[kapursaket]

Way back in early seventies when I had just turned 09, my father attempted to teach my elder sister (who had turned 18) how to drive a Car. Typical girl of those days, she was shy and timid and instead I picked up the lessons and Started driving around in deserted roads, ofcourse with my father besides me. The learning was on FIAT 1100D 1965 Model bearing Registration Number DLI 9333. Trust me my legs could stretch till the accelerator, clutch and Brake but all front view was through the Centre and top arc of the steering wheel.
In 1975 my father changed to beige coloured Ambassador Mark II and my stint with driving on deserted roads with occasional driving on less traffic roads continued. Those days RTO people were not very particular on Birth Certificate and Identity Proof etc. and because of my good height I managed to get a driving license after passing the test at the age of 16 itself.

Passion for cars pushed me into formal degree in Mechanical Engineering and started my career with an automobile company. But passion cannot be your career came as a realization and I satrted my own business in Personal Computers. As business grew buying and changing cars became an incentive. Maruti 800, Maruti Esteem 1.3L, Maruti Zen, Tata Sumo, Tata Estate,Maruti Omni, Fiat Siena, Toyota Innova, Skoda Fabia etc. have and are owned by me.

Buying a new car these days is more difficult than owning and maintaining one. It is hard to believe by my children(Otherwise Adults now), when I tell them that my father had to wait for good Five Years before he could get his coveted FIAT 1100D in 1965 (Please do not mistake D for Diesel, still wondering what that D signified) and I patiently waited good three years to get my Maruti 800 in 1988 and they take it as a joke now. The choice was limited hence easy to select,but today with a new Models being launched every fortnight by various world class brands and over and above long list of variants with choice of Diesel and Petrol, finding the right vehicle is difficult task.

Need for new Car in the Family was generated by ever increasing petrol prices and daily run of 40 Kms of my daughter to Law College on our Fiat Siena 1.6ELX (100BHP). The fuel bill had climbed upto INR6500.00PM with ever increasing traffic jams in NCR of Delhi and petrol consumption measurement changing from KM per liter to Liters per hour. One thing was clear that we required a Diesel Car and the budget was not exceeding Rs.5Lacs as it had to be Cash Down to avoid hazels of EMI.


FIAT Punto Active, Ford Figo TDCI, Ritz LDI and Chevy Beat 1.0LS with its new Diesel avatar were the shortlisted Cars.

FIAT Punto was the first choice owing to high satisfaction levels with FIAT quality and reliability in FIAT Siena. But the budget was overshooting by Rs.45,000.00 and the length of the car also was a little more. Hence dropped from the list.

Ford Figo TDCI was good to drive but looks were not contemporary and found the sitting to be a little low and the Budget also overshooting by Rs.50,000.00

Ritz LDI was outright dropped owing to waiting and being out of budget.

Beat 1.0LS was test drove, found it within the budget with trendy exteriors, funky speedometer and Tachometer, Extremely Frugal Diesel engine with low NVH. This was locked as a family decision.


Now began the hunt for the Dealer offering best deal with a promised delivery on Dhan Teras (Festival Two Days before Diwali). Called up all dealers here in Delhi and received replies ranging from waiting of 10 Days to 30 Days. Regent Automobiles at Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area confirmed ready delivery of all variants PS, LS and LT with a wide choice in colours. A trip to the dealer on the evening of Friday 21st October 2011 and excellent behaviour of the Sales executive Mr.Sunil Gupta we confirmed the booking for Super Red Beat 1.0 LS with an assurance of delivery on Monday 24th October 2011. No discounts were offered except usual Floor Mats, Divinity etc. but was promised a thorough PDI. Verified the VIN number and FORM 20, confirming date of Manufacturing as Sept. 2011 and date of despatch from Talengaon as September 30 2011. Vehicle Insurance I opted to buy online and save approximately Rs.2500.00.


