Hi guys

raul · 6th July 2004, 20:11

Hi guys,

I'm a copywriter currently doing time at an ad agency in Pune. I should be in Bombay in the next 3 months provided someone agrees to hire me. I was brought up in Kenya and moved to India 7 years ago.

I am the original autohead. I was driving on my dad's lap (a Beetle which I subsequently managed to burn!) since I was 8. By 12 I was driving our Corolla which I also crashed leaving it with a damaged chassis. I then rolled his brand new corolla when I was 15 (an attempted handbrake turn around an anthill) and crashed his peugeot 504 into a lamp post a year later. Fortunately I had a very indulgent dad. I was also participating in local rallies since I was 16. Unfortunately we returned before I could make anything of it but the family Corolla was totally destroyed by me. We must have sold it for like 20 grand.

I'm sure a lot of you guys have similar histories. It will be fun here. I am currently driving a Zen, I bought it just a month before the alleged 'redesign'. It's costing me a ridiculous portion of my salary and sometimes I think I should have opted for a house like my brother. But then the autohead takes over.

Raul

Revvmaster · 6th July 2004, 20:31

Hahaha... welcome aboard pal... is it ok if i call u auto-DESTRUCTOR?

And to meet a fellow ad-man who loves cars is another treat. Well so will Rudra too i guess.

Have a great time... and dare i say... keep destroying... lap times i suppose.

Keep Revvin ™
Revvmaster

shravan316 · 6th July 2004, 21:51

Welcome raul....enjoy ur stay!!
P.S: Have u crashed ur Zen as yet??

GTO · 6th July 2004, 22:41

3 destroyed Corollas, a burnt Beetle and a crash 504!! Whoa, you must be one grateful human being!!

Raul, I can tell its going to be great having you here. Welcome aboard and congrats on buying the "good looking" Zen.

GTO

Shan2nu · 7th July 2004, 00:26

I don't think even Jeremy Clarkson might have destroyed as many cars as you have.

Welcome aboard.......

Regards...
Shan2nu

raul · 7th July 2004, 03:59

Hi guys,
Thanks for the welcome. As you can see I sleep really late, like 4 am, a bit of an insomniac. I do track a lot of info online.

No Shravan, I haven't crashed my Zen yet. Unlike Kenya where I had access to better cars and open roads this place is crowded and the Honda City (old version) is probably the only Indian car I would attempt to push a bit. The Zen doesn't inspire confidence, a bit feeble, I really feel it will roll over if pushed a bit. Maybe other Zen users on the board can tell me more. Even on straights like the expressway it's a bit unstable. I was on the expressway recently and at 140 (speedo, more like 130 or less I suspect) it was all over the road and the tyres started burning. It wasn't fun. I had to slow down. But then it isn't meant for extreme driving. Give me a Skoda or a Merc for the expressway. I remember driving a S Class 280 between Kisumu and Nairobi in Kenya and the thing hugged the road even at 200 and on a bend. Now that's engineering.

The car I admire most on Indian roads is actually not even a car. Its the Volvo bus, they really do appear to be built well. Driving one of those on the expressway will be fun.

Nowdays I get most of my thrills virtually which is better for me and dad. Are there other guys on the board who like racesims? There is a world out there with sims like Racer, LFS, Gpl and Netkar that are really into serious simulation with accurate physics models and things like that. I'm sure some of you would enjoy tinkering with them. Check them out. Hope to have some interesting discussions on this board, especially about the general build and safety quality of our cars and the absence of plain speaking reviewers like Jeremy Clarkson in our TV and print media.

Raul

Rehaan · 7th July 2004, 06:36

Hey Raul,

Welcome aboard pal!
Whew! you really did total a grand total of cars!!

About admiring the volvo bus the most... lol... ur right on track with Stratos (another member of TBHP) who was more excited to see volvo busses on our trip to mahableshwar than anything else

great to have you here, and im sure you will love it.
cya
Rehaan

Rudra Sen · 7th July 2004, 14:50

3 destroyed Corollas, a burnt Beetle and a crash 504.
Must say a good scoring rate. Managed to burn some new tyres also...
Is this your passion?

Welcome aboard

Aditya · 8th July 2004, 04:19

Destroyed 5 cars? OK. One piece of advice: My car may be old and rusty, but, stay away from it!

Welcome to team-bhp!

F50 · 8th July 2004, 21:05

Man some one should hire you as a Car Crash Tester or something...
Just Jokin' dude ....
Welcome 2 T-BHP

shravan316 · 8th July 2004, 22:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (raul @ July 07 2004,02:29)]Are there other guys on the board who like racesims? There is a world out there with sims like Racer, LFS, Gpl and Netkar that are really into serious simulation with accurate physics models and things like that. I'm sure some of *you would *enjoy tinkering with them. Check them out. Hope to have some interesting discussions on this board, especially about the general build and safety quality of our cars and the absence of *plain speaking reviewers like Jeremy Clarkson in our TV and print media.

