[GTO]

As a father would say, "I can't believe you've turned 18! How the years have passed" . Our baby is now an adult, all of eighteen years old.

Time to hand over the sacred keys:


It honestly feels just like yesterday that we took the "team-bhp.com" domain live, had merely 14 users online and thought, "wow, we're so busy". Today, we have 40-lakh monthly readers!

A wise man once said "content is king" and IMHO, that's even more important for a website. We find ourselves in an age of information overload - too many sources, too much content & too much noise (including social media) - so if you're loyal to Team-BHP....well, thank you & a hat tip to our BHPians who continue building this special community.

On this birthday, let us all celebrate our content. Tell me about your favorite / most valued / eye-opening / life changing / heartwarming post or thread & share the link here. It could either be your selecting someone else's posts / threads, or your own...show us something you're proud of. Please also share a summary of why its your favourite! We’ve done so much in these 18 years - heck, there are a whopping 2-lakh threads on Team-BHP! What's your favourite? Could be a review. Could be a travelogue. Could be anything.

What inspired you? What moved you?

Mine is the 12th birthday thread (A dozen years of memories...Happy 12th Birthday, Team-BHP!). The memories contained in there just show why this has been a heck of a journey. I am also very proud of the automotive trivia thread (Fun & Interesting Trivia on the Indian Car Scene) which I thought was super unique, as well as my 2nd-gen Thar Review which followed no format, and was written straight from the heart one fine morning (very free-flowing informal language). The one story I enjoyed telling all of you BHPians was how press & media drives work (Behind the Scenes: How Press & Media Drives Work). Wish someone had told me all that before I went for my first, the Ritz test-drive in 2009! Dad meeting his old flame, the W111? What a day!

Threads & Posts by other BHPians that moved my soul

When Turbanator & V.Narayan showed why they are better human beings than me & you. BHPian no_fear's incredible, unbelievable Ducati story which was all about resilience...and luck! I've read drive2eternity's ORR parody 100 times and it still makes me ROTFLMAO, as does his take on RMZ EcoWorld. IMHO, the camaraderie on Team-BHP is unbeatable - witness how a BHPian bought a motorcycle from another, without even any meetings or checkups. Can anyone forget Karl's story on how a stolen Fiat was recovered because of a BHPian, or Rudra's iconic write-up on what makes Team-BHP a special place. Leoshashi's birthday celebration was the cutest I've ever seen.

Let us celebrate our content today! What thread or post is your favourite on Team-BHP & why?

[Rehaan]

Wow, 18 years sure is an accomplishment.

Our website & community has really grown like a living thing, just crawling at the start, finding its feet, discovering what it stood for, and showing who it was -- all through the years.

Every BHPian, every single post and every reader has contributed to this amazing story of Team-BHP - so thank you all!


What inspired you? What moved you?

I'm going to have to do some more thinking on this before adding more links, but here's one:

An eye opening moment for me was when compiling a list of true stories of BHPians being saved by seat-belts, realizing that the information & awareness that was being cultivated on Team-BHP was actually saving lives. We weren't just helping people buy the right car, or save money on insurance -- we were helping them make the right choices to ensure they got home to their families safely. Here's a particularly touching story from that thread.

[Samba]

Finally Team-bhp is eligible to get a driving license! Happy 18th! We have come a long way and a much longer way to go.
The stringent forum rules, the honest reviews, 24/7 relentless effort by the moderators and the passion from 1000’s of members and lacs of readers have kept the spirit alive and kicking. It's easily the biggest automotive website in India.
Team-bhp earned this well deserved position over these 18 years. Team-bhp has been built over the years, it’s not bought, so the satisfaction of being associated with Team-bhp is enormous.

Cheers to the 'Live to Drive' spirit.

Originally Posted by GTO

Let us celebrate our content today! What thread or post is your favourite on Team-BHP & why?

There are actually many! In a broader aspect, the travelogue section, the initial & long term ownership experiences along with the official car reviews are the sections where I spend most of my time.

Apart from these, there is one thread I visit frequently.
That's - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-...nts-india.html

Reason- This thread is the biggest reality check while traveling on Indian roads.

[batish]

Woahhh! It just feels like yesterday when I was googling, would my membership be approved? How to get into TeamBHP?
It's been 5 years since I am on this platform. I'd like to thank each and every moderator.

