A few weeks ago I test drove two luxury "cars", which may or may not be introduced in India. This was a non-media episode done in great secrecy. Being in the infotech industry helps me play with cars, which are still in the prototype stage, well before the automobile industry and media get a grip.

Now, I am not given to going gush-gush about performance and statistics, and personally don't really care much for snob value. A Tata Indica is fine by me - and they continue to get better every few months, while cars from foreign manufacturers seem to get shabbier. Out here, a review is straightforward street buzz and owner-validated feedback, aimed at the middle class where fuel economy wins over opulence.

So, the one big thing about both these luxury automobiles was that they operated on plain and simple diesel. And they were looking at over 20 km to the litre on engines that were, hold your breath, over 2.5 litres in size. Now what do you say if such economies were worked back to smaller engines? Well, there is also talk of a smaller car with a small diesel engine that promises double the fuel economy, at 40 km per litre. No, I did not get to drive it.

Apart from the fact that they were almost soundless outside and totally soundless inside - and that the turbo-chargers were kicking in accelerations that were as good if not better than any petrol-engine luxury sedan - was the clean reality that the emission specs were close to those required in California or New York. And absolutely in line with what Europe demands.

The critical aspects of scrubbing emissions to remove soot, and newer generation turbo-chargers which provide efficiency as well as longer range and better intervals between servicing, oil-change and over-hauling, can mean only one thing - diesel is the fuel that will push small cars in India. Petrol will rapidly start losing market share. The old rules about higher initial cost of diesel cars will not really hold true anymore.

And in this context, the Indian manufacturers are way ahead of their Japanese, American and European competitors. There is already talk of a 0.75 litre to 1-litre turbo-charged diesel engine for an Indian car on the test tracks, providing almost 35-40 km per litre.

While I can't speak about the car, I do know that the factory which will make these turbo-chargers in lakhs per annum is already up and running.

My hunt to find out why "VIPs" are exempted from paying tolls on highways is gaining momentum. Long live the Right to Information Act, 2005, I get a reply or more everyday.

The President's Secretariat says they are checking if they had ever asked for such an exemption. The PMO makes it clear that they never asked. The Lok Sabha has on record only one request from an ex-member. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is passing the buck to the National Highways Authority of India and the state governments. Simple question: if nobody asked for exemptions, then why did the NHAI start doling them out?