the scene is quieter. Neatly aligned at their kitschy garage are a Mini Cooper and BMW Z along with other beasts, all gleaming bright. “Most of them come for a coat of Smart wax,” says Ashraf, CEO of Xpress Garage. The waxing process, he says, gives the cars a new gloss and hides scratches to a large extend. “A coat lasts for about six months,” he adds. Though Ashraf and company get requests for modification, they get a lot more for engine mapping, in simpler terms, enhancing the engine power. “We end up doing a lot of internal work; suspension, air filter work. If the client wants an external modification, we do that too,” he adds.

A new aspect of modification which Ashraf says they will soon begin at the garage is car wrapping. “With the process, the entire car will be covered in a film. It could be glossy or matte finish and if you remove it you will get the original colour of the car,” says Ashraf.

As the trend of working on a car, tweaking and embellishing it, gathers steam, those in the business are looking for avenues to showcase their work. Both Adonz boys and Dijith say, car expos at educational institutions are their big platform now.

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