[cranky]

Hi all,

I'm new here though some of you will recognise from my handle at other forums as either a current or ex-member.

I hope to be of some help even as I learn. My posts sometimes ramble on endlessly - fair warning

I'm a 39-year old advertising professional currently based in Gurgaon. I am an active DIY hobbyist in audio and electronics, I can fiddle around with a guitar and produce some unmusical noises, and I like to cook sometimes. I spend quite a bit of time with gaming (racing games primarily) and play chess with real and PC opponents.

I am a driving enthusiast as well, unfortunately traffic in our country is not amenable to such an interest so I amuse myself by watching other people do it in cars with less horsepower than 'honkpower'. Currently I am without wheels and pay through my nose for a cab to take me to office and back.

I started learning to drive in a 1973 Premier President owned by my father, which still does duty in a small town in West Bengal. The circumstances under which I learnt driving would be considered illegal, then and now so I won't delve into that. We kept that car for 28 years, when we donated it to my cousin FOC as we didn't want to actually sell it.

The first car I bought then was a Daewoo Matiz (Daewoo pulled out of the country in two years after I bought it). It was quite a laggard, much less fun than the Fiat. It didn't give me any better fuel efficiency, though it was easier to drive and was reasonably spacious for its small size. We kept that one for seven years.

The next was an Opel Corsa Sail, which GM stopped selling two years after I got one. The Opel still runs fine and contrary to popular belief is not as difficult to maintain, and it still has the legs to do 160+ on highways - seven years on.

And now I've booked an Azure T-Jet, hopefully Fiat stays is the country long enough for me to get some use out of the car. I feel cars made today have a useful life of about 7-8 years before maintaining them becomes too expensive and cumbersome. My first car was a Fiat, hoping to get back some of that magic. It's odd that a 100HP car is considered a fast car in India. I guess the T-jet is quick enough and the torque steer is fun, though what clicnched it for me was the level of kit and the much more stable ride compared to the ANHC. The Vento was simply too long to wait for.

See you on the forums!

[pinkray]

Hi Cranky,

Welcome to the forum. nice to see another Tbhp newbie from Gurgaon (Bad-Gaon now? considering the traffic.)

Nice and unusual (non-conformist ) choice of drives -Daewoo, Opel and Fiat! you have me worried now that you have decided to buy a Fiat, i guess i now have 2 years to find a buyer for my almost a decade old Palio

Welcome to Tbhp and i hope to bump into you sometime. this happens now quite too often on gurgaon roads, this people bumping into each other.

did i mention i ramble endlessly and aimlessly too?

[Daewood]

Hi Cranky, WELCOME

Yes i do know you from another forum where you were one of the seniormost gurus.
Benefited a lot from your posts there, and hope here too your valuable posts will be of help to many.
Me too an advertising professional and an ex-matiz owner..

[Rudra Sen]

Welcome to TBHP cranky.
Which part of so called fun business you're into. Copy? Art? Client servicing? Media? Planning?...

Nice introduction, must say.

[bottle]

Wecome, looking forward to your ownership thread

[shuvc]

Welcome aboard @cranky.

Yes, your handle is familiar from another forum where I loved your informative posts. I recall you were in Calcutta last year.

Originally Posted by Daewood

Yes i do know you from another forum where you were one of the seniormost gurus.

'Were' ?!! Ah well, I should visit that forum more often. Haven't logged in for quite some time.

[neo007]

Hey! Cranky. Nice to see you on team-bhp. Never thought you were a petrol head as well You know me form the other forums as well but without the 007 to my handle.
Congrats on your new car. I hope you'll be able to keep it away form tweaking)
Cheers

[cranky]

Hi and thanks for the welcome everybody.

@rudra - I'm basically a suit, and I run the Delhi branch of a mid-sized ad agency.

@pinkray - thanks, looks like you have a nice ride. I loved the Palio the few times I drove it. And then I thought Fiat would pull out (this was before Tata tied up, IIRC) and bought the Opel. And then Opel pulled out. Go figure. And about Gurgaon, I guess we'll see the 'Gur' when the monsoons come a-calling. There'll be plenty of slush.

@Daewood - Frankly the Matiz was not too bad. Except when you tried to push it a little hard, it would not respond too nicely. Thanks for the kind words - of course I wish I was still on that forum, but life sometimes just works out different.

Nice to see you, bottle and neo I never ever tweak my cars, just leave them stock. In that sense I'm not a petrolhead, but I love giving people lots of wrong technical advice. Sometimes, they actually work

Thanks Shuv, see you soon!