Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


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Old 6th December 2019, 11:45   #46
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

1) Contessa - My mom (blessed be her soul) wanted me to get a good job and buy a Contessa. It was all she would tell me when I was 10 years old back in 1993.
2) Safari - Because of the ad "Reclaim your life"!
3) 1st gen Swift - The very first Swift that I saw happened to be driven in Coimbatore by a very beautiful girl. Both the car and the girl were obviously beyond me (I was still in college), and the awe has stuck since then.
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Old 6th December 2019, 11:51   #47
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Can the old Kinetic and Bajaj Sunny be called cult vehicles? They singlehandedly ushered in the gearless scooter revolution.
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Old 6th December 2019, 11:59   #48
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

How can we forget two of the India's most trusted workhorses!

Tata Sumo :

The Cult Vehicles of India!-tata_sumo.jpg

I remember a news in local news paper about decommissioning Tata Sumo of Nelliyampathi Panchayath(or Attapadi) which has completed 9Lack Kilometers! Lots of people where so emotional because this particular Sumo used to be government officials as well as local people's emergency vehicle and never breakdown even for a single time. Attached pic is not the same vehicle.

Toyoto Qualis:

The Cult Vehicles of India!-qualis.jpg

Lots of people still adore their Qualis. Even now Qualis is on high demand in used vehicle market. The secure feeling the Qualis still gave when you are inside it is priceless.
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Old 6th December 2019, 12:08   #49
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

All derivative of jeeps:

Right from 1942 Ford GPW

The Cult Vehicles of India!-ford.jpg

1952 Willys CJ3A

The Cult Vehicles of India!-low-bonnet-3.jpg
The Cult Vehicles of India!-low-bonnet2.jpg

1958 Willys CJ3B
The Cult Vehicles of India!-willys.jpg

1972 Willys Kaiser CJ5
The Cult Vehicles of India!-kaiser.jpg

1978 Jeep CJ3B
The Cult Vehicles of India!-cj3b2.jpg
The Cult Vehicles of India!-cj3b1.jpg

1994 Mahindra 540
The Cult Vehicles of India!-yellow-jeep1.jpg

1996 Mahindra CL340 a.k.a Classic
The Cult Vehicles of India!-classic-1.jpg
The Cult Vehicles of India!-classic-2.jpg

And first model Mahindra Bolero
The Cult Vehicles of India!-bolero.jpg

Thank god, owned all of them before crazy government comes with another crazy rule on old vehicles
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Old 6th December 2019, 12:24   #50
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The Cult Vehicles of India!

Quote:
Originally Posted by alpha1 View Post
Hate to be not "contributing" to the topic, but seems like the list is fast turning into List of vehicles sold in India since the 80s.

Cult vehicle is not that appeals you individually. Cult vehicle has a mass appeal (is not easy to lay your hands on) and will always make head turn.

As a side note:
Polo TSI and Punto Abarth may grab engine-heads' eyeballs, but they are not very different looking from their tamers siblings, and hence I doubt if they have a cult appeal.

Someone may add Royal Enfield bullet to this list. But hey come on ... (refer the first of the post)

Probably true to a great extent. This thread is fast becoming very generic and people have been calling out almost every car that has been manufacturer this side of 90s!

A Cult car in my opinion should have defined some thing about that era, and has a standing in the people mind decades later. Cannot be solely to do with performance or state of the art gearbox or engine tech. I mean why should a Thar be a cult car? What does it represent? Its a retro looking off roader.

This sort of a topic may be made sense in the USA and Europe where they had wider automobile offering right from the 70s and 80s. Cars like the Mini, Fiat 500, Golf, Mercedes W series, and some of the American muscle cars from dodge and ford and many such others are the ones the USA and European markets would call as cult cars. These cars sort of defined an Era, had a connection with the culture that existed during a time or a place.

But this topic has changed in to what one owned or anything and everything that has been and is in India. Its laughable that cars like the Tavera are being mentioned in this thread. We have more car names in this thread than the ones left out.

To be very honest, I cannot think of any car and bike in India apart from the Ambassador, Premier Padmini, Maruti 800, the Yamaha RX100 and the RD350. And even in this the its only the RX100 and the RD350 would command resale even today. Whats the point of calling a car or a bike a cult one if almost no one wishes to buy and restore it?