Raul

I love racing on simu modes...love NFS 5...i feel its the best of the lot...

speedsatya · 9th July 2004, 01:33

hehe,
shud v call u the terminator.
lets hope u dont crash ur zen as then u wont cum out i a single peice.
i am also a big fan of the volvo bus.
i used to take lifts in a volvo truck on the nasik road when i was based in igatpuri for a few days .
welcum aboard pal

,nice to have u here.

satya

bobby · 9th July 2004, 01:56

hey ...
nfs5 is good ... but what really gets the hair on end is NFS underground .. anyone played ? its street racing mecca .. with ur choice of cars .. everything from the dodge neon (yuck!) to the acuras of the world ... personal fav is the mazda miata .... though not too zippy .... it handles real well .. thats if u're driving using 4 keys !!

....

speedsatya · 9th July 2004, 02:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (bobby @ July 09 2004,00:26)]hey ...
nfs5 is good ... but what really gets the hair on end is NFS underground .. anyone played ? its street racing mecca .. with ur choice of cars .. everything from the dodge neon (yuck!) to the acuras of the world ... personal fav is the mazda miata .... though not too zippy .... it handles real well .. thats if u're driving using 4 keys !!

....

raul · 9th July 2004, 03:23

Hi guys,
I've been reading the boards and I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge displayed by the guys here. Its been quite enlightening. Good stuff and an excellent resource for people looking for honest unbiased information about the Indian auto scene.

Hi Speedsatya. Good to know somebody else shares my fascination for the Volvo bus, I think its outstanding engineering and I always feel happy when a company brings its best to India rather than offloading sub standard products.

NFS 5 like Colin Mcrae is not really a simulation. They are fun but GPL and LFS are more realistic or trying to be. But be warned, you need a wheel to be able to play these games with any amount of accuracy. GPL is a 1998 Papyrus game and acknowledged to be the best formula 1 simulation till now and for a 1998 game that is something. Check out racesimcentral.com for more. But Racer and Netkar are more interesting because they are individual efforts with community participation. I think some of you guys here will have definitely played these games. Most are still work in progress and being mostly non commercial have none of the polish of the popular commercial titles. But all the same they are impressive. Maybe we should have a topic about games and simulation. I haven't found one yet.

Raul

6th July 2004, 20:11	#1
raul BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Pune Posts: 920 Thanked: 372 Times	Hi guys, I'm a copywriter currently doing time at an ad agency in Pune. I should be in Bombay in the next 3 months provided someone agrees to hire me. I was brought up in Kenya and moved to India 7 years ago. I am the original autohead. I was driving on my dad's lap (a Beetle which I subsequently managed to burn!) since I was 8. By 12 I was driving our Corolla which I also crashed leaving it with a damaged chassis. I then rolled his brand new corolla when I was 15 (an attempted handbrake turn around an anthill) and crashed his peugeot 504 into a lamp post a year later. Fortunately I had a very indulgent dad. I was also participating in local rallies since I was 16. Unfortunately we returned before I could make anything of it but the family Corolla was totally destroyed by me. We must have sold it for like 20 grand. I'm sure a lot of you guys have similar histories. It will be fun here. I am currently driving a Zen, I bought it just a month before the alleged 'redesign'. It's costing me a ridiculous portion of my salary and sometimes I think I should have opted for a house like my brother. But then the autohead takes over. Raul
	() Thanks

6th July 2004, 20:31	#2
Revvmaster Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,190 Thanked: 95 Times	Hahaha... welcome aboard pal... is it ok if i call u auto-DESTRUCTOR? And to meet a fellow ad-man who loves cars is another treat. Well so will Rudra too i guess. Have a great time... and dare i say... keep destroying... lap times i suppose. Keep Revvin ™ Revvmaster
	() Thanks

6th July 2004, 21:51	#3
shravan316 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,029 Thanked: 9 Times	Welcome raul....enjoy ur stay!! P.S: Have u crashed ur Zen as yet??
	() Thanks

6th July 2004, 22:41	#4
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,534 Thanked: 300,743 Times View My Garage	3 destroyed Corollas, a burnt Beetle and a crash 504!! Whoa, you must be one grateful human being!! Raul, I can tell its going to be great having you here. Welcome aboard and congrats on buying the "good looking" Zen. GTO
	() Thanks

7th July 2004, 00:26	#5
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	I don't think even Jeremy Clarkson might have destroyed as many cars as you have. Welcome aboard....... Regards... Shan2nu
	() Thanks

