[drifter]

It was such a cute little car, and in the shade that Tata would call stone blue it looked absouletly stunning wherever it went. And that engine growl above 3000rpm was to die for...funny how the automags found it irritating and unrefined. For the uninitiated it was called the Tata Indica V2, and a petrol one at that.

When i saw my stone blue LXi waiting for delivery out in the showroom parking lot, it was love at first sight. I was so excited, you couldnt blame me...after all it was my very own first car.

It had been a few months now that I had been looking for an upgrade to my trusty old first love. Didnt want to sell it but finances dictated that i had to. Sure my little car had niggling problems and sometimes it was irritating, but never in its two years of service did it leave me stranded anywhere. I loved it for all its good things as well as bad.

Rising fuel prices forced us to look at diesel. First on the list was the Accent CRDi and the Octavia 1.9, the skoda although a very good car was struck off the list fairly quickly because of parking problems in my locality and it was a stretch on the budget.

On a satuday afternoon we visited hyundai motor plaza at mahalaxmi. Took a testdrive of a sky-blue CRDi. First thought as i entered worli seaface...Man this motor can pull. Massive amount of torque was making the car wheelspin away to glory even in third gear, obviously the pathetic stock tyres were partly to blame, but for me it became one its selling points. The engine was always on the boil be it at any rpm. Just prod that throttle pedal and you were rewarded with a delightful shove on your backside each and every damn time. It was addictive I tell you. And it still is. It was quite...that motor made the typical sound of a 3 pot engine. Just like the matiz minus the diesel clatter...matiz owners would know what im talking about.

At the end of the test drive, i thought to myself somewhere hyundai must be manufacturing my future accent. Choice had been made...I didnt even try any other cars. Not to mention that there werent any worthwhile contenders in the diesel segment atleast on the performance front.

We recieved our 'forest dew' accent from Jayabharat Hyundai on 8th of march 2004. It was 6.30pm and there sat my innocent looking car in the parking lot. It was like falling in love all over again. And what a great feeling it is.


Totally stock

I loved driving so much so that i would take it for a spin atleast 3 times a day when time permitted. In the evenings i would be stuck in jams on peddar road.
My friends who are 'normal' so to say by society's standards would say that I had gone mad.

I mean who would like to get stuck in jams. I really didnt mind...as long as I had good music on the cd-player. Every sunday i would go down to wax my possession it was everything to me in this world. My friends and parents would think what had gotten into this lazy boy that he would wake up early on a sunday and go running down and be missing for 3 hours or more.
Keeping that car shining was so important to me. Mine would be one of the cleanest cars around.
Last two years it seems majority of it i have spent driving...68000kms is proof of it.


Offroading at lonavala

With the accent came my first actual taste of freedom, i would regularly take my car out of the city and many times without my parents even knowing. So what if i was driving alone...call me mad...but i enjoyed my car more when i was alone. Those midnight sprints to lonavala how can i forget.
Aah for the simple pleasures of life.


On one of the runs to aamby valley with teambhp

My car has a lot of memories attached to it. I practically live in my car, my friends would vouch for that. At times i spend close 8 hours in the car.


Oh the joy!

The best weather i feel to be in a car is the rains. Water trickling down the windshield as the wipers wipe-off the droplets for a brief moment only to find the little drops appearing again. Looking through the windshield at the darkened skies which get lit up by lightening every now and then, its a good feeling. Good music, overcast skies, headlights on. Fogged up windows. And who can forget that smell from the first rains. Its a kind of magic for me. Like i said.
Aah for the simple pleasures of life.


In the rains, up near the mountains

Then came 26th July 2005, Man it was raining cats and dogs that day. I love driving in the rains and was even planning on a drive to lonavala that day. Suddenly all hell broke loose...i see cars floating around and im having water filling up inside the cabin....but i said Onwards!!! Didnt for once think about ditching the car. Somehow reached home in 10hours for a journey that would not take anything more than an hour in rush hour traffic. My car survived and so did i. Made my love this little CRDi even more.

The trip to goa with teambhp was the first really long drive I had taken up in this car. Man we had some really good times in the accent and the conti...dippy addy f50 stratos nitoxx, man what a week that was. A perfect driving holiday I'd say.



