[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

And it quite possibly had the best cabin of all hatchbacks from Fiat till date. Great quality, great ergonomics and very well laid out. And that unique wipe from the single wiper like from a Mercedes - it was all too much for a young boy!

So, yeah I will pick the Uno. Some cars have come mighty close, but let's leave those out for the moment.

Stay happy with those wheels!

How can I forget Uno? Simply, an outstanding car of 90's. A friend had one and we used to admire it so much for its engine as well as comfort.

It had power windows if I am not mistaken. Very, very few cars had that feature back then.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Never forget?

My humble Maruti 800 - Our first car in the family. Only one in the list that has been sold, but I really wish I could meet it once again so as to buy it back and restore.

FIAT Punto - My first car (And only one still)

Kawasaki Versys 650 - First big bike experience. Still can't believe I took the plunge!

Never had the same connection with the WagonR, Hyundai Xcent, Pulsar 180 DTSi or Hero Meastro.

[Asish_VK]

For me, it will be our humble Hyundai Eon.

The first car I bought of my own money for my parents back in 2012. My father was so proud and he learnt driving at the age of 58 !

His biggest dream was to own a Bajaj Chetak long back but decided against it due to financial commitments and kids education. I felt very proud of myself that day.

It will be the closest to our heart even If I could by a high end luxury car anytime in future.

[NPV]

@GTO - Great nostalgia inducing thread

Let me start with my list of unforgettable 2 wheeled rides:
1. Hero Majestic (an early model of 1979/80 vintage) - Yes, many may not have heard or even remember this moped.
It belonged to my uncle and I learnt to ride a 2 wheeler on this during the 80's

2. Lambretta (1960's vintage) - always admired this as it was dad's daily ride and he was very possessive about it, so even being able to just sneak it out onto our street for a short ride of 100-200 meters was a big achievement

3. Hero Puch 2 gear moped - Had scheduled for a 2 wheeler license driving test and the plan was to use a Hero Honda that belonged to a family friend. As luck would have it, he wasn't able to make it, so had to make do with what was available. An engineer working at my dad's office offered his Hero Puch and much to my own surprise, the officer agreed though it had just 2 gears!

4. LML Vespa Select - this was a stunner of a scooter in those days and Dad had bought it brand new. Did not have this for long (2-3 years) but still did enjoy taking it for short rides, this scooter had nice, crisp gears and sharp brakes

5. Kinetic Honda - On medical advice, Dad had moved on from geared to gearless scooters, so a Kinetic Honda DX came into our home. Rode this scooter a lot around the city and just loved it. Very soon, we had 2 more examples of the Kinetic Honda in our home

6. Honda Aviator - current ride, love this one too. It's a no-nonsense, trouble-free scooter that replaced the old Kinetic Honda. Going strong after 4 years and ~12,000 Km on the Odo
Ownership thread (Ownership Review: Honda Aviator (Pearl Sunbeam White))

Now, for the cars:
1. Maruti Omni (1992/93) - our first brand new car, learnt to drive on this car. Have lots of memories driving this to Chennai, Tirupati, Coimbatore and Palakkad a few times

2. Maruti Esteem (1998) - this was an aspirational sedan in those days and was a lovely car. Drove this all over South India with the first one being an unforgettable trip to Kumta, Goa and Mangalore (just needed an excuse to attend a friend's wedding!). I have to say I learnt to drive on Indian highways on this car

3. USA - Ford Taurus (1992 vintage, used in 1998-99) - bought this one pre-worshipped from CarMax and it was a very comfortable car with a front seat that was like a sofa (much like the Ambassador). It was an automatic and had the Column shifter mechanism for drive, park and reverse modes (again like the Ambassador's gear shifter)

4. USA - Honda Accord (2001) - after contemplating buying a used car and delaying the decision, I was smitten seeing a friend's Nissan Altima. Decided to buy one brand new, but as luck would have it, ended up picking up the Accord instead. Just loved this car and drove it a lot while in the US

5. Indica V2 DLX (2004) - this wasn't even a lateral upgrade from the Esteem, but with fuel prices soaring and not wanting a bigger car in the city, bought this. The fun and reliability lasted 4 years and ~40k Km during which time I used this on many highway trips all over South India

6. Swift Dzire VXi "Dizzy" (2009) - turns 10 this month and still going strong at ~92,000 Km. This has been very reliable and free from any major troubles. This is another car that has taken us safely on several trips, some of them logged here on TBHP (Dizzy Drives)

*Also have "Waggy", our 2016 Wagon R VXi which is currently used by wifey mostly for city runabouts, wouldn't list that as an unforgettable one just yet.

