Persistence pays. I am part of Team-BHP!!

Finally, I got to voice my opinions on this forum. After a long hard battle, I got my reward and got the long awaited mail of approval from Team-BHP. I am elated to be a part of this community. Thanks a lot for the moderators for letting me into this world. I have been following Team-BHP for some time now (read 6 months), when I started to lookout for a new car for myself. A friend of mine introduced this community to me and since then I am hooked-on to this on a daily basis. Never thought such a fantastic forum existed right here with so much passion and knowledge. What moved me to become a member is the attitude of the members who are quite open and warm to other members. Hats-off to you all. You guys rock!! Just a little bit about myself – I am an IT Consultant living in Bangalore (best place on earth, if you leave out the traffic and the potholes) since birth. Married and have been blessed with twin boys (3 years). I live in the JP Nagar area with a good 30-45 min drive to my office in Electronics City. Being in the IT world gives you few opportunities to travel around the world and I did my share of long and short trips to the USA, UK and many other countries in the last 12 years. My association with cars started back in 1999 when I first visited USA. I never knew driving when I was in India. I was so thrilled when I got my California license, I went and bought a brand new Black Honda Accord V6 on the same day!! How I miss those golden days of IT in Silicon Valley. Those days will never return. Anyway, during those couple of years I have driven almost all flavours of Cars available in the US – Camry, Maxima, Passat, Mustang (my favourite for the rush it gives), GrandAm, Landcruisers etc. I was a like a little boy who needs a new toy everyday and hired a new car every weekend for a getaway. Back in India (read 2002), got a Ford IKON 1.6 , again for the sheer power and rush it was offering. I quite liked the car as it was very practical, good handling and sturdy at the same time. It wasn’t great on the ground clearance aspect, but then, which car can survive the dreaded potholes of Bangalore? This car remained with me for 7 years (till 2009), as I was travelling long term to USA again in between. During that period, I have had a Camry V6 and a Nissan Maxima in the US. I love those Japanese cars, quite powerful and unmatched quality. Best family cars you can own. 2 years ago, had to move to UK and decided to part away from my long serving companion, the FORD IKON. It’s in UK, that I got to get more about cars (read European cars) and watching Top Gear (almost everyday) got me hooked onto the details of cars, their operations and all the smaller things that are significant. I started drooling and dreaming about the Aston Martins, Maseratti, Lamborghinis, BMWs, Audis etc. These cars were a regular sight to me on a daily basis. I still follow Top Gear in India (although most of them are repeats from what I watched a year or 2 ago in UK). I didn’t own a car in UK as it was not needed (Indian administration has a lot to learn on how to implement a good public transport system). I rented regularly on weekends and we went around the UK (with trips across England, wales and of course Scotland). Back in India in 2011 for good. The hunt for the new car began in June. I will stop here and will take the new car story in the other section “Initial ownership”. Hope you guys read them and provide your comments. That is going to be a BIG one with photos and all. Once again, I thank the moderators of this community and a big “Namaskara” to all the members. Take care and drive safely. Team-BHP Rocks!! clap: Cheers

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