Posts on topics like Dashcam, detailing, DIYs taught a lot. Frankly, before reading about dashcam on TeamBHP, I had no idea that they can be installed in our cars. Heck, even the fastag on my car is because of TeamBHP. Even threads in 'shifting gears' helped a lot.

Special mention to DIY people. Thumbs up guys, especially Gannu_1. Most of the technical knowledge about cars and their tools is because of people like you.

Wish TeamBHP a very happy Birthday! May we blessed with numerous interesting and wonderful threads.

P.S: One of my favourite thread is Gannu's Polo Ownership Log

[akash_v12]

Others stay up on the 14th of February to wish their better half Happy Valentines Day. BHPians? To wish our beloved forum a very happy birthday and this time, it's the 18th!

Happy Birthday Team-BHP! May this forum exist as long as we do. Fantastic effort GTO, Rehaan, Samurai, tsk1979, Gannu_1, Aditya, Eddy, our newly-crowned Mod Turbanator and the entire Team-BHP support team.

My favourite threads?

- Leoshashi's XL6 review
- Karan's M340i review
- Find your vehicle's manufacturing date (VIN)
- GTO's 530d review
- The entire What Car? section!
- How Press and Media Drives work
- Gannu's Polo GT

And a whole lot more!

Trivia: Whilst Team-BHP just got driving privileges, I'm still a good year and a half away from it!

[gururajrv]

Congratulations to the entire crew at Team-BHP!

Whilst most of the ideas die during / even after the execution stages, this forum lived on to tell its tale like a fine wine does! This forum keeps getting better & better each day despite the internet has grown like a Megadalon in the ocean of whales & great white sharks! Content surely does speak and what more is better to read from the experience of the consumer himself!

I have been a member for 4.5 years now and it was an accomplishment to get my membership approved in the 2nd attempt back in 2017!

Once again congrats to the entire crew

My favorite threads has to be the one I created for my car and 2 bikes - LOL! I am a rookie at writing threads and compile information as I’ve a memory of a fish and hell lot unorganized & lazy! But, the interest I gathered to write my own threads is something I enjoyed and keep it as my own favorites whilst I still like multiple threads on this forum our beloved members has posted / is even posting as I write here!

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by GTO

Our baby is now an adult, all of eighteen years old. A wise man once said "content is king".
Tell me about your favorite / most valued / eye-opening / life changing / heartwarming post or thread

What youtube is doing today on great content was started off way back in 2004 by this very forum, and I must thank the founding team, members of the community and the lakhs of readers for raising this kid to now become a giant.

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Our website & community has really grown like a living thing, just crawling at the start, finding its feet, discovering what it stood for, and showing who it was -- all through the years.

Rightly said; crawling, making mistakes, throwing tantrums, but all along standing for quality content - the same has been my journey on the forum from 2006 until now.

I've already summarised my "Thank You" via this thread, and this but would like to add @Indian2003's recent articles and @abirnale's XUV500 thread to the list.

[condor]

Congrats to TBHP - and as said in Hindi - Jug Jug Jiyo !

Congrats - GTO, Rehaan, all the moderators - and fellow members + readers who have made this possible, making TeamBHP grow over the years.

Cant pick any specific thread or post, but some wonderful memories through the years. And a few regrets too that I didnt make use of the wisdom that I could have at certain times.

Seeing us see the changing times - from simple 6x BHP machines to the Turbo charged cars, and the unfolding EV scenario !

Here's wishing everyone again, and looking forward to many more years of revving !

[sushil_n79]

Hi All

Congratulations on this milestone. it just seems like yesterday when I viewed this forum and was addicted to it. What started as a medium to get more information about my favorite Premier padmini cars lead to me getting addicted to team bhp. I Have been fortunate enough to be associated with Teambhp since 2004. And I must admit that even today when I visit the forum there is lot to learn.

My favourite threads would be:
1. Technical thread
2. Thread related to specifics like tyre and battery.
3. Vintage vehicles thread
4. Threads related to restoration.
5. I must admit that there has been a considerable change in the way I drive after I started visiting this forum.

Thanks to team bhp and the strict moderators who ensure that the quality of the stuff we go through is of top notch quality.

Regards
Sushil Narayanan

[jkrishnakj]

Oh wow! Hearty congratulations to the whole Tbhp crew.