[swiftnfurious]

Cars I remember :

Swift D : a good driver's car of the time and a great FTD & economical diesel. The car used to do 20K KMS annual and that says how much I loved to drive.

Maruti 800 : has a special place in my heart as it's the first car I drove. A very practical, no non-sense car. Has even taken our family on a 600 km trip too. If the roads are good, it's a comfortable ride. Brakes are a weak point though.

Palio GTX : A beautiful car way ahead of it's time. That 1.6 engine is a marvel. The Dynamics are brilliant and the ride quality, top class. The features etc are all something which puts current cars in the segment go red. And when driven sane in the highway, it returns a 14 kmpl with AC. Downside - I see 6 & 8 kmpl numbers in the city.

Cars I can forget - previous gen Wagon R : driver's nightmare!! Poor dynamics, even worse e-power steering. Still a commendable 1.1L with a very good low end and a tall seating position. After getting the Swift, I simply refused to drive. Probably one of the few cars I'd rather not drive at all.

Bike's : CBR 250. Am in love with the bike in 7 months of ownership. What a package. Can comfortably cruise all day at triple digital speeds. The bike doesn't fatigue even when the rider is! And still returns a 30 kmpl when riding at those speeds. Just completed a 3000 km trip & a 1000 km trip.

[Aditya]

Let's start with some cars I have driven or owned.

Back in 2015, I got a chance to drive some really fast cars at Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi. Among the lot, 3 cars that I fell in love with for their performance, sound and handling were the Porsche 911, Ferrari 458 and Corvette Stingray. However, the one car of the bunch that I would love to own would be the Toyota GT86. Excellent real world car with good all-round visibility, fantastic handling and more than enough performance. I have always respected Toyota. What the hell, I even own one. But, I never thought I would fall in love with one. While I won't forget any of the cars I drove there, the GT86 made the biggest impact.





The Mahindra Thar is next on my list. I've done a fair bit of off-roading in this one. To live with, the Thar is a lot better than any "Jeep" that Mahindra has built. Turns more heads than some exotics too.



In a market full of boring sedans, hatchbacks and SUVs, the Isuzu D-Max V-Cross stands out! Like the Thar, this one turns many heads. A fast truck with loads of character and great looks, the big Isuzu left an impression on me. I had a lot of fun with it and wrote what has been my favourite review on Team-BHP.



How could my list not have the legendary Ford Mustang on it? Those looks, that power and a day at the Buddh International Circuit is a combination that's tough to beat.



My dad's Fiat 1100 was the car I learnt driving on. It also made a good mechanic out of me. Brilliant sound too! Still love it.



Finally, my beloved Hindustan Contessa. The first car that bore my name on its registration certificate. Looked great and rode beautifully. Of course it had its share of problems, but it had become an extension of myself and I have never been able to connect with my more modern cars the way I did with the Conti. It will always stay at the top of my list.



Other cars -

Jaguar XJ Series 3 - Superb looks, magic carpet-like ride, super silent cabin and proper wood and leather. Fast too.
Old Mini - Proper Mini, proper fun!
Range Rover - The ultimate luxury SUV.

[dicor]

Amazing thread. It's interesting to see people's reason for remembering their rides.

I remember during initial days GTO's Jeep used to be on top banner area.

From the List of vehicles I owned; I have following ones which I will never forget


1979 model HMT 3511 Zetoromatic Tractor - My first 4/6/8 wheeler. I can never forget this. He arrives in the family right an year ago of my dad's wedding. This tractor is has special part in my life because of two reasons. The driver of this tractor taught me two things when I was 9. Driving and smoking.