Last edited by motorworks : 6th December 2019 at 12:29.
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Old 6th December 2019, 12:30   #51
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

'Cult' vehicle is not necessarily something that is just 'popular' but among it's followers, it can't be easily substituted by another vehicle. Subaru (Chevy in India) Forester certainly fits the definition. This was not a commercial success and GM must have sold just few hundred examples in the country between 2003 to 2005. But most of these cars are so immaculately maintained by the passionate owners (2nd or 3rd owners in some cases), they look like they can stay for another 5 years.
What makes the forester unique?
  • Capable soft-roader in what appears like a jacked up station wagon, which comes equipped with 'full time AWD' with 'low range' and 190 mm of GC.
  • 2.0 L Boxer engine which adds to the low center of gravity
  • Great ride quality on most surfaces
  • Excellent handling
  • Immaculate build quality and reliability.
Cult status is despite the drawbacks:
Thirsty
  • Power/Torque are 'adequate' to 'insufficient'
  • Expensive parts
  • Space at the rear seat is tight
The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_1318.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_1327.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_1325.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_1323.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_1321.jpg
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Old 6th December 2019, 13:20   #52
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tanveer02 View Post
Any discussion on Indian cult classic cars is incomplete without the inclusion of a Maruti 800, specially in it's SS80 and 5 speed avatar

Attachment 1942765
Photo source : Leoshashi's review of his 5S 800
Attachment 1942766
Photo source: Google
Glad to see my SS80 being promoted by Google 🥳
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Old 6th December 2019, 13:38   #53
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

If we are to consider cult status endorsed by Team-bhp members, then Tata Safari is the clear winner. At one point of time, there was even a thread with a running list of all safari owners. To be fair, one must acknowledge that the Scorpio also ran.

Bullets never got much fan following on Team-bhp, but it definitely is the biggest cult vehicle of all time.

And, my last submission is the Ducati Monster.

For me these are the three cult vehicles (though the third one is not popular in India).


The Cult Vehicles of India!-img_20170106_120954.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-dsc00040.jpg

The Cult Vehicles of India!-dsc08353.jpg

Last edited by sen2009 : 6th December 2019 at 13:39.
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Old 6th December 2019, 13:51   #54
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Does Ford Ikon cut it, i remember how we used to lust about it, when we were in college (1999-2003), and how it was so easy for the couple of guys(whose dads gifted it to them) in college, to woo girls so easily. Guess it was a dream for pretty much everyone in college to own one (including mine), to just get to the dream gal (who really thought about driving dynamics and all that at that age).

Ford ikon in black with sexy alloys, and some red sticker work, and atleast you get to have a coke with the gal!


Last edited by AtheK : 6th December 2019 at 13:56.
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Old 6th December 2019, 13:58   #55
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

When I think of Cult, the first name that comes in my mind is Yamaha Enticer. Everything about that bike was so good that even when I was a kid, I could feel the fizz that James May has so often talked about.
Everything about that bike screamed badass to me, and dare I say it, the entire package was quite Enticing.
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The Cult Vehicles of India!-enticer.jpeg  

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Old 6th December 2019, 14:05   #56
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AtheK View Post
Does Ford Ikon cut it ...
Ford Icon was quite iconic. Back in the day it was the only car in normal price range which could do 170. Girls did love it!

But the car did not stand the test of time. It lost its fan following by 2005.
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Old 6th December 2019, 14:07   #57
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Quote:
Originally Posted by sen2009 View Post
Ford Icon was quite iconic. Back in the day it was the only car in normal price range which could do 170. Girls did love it!

But the car did not stand the test of time. It lost its fan following by 2005.
True, the new ford ikon did not get the same following, maybe because new cars started coming in.

Unfortuantely never got a chance to drive one, so it is quite a good surprise to know, that it could hit speeds upto 170.
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Old 6th December 2019, 14:29   #58
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Quote:
Originally Posted by wrongturn View Post
Willys MB/ Willys Jeep

The most iconic vehicle of all time, not just in India but globally would be the Willys Jeep. Doesn't matter if it was the original Willys MB or the CJ5 or the Mahindra produced later versions in India or the latest Roxor in the US, it still has the most dominant cult following and it won't fade away till this civilization stands.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Shubhendra View Post
All derivative of jeeps:

Right from 1942 Ford GPW

1952 Willys CJ3A

1958 Willys CJ3B

1972 Willys Kaiser CJ5

1978 Jeep CJ3B

1994 Mahindra 540

1996 Mahindra CL340 a.k.a Classic

And first model Mahindra Bolero

[/ATTACH]

Thank god, owned all of them before crazy government comes with another crazy rule on old vehicles
@Wrongturn @ Shubendra -

Super pictures Thanks for sharing , Jeep is the only constant in automotive world, you cant call it a car, a van, a truck not even an SUV , Its just called a Jeep!

Since all kinds of manufacturers have made them - Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Mahindra, Ssangyong and many more. My guess is there is a bit of Jeep in every off road vehicle these guys have made ever since.

Isn't Jeep the most restored vehicle in T-BHP?
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Old 6th December 2019, 15:01   #59
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Daewoo Matiz anyone?
That egg shaped car. For me it was the first "cute" car of India, everything before that was just meant to do the job.

Pic courtesy: Hillram's tbhp thread.
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The Cult Vehicles of India!-matiz.jpg  

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Old 6th December 2019, 15:36   #60
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Re: The Cult Vehicles of India!

Let's not forget the first people mover. Reliable as a hammer, could drink vegetable oil and still run the length and breadth of the country, threw zero tantrums and established the popularity and indestructible image of Toyota.
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The Cult Vehicles of India!-images-5.jpeg  

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