If there was one site always running either on my phone or computer all the time ever since I became a member, it has to be Tbhp. I can’t remember a day where I haven’t logged in.

This forum will only get richer with experience and wiser with wisdom. The bests ahead.

[ABHI_1512]

Congratulations on making it to adulthood TEAM. Enough can’t be said about the impact of the forum on the psyche of the car loving people of our country. That the manufacturers also give equal if not more importance to the forum just as the audience, needs no separate mention now. My admiration is for everyone who is striving to make meaningful posts on the forum which in turn, benefits so many people at so many levels. TEAM BHP is a living example of what meaningful and dedicated efforts mean and result in without turning greedy.

So, here’s raising a toast to the vibrant amalgamation of ideas. Congratulations to GTO and all the founding partners, Moderators, DBHPIans and everyone including the readers outside the forum, in making what TEAM BHP stands for today. Will not be able to individually name and thank members here but my respect and admiration is for everyone who stands for human values and I know that I have learnt a great deal here over the years.

Travelogue section is what makes me happy and Shifting Gears is what drives me with amazing stories and insights every now and then. Love the Car Reviews but off late the reviews have turned little too concise then the previous ones, may be a sign of changing times. It’s always difficult to pick and choose from a sea of information and posts over the years, but one post which moved me greatly was in 2020 when the pandemic was starting up.

I don’t know if it was the lockdown effect or not but thanks to Hunter3077 for writing his experience-
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...l-miracle.html (IVF: A few precious eggs, a million reluctant sperms & a medical miracle!)

The above post is a triumph of everything in so many ways and as the last line of the post says- life uh….finds a way, TEAM-BHP also found its way to adulthood, kept rising and growing since it’s inception and continues to grow further. So, here’s wishing all of us for this wonderful journey, cheers.

[mayankk]

It's amazing how far the forum has come. Always great to go back and see the earliest threads to see how it's grown.
Thanks be to the mods, gone and here, who've raised a very responsible young adult now!!!

[V.Narayan]

Dear BHPians, readers who are not (yet) members, employees (I assume there are some), Moderators, GTO - all of you together make Team BHP a community and now an institution. An institution that, I am very confident, will outlive most of us. Any one can build a web platform, very few can convert it into a healthy dynamic community but only once in a blue moon is an institution created. The values, ethics and integrity of Team BHP reflected in both our principles, the calibre & values of our Moderators as well as the quality control of our content and discipline of our members is what makes Team BHP an institution.

As the world of automotive transportation enters a whole new era of electric cars & scooters, autonomous vehicles, cars that are more software than mechanical a whole new era of education, information dissemination, clarifications, safety norms etc is opening up. And that will mean a bigger more important role for Team BHP to be a torch bearer of correct information, reviews, facts and education. Ultimately we are a learning and education platform. And our value lies in being the trusted teacher readers look to. And in today & tomorrow's world of too much shoddy content on the web and too little quality we should continue to be the beacon of standards others wish to emulate - not just for automobiles but for the internet world as a whole.

God bless all our readers & content generators. Onwards & upwards.

[Hayek]

Congratulations @GTO, all our hard working Mods and all BHPians as we mark this remarkable milestone. Still remember how I first found Team BHP - was searching for data on model wise car sales over a decade ago and came across our thread. Shortly thereafter, I was looking for information on whether I should buy a Superb - went through all the threads around, and actually ended up buying one despite all the horror stories posted here. I must say it was a member who is no more with us who got me hooked onto Team BHP - our beloved Sam Kapasi aka Yeti. Linking to what was possibly one of his most memorable threads - when the Yeti and @normally_crazy drove to Delhi in a Nano (YetiBlog® - The Yeti®, Normally_Crazy and The Tata Nano drive to Delhi!)

[swiftvxi06]

Heartiest Congratulations on achieving this historic milestone. Team-BHP has been my encyclopedia or Google for that matter for providing knowledge about cars as well as the automotive sector. I have been following Teambhp since 2005. The best part about the forum is just pure ownership reviews, straight from the heart with amazing details. Even the reviews/ test drives feature so much minute details especially " The Smaller yet Significant Things" section.

Congratulations to GTO, all moderators and members.




Cheers to Love Cars. Live Cars.