I was so passionate about driving that I use to drive this tractor 300 KMs to get servicing done.

This tractor also taught me how to reverse it with 2/4 wheel trolleys in tighter space.
P.S. --> Reversing a tractor with trolley requires lot of skills and patience.

1989 Dark brown Kinetic Luna Super - Well this was primarily bought for my mom but soon it became my first ride. Doubling, tripling, quadrupling and so on with my school mates. Everything I had learnt on this Luna.

1993 Black Escorts Rajdoot 175 - My first macho MC (it's motor-cycle guys). When I started riding this, I never use to kick start it as I was very much scared of it's reverse kick. So I used to get someone with me who can either kick start or can push so that I can start in 2nd gear. I learnt all the stunts on this MC. i.e. taking hands off handlebar, standing on foot rest (SRK Deewana Style), standing on petrol tank, sleeping on seat while it's running. Swapping the riders while it's doing 80kmph.

1992 White HM Ambassador
It was actually a jugaad. We had a petrol Ambassador. It met an accident and due to that body shell became unusable. So we bought an older petrol ambassador in Rs 5000. Bought a second hand BMC motor boat engine and a floor lever gear box. Except owner and Registration book, everything was different from previous vehicle. Yes engine and chasis number too and it was never endorsed on RC.

Petrol was Rs 12 per litre and Diesel was Rs 5. We were pleased with per km we doing in each rupee.

Winter is coming - This BMC motor boat engine never ever started early morning. You keep it park for 3 hours during winter evenings and it will never start. There were only 2 ways to start it. First - keep cranking it unless your battery dies. Second, gather the people around you and ask them to give "dhakka" (push) for 200 mtrs. It was part of my routine every morning to do 15 mins exercise.

1995 White Bajaj Tempo Trax
Ohh man. This vehicle was our workhorse. The crazy workhorse. The horse who can refuse to move an inch ahead even in middle of journey or can take you to 500 KMs without stopping.
There are only two good things to brag about this vehicle. Space and Mercedes OM616 engine. It was literally a people hauler.
Once on my way back to home, I saw a barat bus (bus which was carrying passengers who had been to attend a wedding) failure. All passengers were standing on road in jungle seeking for another vehicle. I accommodated 22 of them in TRAX. (Remember, It was not cruiser model, It was 10 seater Town and Country model)

The unreliability of this vehicle has never given my dad courage to even take it out for more than 100 KMs. The pathetic service network and scarcity of spare parts were nightmare to maintain this vehicle. The suspension's broken torsion bar was most common failure in it.

Despite all it's demerit, this was my favorite vehicle. I always use to go out with my friends so we were always 4-5 guys in it and second no-one in family bothered about it's availability.

2002 Metallic Gold Mahindra Marshal Royale
Reason - There is no special reason to remember this car. But we had spent our past in cars which were troublesome, prone to failures or harsh to ride. This was breeze. DI engine (half crank start even at 2 degree Celsius). The comfortable suspension. When we sold it, it had already logged more than 2.5 lakh kms on odo yet our ownership experience was trouble free (NOT niggle free)

2012 Red Mahindra Verito D4
Reason - 5 fat persons with 4 big suitcases!!! No problem. 23 KMPL on highways and 18 KMPL in city. 93000 KMS on odo and clutch was still feather light. Tank like build. No rattles / niggles (not even a flat tyre) apart from one glow plug malfunction in entire ownership tenure. All covered under warranty.

[NiInJa]

Here goes my list with some anecdotes !

