[SEL] just got back from India... Dave Rotigel would hate the place...

[Paul Pavlinovich]

I just got back from a work trip to India - I spent most of the time in 
the city of Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Everywhere in this 
hugely crowded city there are little maytag like pop-pop noises. The 
source? A contraption called an Auto Rickshaw. They are basically a 
little three wheel enclosed motor bike - they monoplise the local taxi 
market because they can get through the ridiculous traffic. There seem 
to be three distinct generations, one powered by a maytag like twin, one 
powered by a machine a lot like a a villiers single, and a version 
powered by the motor you would find in your mower... The net result - 
1.2 million little two stroke pop pops everywhere... imagine if Portland 
show was only Maytags and that is what you would hear (and smell) on 
every city block!

Paul

http://www.steamengine.com.au/personal/auto_rickshaw.jpg