[gibson_antony]

Hi Everybody,

I have been a follower of BHP forums for sometime now though never an actual member. I have to hand it down to BHP for aligning my recent decision to buy a new car. I am proud owner of a FIAT Grande Punto 90 HP. And i never really understood the delirium of the many fiat fans everywhere till i got to own one. It was quiet an eye opener.

A little about me now. I was born in the middle East in a small Island nation called Bahrain. way before it came to be known as a F1 destination. My automotive roots start there to tell you the truth. My dad was in the automotive business there. we had a tyre dealership and a automotive service equipped workshop. So i grew beneath a flurry of models my dad brought home of which i recall were my favoutites , An old Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 , A 1977 Nissan Datsun 140J (my Dad's love), a w126 model mercedes 280s which was one of the last carburetted S class mercedes(It rode like a magic carpet).. somewhere down the line there was the occasional Toyota corona and the cresida and the powerful Crown...down the years , I came down to India in the year 2001 and I did my university in Chennai at the hindustan college of engg, one of the very few institutes that offered Automotive Engineering as a course. I worked with a few Tier 1 Automotive suppliers as a key account engineer.. last being that of Modine, It is a household name in EU and the states for making some of the best cooling systems in the industry. My motorcycle was a CBZ , then i had an Enfield , moved to a Karizma in 2007. My first Car being a Hyundai Getz and till very recently she has been replaced by the Italian belle from FIAT the Grande Punto 90 HP.

Well down the years I have come across various discussions in BHP for anything i needed any perspective on. I finally decided i had to become a BHPian to make my Automotive experience complete. How else other than getting to join a community that has been formed out of their passion for Automobiles ...One thing i can surely tell I am immensely honored at being given a membership here and would like to thank the moderators for giving me an opportunity to be part of this community.

Thank you all

Happy Motoring

Ciao

[AvinashV]

Welcome aboard Gibson. Couldn't but notice the similarities between our life stories.
Born & brought up in Dubai (till my 12th) so dad went through the exact same cars of yours, a silver Toyota Corona & the onto the "spacious" Toyota Cressida.
Loved the space & AC in it. Every Friday morning it was my job to get the car cleaned for the scrappy pocket money. & the next similarity being did my engineering not far from your place - St.Joseph's College of Engg. Just a few kms down the road. Not anymore in namma Chennai though.
On that note, welcome aboard, even I am a newbie & there's nothing like a reply to your first post

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by AvinashV

Born & brought up in Dubai (till my 12th) so dad went through the exact same cars of yours, a silver Toyota Corona & the onto the "spacious" Toyota Cressida.

Our stories are not exactly similar, but close. Did my schooling and bachelor's in Dubai, my sister would drop me off to college in my first year in a Toyota Cressida, and dad's car was a Toyota Cressida (we had 3 different Cressidas in the family) after which she had to move away, I got my license, and we decided to get a Toyota Avalon. The Avalon may have been the replacement for the Toyota Crown, but I'm not sure yet. Just last year, our purchase was again from the Toyota dealership - it's a Lexus and was our solution to having to deal with a GPS, an MP3 player, and phone-handsfree all of which competed for the cigarette lighter socket (a splitter provided for 2 sockets, but we had 3 devices).

[puchoo]

Welcome to the community and look forward to reading your posts! Is Gibson your real name or a nickname denoting love for guitars?

[gibson_antony]

@ puchoo,

Yeah Gibson is my real first name. And oh yes it is a very popular brand of guitars, I do get that pretty often. Good to know there are guitar lovers here too. I had a washburn sometime back in spite of the fact i bought it to learn to play and ended up keeping it as a souvenir in my room..i guess you d have to blame life for being too demanding on ya..still hopefull that someday that i get to spend time with it ...

[gibson_antony]

Originally Posted by AvinashV

Welcome aboard Gibson. Couldn't but notice the similarities between our life stories.
Born & brought up in Dubai (till my 12th) so dad went through the exact same cars of yours, a silver Toyota Corona & the onto the "spacious" Toyota Cressida.
Loved the space & AC in it. Every Friday morning it was my job to get the car cleaned for the scrappy pocket money. & the next similarity being did my engineering not far from your place - St.Joseph's College of Engg. Just a few kms down the road. Not anymore in namma Chennai though.
On that note, welcome aboard, even I am a newbie & there's nothing like a reply to your first post

Thanks for the reply Avinash. Well its amazing how we can relate to certain things. I remember I had a similar deal with my dad on washing the car as well .And yes the Toyota's were known for their reliable and efficient aircons. You studied in St Josephs eh. heard the place was tough and a little closed in.
Well glad to make acquaintance here and wish to see more of your posts as well.

[gibson_antony]

Originally Posted by AvinashV

Welcome aboard Gibson. Couldn't but notice the similarities between our life stories.
Born & brought up in Dubai (till my 12th) so dad went through the exact same cars of yours, a silver Toyota Corona & the onto the "spacious" Toyota Cressida.
Loved the space & AC in it. Every Friday morning it was my job to get the car cleaned for the scrappy pocket money. & the next similarity being did my engineering not far from your place - St.Joseph's College of Engg. Just a few kms down the road. Not anymore in namma Chennai though.
On that note, welcome aboard, even I am a newbie & there's nothing like a reply to your first post

Originally Posted by k_nitin_r

Our stories are not exactly similar, but close. Did my schooling and bachelor's in Dubai, my sister would drop me off to college in my first year in a Toyota Cressida, and dad's car was a Toyota Cressida (we had 3 different Cressidas in the family) after which she had to move away, I got my license, and we decided to get a Toyota Avalon. The Avalon may have been the replacement for the Toyota Crown, but I'm not sure yet. Just last year, our purchase was again from the Toyota dealership - it's a Lexus and was our solution to having to deal with a GPS, an MP3 player, and phone-handsfree all of which competed for the cigarette lighter socket (a splitter provided for 2 sockets, but we had 3 devices).

Yes the similarities never cease. If you have been in the middle east. Toyota is the brand to reckon with, very similar to how suzuki has their dominance established here. The Avalon was in fact the next generation crown in some markets, As back then LEXUS was a brand specific to the US market. But then after having tasted success with their ever popular LS400 they entered the other markets and took the luxury segment by storm. Toyota have been trend setters, as soon after the other Japanese automotive majors started launching their luxury brands alongside competing for market share. Honda had ACURA , Nissan had INFINITY. ..and yet Toyota always managed to stay on the top.