My dad's Bajaj Chetak 150 2 stroke
I was in my mom's womb when he sold the Java due to surgery as he was advised not to lift heavy objects, but since he is a motor-head and knew a few things about 2 stroke engines then, he went ahead and bought the Chetak, which was still a heavy scooter ! This was back in 1986. We did innumerable road trips, the one I clearly remember was how it pulled on effortlessly on the ghat of Sinhagad fort with four on-board . My brother used to stand in the front (I would be so jealous) while I would be comfortable in my mom's lap, best seat ever !
In 1998 it was given for a repaint and overhaul, so it was painted metallic black and got new set of tail and headlights. I would go with my dad to the garage where it was rebuilt, that was probably when I started getting more interested in the mechanicals of engines. So I thank my dad for lighting that fire ! The scooter was insanely powerful with a manic pick-up. It just needed the right kind of rider which happened to be my dad's close friend who had just bought the new Pulsar 180. He would ride this scooter madly and would often say that its the only scooter which can give a tough fight to the Honda CBZ or Pulsar twins in terms of pick-up. Dad sold her off with a heavy heart in 2004 as he started liking the Activa more.

Dad's first Car: Maruti 800
She was our first car ever. Enough said , Still comes in my dreams: I am washing her and playing Kaho na pyaar hai songs from the cassette.

Honda Brio :
We just sold her few days back. I had shifted to Bengaluru for work, my parents were opposed to my marriage with my then girl-friend. The talks were on for about a year or so, we gave up hope and decided to get married ourselves -filmi style- if things didn't turn around. So what is the first thing you do when you decide to settle down ? Buy or rent a house together ? No, you buy a car, that too on a hefty loan ! Reason: you are a motor-head (thanks Dad)

My girl friend bought her first car -The Brio- and we went to the Anjaneya Swami Temple near Marathahalli Bridge. The priest asked her who I was, she said 'just a friend' to that he looked at me and smiled, as if he knew whats brewing between the two of us. He started chanting some mantras and paused in between and beckoned us to come close and in a huffed voice said "Look, In this prayer, I am asking God to take care of this car and the owner and her husband which is you, ok ?" We laughed out loud and I replied "Works for me !", and as it turned out, my parents gave a go ahead a few months later ! The Brio was my lucky charm.

That story apart, I think she will go down the memory lane as the best naturally aspirated small car (costing less than 5 lakhs) I have ever driven. Now, the world is shifting towards three cylinder engines and others tuned for saving fuel and sharp handling taking over ride comfort etc, such cars like the Brio and Swift are probably not going to be around and accessible for people having tight budgets.

[navin]

You always remember your first car: Premier Padmini "MMF 92". My first car, a hand me down from a cousin. Drove to 11th standard in it. Since few classmates had cars then, this made me quite 'popular' among the fairer sex. Even took the French teacher to a Hindi movie in it. No nothing happened although no one in junior college believed me when I told them that. So one final time: NOTHING happened. And I stand by that.

Other cars: 1978 Honda CVCC. 1987 Nissan Sentra. 1985 BMW 325iX. 1974 Triumph Spitfire rag-top restored in 1992-3. 1990 Honda Accord. Contessa 1.8 rarely used. 1996 Opel Astra. 2004 Skoda Octavia vRS. 2012 Camry.

[Prodigy07]

Here's my list:

a) Premier Padmini S1
b) Fiat Palio S10
c) Maruti Zen Carbon
d) Ford Fiesta 1.6S (Yes, the one in Aquarius Blue)

[itsashishsharma]

