Mr. Rupesh Lama, who looks after the logistics department for R. M. Trading, believes that apart from fitness the two major aspects of working out is to 1. Look good and 2. Is to increase your power. Mr. Rupesh Lama who is very dedicated in working out believes that this fact can be carried over to the auto world as well so he likes his automobiles to look good and have great performance. Mr. Lama goes the extra mile to make sure that he himself and his machines are always in top form from every aspect. So we sat down to have a chat with him about his Autolife.

How much of an auto enthusiast are you?

I have always loved anything with wheels from four wheelers to two wheelers, but I prefer the two wheelers more. I love going on rides and tend to do that on weekends mostly. I find peace when I’m behind my wheels so you can say I’m a pretty big auto enthusiast.

What is currently parked in your garage?

There are two primary vehicles as of now in my garage a Kia Sportage that I use as a daily driver and a commuter. The other vehicle is a BMW S1000RR that I recently purchased, I ride it sparingly on weekends or on some occasions.

What was your first encounter with driving and riding?

I learned driving in the Mazda 3, this was a long time back and I have been driving ever since and as I have stated earlier, I have owned 7 cars before the one that I am currently driving around. The first bike I learned to ride was on a Yamaha RX100. The legendary 2 stroke 100cc engine was a great platform for me to improve my riding skills before moving on to bigger and meaner machines.

Previously, how many vehicles have you owned?

As I have mentioned before I am a very big auto enthusiast, I have owned quite a lot of cars and bike. To be precise I have owned 7 cars and this is my 18th bike. I tend to change vehicles quite a lot. The very first bike that I owned was a 2008 CBR600RR after that I have changed 5 CBRs alone, the last one being a fully modified 2010 CBR600RR.

Do you prefer driving by yourself or do you have a driver?

This question to me feels like asking a carnivore whether it would like to have salad for dinner. Being such a big auto enthusiast I like to be in command behind my wheels. I know having drivers makes life much more convenient but that convenience will not make up to the sheer pleasure of driving by yourself.

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of owning a premium set of wheels?

There are many advantages of owning a premium set of wheels such as the comfort, power, safety features, braking power, quality of the product and the looks of it to mention a few. There are equally a lot of disadvantages of owning premium vehicles, the main factor being the terrible road conditions of Nepal. Even though the vehicles are capable of doing so much more we are limited by the road conditions. Other cons include the occasional harassment by the traffic police and the rumors that fly around when you drive/ride around in an expensive vehicle.

Till date, on which car and bike have you had the best experience driving?

The best driving experience that I have had on is the Land Rover Freelander 2, this is due to the comfort/luxury, power, ease of driving and safety features. Talking about bikes most people might think it’s the S1000RR but it was my 2010 CBR600RR that I had fully customized. There was a lot of emotion attached with that bike and I had the best riding experience on that bike.

If you had to choose, which car would you want to own as a dream car?

My dream car is the Lamborghini Aventador! I would love to own and drive an Aventador in the near future. The crazy looks! The Crazy Sound of the naturally aspirated V12 engine! The crazy performance is what attracted me towards the Lamborghini Aventador.

What is one of the craziest things that you have done behind a steering wheel?

The craziest thing that I have done behind a steering wheel is drifting in an open ground for fun! And if you talk about bikes than it has to be the moment when the bike started to power wheelie due to the sheer power of the bike while riding it.

Where do you think is the best destination to drive/ ride in Nepal?

The road to Pokhara from Malekhu has to be one of the best roads to ride your bike while the road to Butwal is probably the best destination to go on your car in my opinion.

If you were given complete control of the country, what changes would you bring about in the automotive scene?

The first thing that I would do if I had full control is apply strict driving/ riding rules to make it safer for everyone. I would rather open up tracks and riding/driving academy to improve riding/driving skills and go fast on a track rather than the public roads. The other thing would be lowering the import tax, if lowering the tax is not possible then I would make sure that the tax being collected is being put into making excellent roads for the public.