It’s that time of the year when we all start to take stock, make resolutions, and draw up wish lists.

It’s that time of the year when we all start to take stock, make resolutions, and draw up wish lists. And so Ashish does the predictable thing and creates a list of his own...

Winter’s just setting in, the sun’s a bit lazy, and the morning haze makes you give-in to the urge of staying wrapped in a blanket for just that little-bit longer.

It’s December, and it’s the month of celebrations, Christmas gifts, and secret wish lists. Now you know exactly where this is headed, don’t you? Yes, I’ve got my own little wish-list. This year has seen a variety of excellent automotive examples being launched and showcased globally – some right out of your dreams, and others that look as though they ought to have been confined to their designers’ dreams.

This year, supercar makers went mental and crossed into hypercar territory. Porsche created something (918) that finally makes electricity in cars exciting, while McLaren gave birth to the magical P1. Ferrari, meanwhile, gave the world something really special – a V12 hybrid mega-machine with a really stupid name (I still can’t get to grips with LaFerrari as a name for something that looks like that). It’s strange, the effect these machines have without so much as seeing them in real life.

No, my wish list isn’t about – and it may sound berserk coming from a dreamy-eyed motoring hack – driving a LaFerrari or McLaren P1. It’s about far simpler stuff – things that are realistically achievable and will (or may) help a wide variety of matters.

I’ve been driving a few reasonably powerful hatchbacks for over a month, and they offer reasonable amounts of fun. But that’s the problem – reasonable amounts isn’t really fun, is it? Yes, I understand that manufacturers think that cars that hold great horsepower and torque figures don’t really have a space in our market, but have they even tried? I mean, really tried in an honest manner? No, I’m not saying that the manufacturer will do great numbers – but, at least, they’ll plant the seeds for something that has the potential to become really big in the (hopefully, near) future? And it can only be big if some of the big names from the mainstream segment dive into this realm.

I know for a fact that the Brio can be a massive smile-forming machine. So, hypothetically speaking, if Honda were to bring in 500 ‘performance’ units of the Brio – 120-125bhp thereabouts, revised suspension, steering and tyres, with a sharper and sportier body kit – to have the looks to match the go – I’m sure it’ll sell the entire inventory in 6-8 months if the price gap isn’t more than 60-80 grand (which is realistic). Similarly, Maruti should try it with the Swift, and Hyundai with the Grand or the Elite i20.

Such an exercise can be immensely helpful for a brand like Tata Motors. Imagine a 120bhp special edition of the soon-to-be-launched Tata Bolt hatchback, with properly sporty bodywork and the necessary mods on the dynamics front. Such a product, married to an aggressive marketing and advertising campaign, like Tata did in the past (of the Sierra and Safari glory days) could help alter the mindset of at least a select section of the consumer base towards the struggling automaker, which can easily lead to word-of-mouth publicity and viral spreads in this age of social media and whatnot.

My wish-list doesn’t end there. I want the new government to accelerate the development of the infrastructure. It won’t happen overnight – it’ll need years of meticulous planning and execution, but the roadmap should be set and work should get underway for inter-and-intra-state road sections. Trucking is the spine of our transportation industry – imagine the difference a good, and efficient, road network will make, not to forget the savings in fuel to be made!

Third – and I promise this is the last one; one can’t ask for the Moon after all – is education. And I don’t just mean basic education for everyone, but I’m talking about specialized vocational training to a wider spectrum of people. I’m slightly biased towards tooling and machinery, and I want every girl and boy to feel motors and machines in a way that’ll help establish somewhat of a motoring culture in our otherwise (seemingly) crumbling societal condition.

So, you see – I don’t really want Ferraris or McLarens. All I need is a small hatchback that’s good fun to drive, some good roads to enjoy it on, and some people to share that emotion and passion with. Isn’t that what you’d call the simple pleasures of life? Or have I ended up asking for the Moon after all?