7th July 2004, 03:59	#6
raul BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Pune Posts: 920 Thanked: 372 Times	Hi guys, Thanks for the welcome. As you can see I sleep really late, like 4 am, a bit of an insomniac. I do track a lot of info online. No Shravan, I haven't crashed my Zen yet. Unlike Kenya where I had access to better cars and open roads this place is crowded and the Honda City (old version) is probably the only Indian car I would attempt to push a bit. The Zen doesn't inspire confidence, a bit feeble, I really feel it will roll over if pushed a bit. Maybe other Zen users on the board can tell me more. Even on straights like the expressway it's a bit unstable. I was on the expressway recently and at 140 (speedo, more like 130 or less I suspect) it was all over the road and the tyres started burning. It wasn't fun. I had to slow down. But then it isn't meant for extreme driving. Give me a Skoda or a Merc for the expressway. I remember driving a S Class 280 between Kisumu and Nairobi in Kenya and the thing hugged the road even at 200 and on a bend. Now that's engineering. The car I admire most on Indian roads is actually not even a car. Its the Volvo bus, they really do appear to be built well. Driving one of those on the expressway will be fun. Nowdays I get most of my thrills virtually which is better for me and dad. Are there other guys on the board who like racesims? There is a world out there with sims like Racer, LFS, Gpl and Netkar that are really into serious simulation with accurate physics models and things like that. I'm sure some of you would enjoy tinkering with them. Check them out. Hope to have some interesting discussions on this board, especially about the general build and safety quality of our cars and the absence of plain speaking reviewers like Jeremy Clarkson in our TV and print media. Raul
	() Thanks

7th July 2004, 06:36	#7
Rehaan Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 24,046 Thanked: 34,076 Times	Hey Raul, Welcome aboard pal! Whew! you really did total a grand total of cars!! About admiring the volvo bus the most... lol... ur right on track with Stratos (another member of TBHP) who was more excited to see volvo busses on our trip to mahableshwar than anything else great to have you here, and im sure you will love it. cya Rehaan
	() Thanks

7th July 2004, 14:50	#8
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,590 Thanked: 6,532 Times View My Garage	3 destroyed Corollas, a burnt Beetle and a crash 504. Must say a good scoring rate. Managed to burn some new tyres also... Is this your passion? Welcome aboard
	() Thanks

8th July 2004, 04:19	#9
Aditya Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 17,841 Thanked: 77,069 Times View My Garage	Destroyed 5 cars? OK. One piece of advice: My car may be old and rusty, but, stay away from it! Welcome to team-bhp!
	() Thanks

8th July 2004, 21:05	#10
F50 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai/USA Posts: 1,707 Thanked: 103 Times	Man some one should hire you as a Car Crash Tester or something... Just Jokin' dude .... Welcome 2 T-BHP
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 01:33	#12
speedsatya Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: bangalore/manga Posts: 3,169 Thanked: 738 Times View My Garage	hehe, shud v call u the terminator. lets hope u dont crash ur zen as then u wont cum out i a single peice. i am also a big fan of the volvo bus. i used to take lifts in a volvo truck on the nasik road when i was based in igatpuri for a few days . welcum aboard pal ,nice to have u here. satya
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 01:56	#13
bobby Newbie Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 22 Thanked: 0 Times	hey ... nfs5 is good ... but what really gets the hair on end is NFS underground .. anyone played ? its street racing mecca .. with ur choice of cars .. everything from the dodge neon (yuck!) to the acuras of the world ... personal fav is the mazda miata .... though not too zippy .... it handles real well .. thats if u're driving using 4 keys !! ....
	() Thanks

9th July 2004, 03:23	#15
raul BHPian Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Pune Posts: 920 Thanked: 372 Times	Hi guys, I've been reading the boards and I'm amazed at the depth of knowledge displayed by the guys here. Its been quite enlightening. Good stuff and an excellent resource for people looking for honest unbiased information about the Indian auto scene. Hi Speedsatya. Good to know somebody else shares my fascination for the Volvo bus, I think its outstanding engineering and I always feel happy when a company brings its best to India rather than offloading sub standard products. NFS 5 like Colin Mcrae is not really a simulation. They are fun but GPL and LFS are more realistic or trying to be. But be warned, you need a wheel to be able to play these games with any amount of accuracy. GPL is a 1998 Papyrus game and acknowledged to be the best formula 1 simulation till now and for a 1998 game that is something. Check out racesimcentral.com for more. But Racer and Netkar are more interesting because they are individual efforts with community participation. I think some of you guys here will have definitely played these games. Most are still work in progress and being mostly non commercial have none of the polish of the popular commercial titles. But all the same they are impressive. Maybe we should have a topic about games and simulation. I haven't found one yet. Raul
	() Thanks