As promised Car was ready for Delivery on the Dhan TTeras day with Registration Number etc. Delivery process was prompt and professional. Have had an opportunity to drive 300Km, the new acquisition around the town and formed following opinion-:

1. Exteriors are extremely trendy and appealing. Paint job is glossy and stands out amongst neighbors RED POLO and RED FIGO.
2. Black Interiors contrast well with RED color and the Seat Fabric is good quality and well matched.
3. Steering Wheel with funky speedometer instills confidence of youth and life.
4. Silver on steering Wheel with Goiden Chevrolet emblem are ornamental to the Beat interiors.
5. Front Seat Stance is Comfortable with all controls e.g Gear Shift, Combination Switch to control the turn signal, wiper and Head Lamps ergonomically placed.
6. Front view is slightly raised hence bonnet is not visible even to a 6ft like me. Reverse view is extremely clear and short overall length makes it extremely convenient to park in a city like Delhi otherwise suffering from paucity of parking space.
7. Engine cranking is short and smart with idling extremely silent.
8. Driving is peppy with quick gear shifts to achieve highest fuel average and lowest NVH.
9. First Tank Full (30L) is now just over half with 300Km of city driving. Do not have average statistics ready yet.
10. Steering Wheel is extremely light but not as responsive. Apt for city parking and maneuverability.
11. Ride Quality appears to be comfortable with most of the pot holes and undulations going unnoticed.
12. First Service due 1000Km or One Month.
13. First Service after on 1000Km was only visual inspection followed by washing and cleaning.

Looks like this 936CC Diesel Engine from GM is going to set standard for competitors.

[mayankjha1806]

Welcome to Team BHP, quiet a few cars you have bought over many-many years. Most of your post could be part of ownership thread with new car buying experience so maybe you could pen down (cant really say keyboard down) the Chevy buying experience with initial ownership experience on a separate thread. That will make searching, finding ownership threads easy for other users.

Those days manufacturers used the D for making their models Delux as this was used to indicate improvement in the model, or a higher model. Not sure if this was the case with the 1100D as well.

[diesel_power]

That is really a nice and detailed introduction. Not just about you, but also the long list of vars that you have owned.

I would also laugh if I had to wait for 3 years to get my car. Never seen those kind of days in my life.

Any which ways, times are changing.

A warm welcome to Team BHP.

[kapursaket]

It's worth sharing with fellow bhpians some amusing details of the Car owned by my father when I was born in early Sixties. Most of you would not have herd of this American Six Cylinder beast by the name Hudson (The company has closed down). The car had hydraulic clutch and the ignition was Foot Pedal Start and the thirst for spirit was so much that it would average @ 3Km to a liter.

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by kapursaket

The learning was on FIAT 1100D 1965 Model bearing Registration Number DLI 9333.
FIAT 1100D in 1965 (Please do not mistake D for Diesel, still wondering what that D signified)

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Those days manufacturers used the D for making their models Delux as this was used to indicate improvement in the model, or a higher model. Not sure if this was the case with the 1100D as well.

Welcome aboard kapursaket. Nice to hear about your nostalgia with your Dad's good ol' Fiat 1100. To clarify, the 'D' in 1100D stands not for Deluxe but for DELIGHT. The name was mentioned thus only on the ID/chassis no. plate in the engine bay though.
Speaking of which, do you have any old pics. of your Dad's 1100D btw?? If so, do share them with us in this section of tbhp (in case you havent visited it yet), see the "Nostalgic pics. of our family cars" thread:

Vintage Cars & Classics in India - Team-BHP

[kapursaket]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Welcome aboard kapursaket. Nice to hear about your nostalgia with your Dad's good ol' Fiat 1100. To clarify, the 'D' in 1100D stands not for Deluxe but for DELIGHT. The name was mentioned thus only on the ID/chassis no. plate in the engine bay though.
Speaking of which, do you have any old pics. of your Dad's 1100D btw?? If so, do share them with us in this section of tbhp (in case you havent visited it yet), see the "Nostalgic pics. of our family cars" thread:

Vintage Cars & Classics in India - Team-BHP

Thanks Stanher for this update on 1100D. You have hit bulls eye because I vaguely recollect this name Delight from my child hood memories. Moreover Delight Model had succeeded FIAT Millecento 1100.

I have some nostalgic photographs of FIAT 1100D and Hidustan 14 which my father owned during those days and shall post the same.

[kapursaket]

The romance with Nissan Micra was in the exotic Greek Islands Santorini and Mykonos.

[kapursaket]

World's most Scenic Drive is From Melbourne to 12 Apostles (Australia) along the antartic ocean and is famous as "The Great Ocean Drive". A must do if you are in that part of the Globe.

Do not forget to savour on chicken served by the Chicken Joint at the mid way in Lone.