Bajaj Priya 1987-2005 My father's ride. I was born two months after this scooter was bought. 5 of us (My parents, two elder sisters and myself) used to ride it. God what a time it was, and my father didn't let me have a two wheeler for myself my whole life because they are "unsafe". For those who don't know what Bajaj Priya was: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajaj_Priya.
Maruti 800 DX 1997-2005 My father's first car. We used to do a 400km one way trip 3-4 times a year in this car. 6 of us, all those in the above paragraph + my grandmother.
I learnt driving on this car, started at an age of 12-13 (We lived in countryside and those were village roads with no traffic at all, I don't encourage driving in illegal ages). Sold it for upgrading.
Maruti Esteem VXi 2005-2007 A 1998 model, bought pre-owned. A true scorcher that 1.3L engine with a great hydraulic steering. Lovely car. We don't have such cheap, FTD cars now. Had to sell it as it was getting old.
Maruti Baleno LXi 2007-2018 A 2006 model, bought pre-owned. The 1.6L engine wasn't as free revving as the Esteem's but was such an excellent cruiser. Suspension that could take abuse like a champ. You know those smaller size 4-5 speed breakers clubbed together that make you cringe every-time you go over it, the Baleno used to cruise above those at 70kmph and there would just be a humming sound and the cabin would be unshaken. Was doing perfectly alright at an age of 12 years and 120000KMs, had to sell it as we didn't have parking space for two cars. As the Baleno came in, I got the Esteem
Fiat Palio 1.2 ELX 2007-2011 A 2003 model, bought pre-owned. A replacement of the Esteem which meant it was my car. Father had the Baleno. I don't have words for this car. It took me to the workshop countless times and sourcing original part was a big headache. But man was it fun. Yes, the engine felt sluggish for the heavy weight but how it felt at triple digit speeds, it gives me goosebumps telling this tale today. The chassis, the suspension, the hydraulic steering, it was a driver's dream. Had long romantic drives in it with my then GF (my wife now) It got too tough to maintain eventually and hence didn't make sense to be moved from Delhi to Bangalore when I moved.
Swift VXi 1.2 k-series 2011-2015 The first model, type 2 Swift had the best FTD factor. From the second gen, the engine wasn't as free revving (tuned for better FE) and the steering wasn't as feel-some. Only this car after the Esteem has been so light on pocket to maintain while being such FTD. Lost this car to an accident.
Ford Fiesta 1.5L TDCi 2015 My current car. Best of the lot in every sense. The most FTD of the lot. Bought new after loosing the Swift. I have got this car remapped and man it beats everything under the 20L mark now for me.

[mitsalltheway]

In my 36 years, the family and I have owned many cars, having 3 at a time sometimes. The list is pretty exhaustive,

Pre 1985 - 2 x Premier Padmini's (Fiat)
1987 - MM540DP 4x4
1992 - Maruti Van (OMNI)
1994 - Premier 118NE
1995 - Maruti 800 (pre owned)
1997 - Maruti Esteem Vxi
2002 - Tata Indica V2 DLE
2004 - Tata Indigo Marina DLX
2004 - Mahindra Bolero XLS
2006 - Honda City ZX Gxi
2007 - Maruti Zen Estilo Vxi
2010 - Fiat Linea Emotion Pack Diesel
2018 - Fiat Linea T Jet Plus (pre owned)

Ive had amazing memories with all these but the most unforgettable are,

1) Premier 118NE.
Ive learnt driving on this one ( i was grossly underage though). It was a rust magnet and somewhat unreliable, but retrospectively was a pretty good car to drive. I still remember the "syncromesh" direct shift gearbox. Shift action is one of the best i can remember.

2) Tata Indigo Marina DLX
Have had extensive highway runs in this one. Couldnt beat the space, comfort, fuel economy as well as surprising good reliability in its first 5 years with us. Made very precious memories with it.

3)Maruti Zen Estilo Vxi
Perhaps this is the car ive used the longest, for 11 years. Reliable like no other. Driving in Mumbai traffic, the most perfect city car i have personally used. The compact dimensions, surprisingly comfortable interiors, chilling ac all helped. Only downside was that i always struggled with the fuel economy, never more than 10 - 11 Kmpl in the city ever.

4) The Fiat Lineas.
As i matured, the needs from my car changed, and the Linea's give me all that. In case you may have noticed, the only repeated car. The Linea Diesel was amazing on all counts.

Now I drive much less, I car pool or use app based taxis / buses. So i bought a pre owned T Jet which was in immaculate condition rather than settling for a 1.2 L, sub 4m "Sedan" which my budget was permitting. Have'nt regretted the decision one bit.

This is the last of its kind car. What i will replace it with is a thought that keeps me up at nights sometime.