The second drive to goa had something else stored in...we managed to survive a potentially fatal accident when i fell asleep on the wheel. Read about it here. Luck was on our side that we walked out of it or rather we drove out of that accident. This car has been really lucky for me...all the more reason to hold on to it. So what if hyundai is stopping production of the accent. My car will always occupy a little corner in my heart. It has seen the ups and downs in my life and has always given me company. Sometimes it has even bore the brunt of my frustrations. It cant speak but yet in its own little way it says so much. Nobody but an enthusiast can understand what it is to love your car. Normal people dont and wont, I dont expect them to. Im so damn possesive that i wouldnt even let my father drive it.
Along its journey i have given it new gifts every now and then in form of upgrades. Right from the experimental free-flow to getting the engine chipped. Getting new wheels has always been a delight.

Its not a perfect little monster, but it is its imperfections that have made it so desirable. 68000kms up and the love is still growing. Silently it carries on with its duty.
Signing off.

Drifter

[Dippy]

Awesome write drifty in your true style. Guess we all are so used to your Accent. You forgot to mention the powerbox I guess. The trip to Goa was the best memory I ave of your car. Hope it serves you and you never have to part with it

She must have been damn happy when you gave her new shoes

[heavy_foot]

hey drifter where did you disappear for a while.....nice writeup asusual..

[Steeroid]

You're in love, drifter! Nice writeup.

Originally Posted by drifter

The best weather i feel to be in a car is the rains. Water trickling down the windshield as the wipers wipe-off the droplets for a brief moment only to find the little drops appearing again. Looking through the windshield at the darkened skies which get lit up by lightening every now and then, its a good feeling. Good music, overcast skies, headlights on. Fogged up windows. And who can forget that smell from the first rains. Its a kind of magic for me. Like i said. Aah for the simple pleasures of life.

My brother! The best driving experiences for me are the ones in the rain - cant beat the music of the rains with the wipers providing the rhythmic beat and the raindrops tapping a melody on your roof. I love it when it rains - there's something very surreal about driving then.

[drifter]

You said it steeroid. Im just waiting for the monsoons to start.

Drifter

[adya33]

Hey drifter nice writeup.
Accent CRDi will go down in history as very important step in Indian market as it opened gates for Common Rail technology for masses.

She must have been damn happy when you gave her new shoes

I think every member of Team BHP was

[Aditya]

Nice writeup, Drifter.
This time, be a little more careful with your tyres.
Who can forget that amazing drive to Goa? Hopefully, we shall repeat it this year.

I know what you mean by

Originally Posted by drifter

Nobody but an enthusiast can understand what it is to love your car. Normal people dont and wont, I dont expect them to.

My neighbour's son, Vishnu, is less than half my age. He wanted to know why I have kept my Contessa when there are so many better cars available in the market - his dad has just bought a Honda City. I had a little chat with him and even drove him around in my car. He was shocked when he found features like power assisted steering and CD player in a car that looks as old as father time. Even then, he still had his doubts about my mental state. His doubts were confirmed when I said, "the Toyota Corolla sucks." To make matters worse, I showed him my 1:18 collection. And when I told him how much each of those models costs, he had no other option but to certify me fit for only one place - the lunatic asylum. He must've left thinking, "Here's a 29 year old fool, driving a dinosaur and collecting 'dinky' cars that cost a bomb when I stopped many moons ago."

[manson]

great write up driter, love the pic in the grass.

manson.

[Stratos]

Awesome write up Drifter. Have enjoyed a lot of time in your car, especially the handbrake turns in your building when we were polishing our cars

[satish_appasani]

Nice writeup Drifter. What happened, you were now where here for a while?

[RJK]

Wah sher wah ! good write up..like everyone has been asking, where the hell did you disappear for so long ?

[drifter]

Hehe I'd like to take this oppurtunity to bring to your notice that my computer was down for about 2 months....but have now bought a new laptop...so drifter is essentially back!!!

Drifter

[basilmabraham]

great write up...nice words..

[normally_crazy]

Drifter mate,

Nice senti writeup. I know exactly how it feels. And yeah with the TLC you shower your babe , its no wonder she can take you offroading like you did in Lonavala without giving up on you.

And to top it, its known as a family sedan.

cheers

ps- hope the latest brush up you had has been taken care of !

[drifter]

Have enjoyed a lot of time in your car, especially the handbrake turns in your building when we were polishing our cars

How can i forget nishant....good ol' days. Waiting for you to return.

Who can forget that amazing drive to Goa? Hopefully, we shall repeat it this year.

Yeah addy, we shall do the drive pretty soon.

ps- hope the latest brsh up you had has been taken care of !

Yup nc, all taken care of...its a new look this time. Wait for it.

Drifter