Mitul

[aabhimanyu04]

Wow, this is one thread where all of us can go on and on, quite vividly. I am one of you, with over 20 years of driving and riding experience I have learnt one thing for sure, they are not mere machines to take us from A to B, they fill a major part of our lives.
For Cars:
For me it will be my first car, a pre-owned blue colour FIAT Premier Padmini (which was technically my dad’s first car during 1991), I started gaining interest in cars after being fascinated by what’s under the hood and what drives a car. Little things like, opening the air filter of my Padmini to suck petrol from the fuel pipe and directly feed into the carburettor was quite a thing back then. I used to feel like a pro to have started a dead car by doing this.
One other thing I will never forget about driving cars was I never used mirrors to reverse and used the age old method of peeping out to look back, I laugh at myself for having done that, but yes that was the age.
For Motorcycles:
Once again, it will be my Dad’s bike, a Yezdi Classic 2 (still have the Ideal Jawa bill for Rs. 5600 dated somewhere in 1977 when he commissioned into IAF as a Pilot officer), a lot of learnings on that one. I was quite amazed by the fact that the same gear lever can be turned into a kicker to start, the pumping of kicker I did to generate compression, truly amazing.
Since then we have come a long way and some of my cars and bikes from the past have been:
Cars:
Ford Ikon ZXI > Honda City GXI (Dolphin Type) > Mitsubishi Lancer (SLXI)> Ford EcoSport TDCi TI ( 2016-Present)
Motorcycles:
Yezdi Classic 2>Yezdi Road King>Yamaha Libero> Yamaha RXZ> HH CBZ Star>RE Electra 5S ES>HH Karizma Yellow>Duke 200>Honda CB Unicorn> Duke 390>Yamaha R3 ( 2017-Present)

PS: a special mention to my Hero Honda Karizma Yellow 2008 which was a benchmark of performance and refinement during that time. What a gem of an engine, refinement and of course bulletproof reliability.
In fact, this is the bike that compelled me to start writing on automobiles:
https://www.mouthshut.com/review/Her...iew-msqntomnrm

Happy motoring

[Cooltronics]

If it ought to be one car, it has to be our 32 year old Maruti 800. It came in our lives when I was barely able to sit on my own and with no seat belts back then, use to sit in dad's lap.
32 years later, the next gen. is pepping up to admire and then some day manage it.
What took us by surprise was the amazing Japanese build quality and that peppy pick up which left far behind the cars of that era.

Other cars which have left a deep impact are
Standard Herald (praises I keep hearing from dad), First Gen. Zen, Ford Fusion, Swift 1.3L (which we still own),

[SJM1214]

Amazing thread.

Santro ZipDrive.
I have driven many cars and rode many bikes. However, I can't forget my "own" first car. I bought my first car back in 2004. Thanks to cosmos bank, who approved a car loan on the base of my first job's offer/appointment letter. It was a Santro Zip Drive. I used it extensively for my frequent trips to the Himalayas. I sold it in 2016 to replace it with an MS Brezza. However, I am still in touch with its new owner.


Yezdi 250.
My “own” first vehicle came as “Yezdi 250” during my college days. It was bought after one year of saving from my pocket money. It was a welcome change after years of using Honda CD100. I was in love with my Yezdi. In fact, If they relaunch the Yezdi RoadKing, I"ll be first to go and book it.


RE Continental GT
After Yezdi, I bought many bikes. I became a Roya Enfield fan and owned Electra & Standard. Currently, I am a proud owner of RE 350 Classic. One day I got a chance to lead a group RE ride by RE Continental GT for a 600km two-way trip. That was one hell of an experience. I literally fell in love with its brutal power. After that, it became a ritual for me to replace my RE 350 with dealer's Continental GT for every group rides. I came very close to buy dealer's TD bike, somehow I decided against it due to its bad condition.


BMW X3
I and my partner used to do a lot of long trips during the initial phase of our business startup. He used to own a BMW X3 and used to keep his driver with us for long trips. I convinced him to drop the driver and assured him that I would take care of that duty for our long trips. It was fun to drive X3 for 400km+ trip once a week. It was a sad day for me when he replaced his X3 with Mercedes CLA. Our business is set now and the driver is back to his duty.