[TheHelix0202]

Even as I stand now on the brink of adulthood, I fondly recall nostalgic childhood memories that hit me like a truck.
Some of my favourite memories involve our erstwhile Ford iKon 1.6 ZXi and 1.3 ZXi. Although those two cars were only a transition phase in my early life I don't think I would've have grown up to love cars so much without them. They will forever remain a milestone etched in my head.



Being early 2000's kids, there were times that we used to play in our apartment basement, hiding behind cars and pretending we were commandos rescuing innocent civilians or acting as if we were the owners of a bunch of cars there, or those gaming sessions of Need for Speed, Euro Truck SIM, bike racing, Resistance, Mario Kart on PS3/PC/XBOX 360/WII where we competed against each other.

But virtual entertainment wasn't our only source of entertainment- we played lots of sports and cycled a lot too! The way I used to select kids to be part of our "gang" was to test them in a footrace. They never beat me, so we were a diminutive bunch with more rivals!
Euro Truck SIM


NFS Hot Pursuit 2


And here's my favourite game (real-time online multiplayer)- NFS World. It was sadly shut down on the 14th of July, 2015.

NFS World




Not to forget all those times reading story books instead of doing homework, just enjoying our carefree days!

There were definitely a lot of ups and downs throughout my personal journey in life, but what's life wthout masala, eh? Here's to an optimistically better adulthood!

So what's your favourite memory? Let's hear it out, feel free to add pictures to bring out the emotion!

Disclaimer- I do not have original pictures as of now. Will update thread at later point of time when I do.

[Prathiiik]

TheHelix0202, our childhood memories are a 100% match! I've spent most of my childhood in dad's Ford Ikon 1.3 and that's a car I can never forget. The cycling part is relatable too!

Coming to video games, i still play Euro Truck simulator and Need for speed (I'm still only 16 though). Infact, I was on NFS only a few minutes back. Recently got hold of a gaming steering wheel from a friend and there's no stopping me from Euro Truck Simulator or NFS now. One more memory I have is playing Grand Theft Auto, specifically Vice City and San Andreas!

Cheers
Prathik

[TheHelix0202]

I'm thinking of buying myself a ford iKon when I go to college, maybe! That, or restoring our old M800- nothing too fancy. Tuning a VAG car is a dream that's gonna take a long time anyway!

I miss my video games, tbh. Will try getting back into them next year, again when in college. Don't want to blow my board exams, do I?
Edit- I love GTA Online for the sole reason that it's such a cool open-world sandbox where I can do almost anything unrestricted. And that too on PS3, which is outdated now and has about half the features of the PS4 version. Planning to get a gaming setup next year. I remember playing San Andreas, Vice City and Liberty City like there was no tomorrow, although we were just kids!

[GTO]

Cute thread! Sharing some memories from the younger days .

- Sitting in the middle on the (front) bench seat of my green Ambassador, with Dad letting me shift gears (while he drove). I could barely look over the bonnet, but I knew how to shift perfectly! My shifts are butter-smooth even today.

- Seeing the 1986 Maruti 800 for the first time near Juhu beach and going WOW at the circular knobs on the dash (air-con knobs). The dash was so futuristic!! Later in life, I sat in one. After so many years of the Padmini & Ambassador, the ergonomics felt spot-on. I thought that's the only car I'd ever want.

- Sitting in my Dad's W111 Benz parked in the garage and making 'vroom vroom' noises all morning, until Mom would call for lunch.

- Being with my girlfriend in the 118NE, idling at bandstand, with one eye on her and one on the temperature needle (damn thing used to overheat).

- Absolutely loving the designs of the Contessa Classic & Standard 2000, since the first time I saw them. Love both, even today. That era saw cars with character (Tata Sierra anyone?).

- Nothing was better on TV than episodes of Knight Rider, Airwolf & Street Hawk (in that order).

[Pegasus1134]

I have always been intrigued about cars and I distinctly remember that I used to accompany my dad to the Maruti showroom for every single service of our Alto(now sold) and just look at all the new cars there and how they service my car. Used to get so excited about any car related decision or just to travel in one. Also apparently when I was 2, dad asked me to choose between the Zen and the Alto at the showroom and I pointed towards the Alto and we got that.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

I miss my video games, tbh. Will try getting back into them next year, again when in college. Don't want to blow my board exams, do I?
Edit- I love GTA Online for the sole reason that it's such a cool open-world sandbox where I can do almost anything unrestricted. And that too on PS3, which is outdated now and has about half the features of the PS4 version. Planning to get a gaming setup next year. I remember playing San Andreas, Vice City and Liberty City like there was no tomorrow, although we were just kids!

Cheers to that mate! GTA Online is indeed a brilliant creation, especially for car lovers! The PS4 version just kicks it up a notch with the first person view. Looking forward to playing with you sometime next year. I’m in the same situation right now.

[TejasKinger]

The Ford Ikon seems to be quite a fond childhood memory here. And I can completely relate to it. I've practically grown up in our Ford Ikon 1.3 NXT. Since 2003, it was a faithful city commuter as well as a road trip companion. It was the car in which I learned how to drive, had my first fender-bender, all until it was sold in 2015.

Apart from that, of course as a child, I remember poring over old copies of Auto India, Overdrive, and BSM. My first ever desktop computer in 1997 had a Mercedes convertible as the wallpaper. My room was plastered with posters of cars from magazines, Hotwheels and Maisto cars were all around.

I remember always being in love with cycling. And computer games of course — Midtown Madness, NFS all the way till Hot Pursuit 2, and GTA — Liberty City, Vice City, and San Andreas.

This thread is making me all nostalgic now.

[DicKy]

Childhood automotive memories. Sweet topic, that just warrants pages of memories with anything related to cars. To keep it short.

- Guess almost infant memories of doing Riyadh-Dammam night trips in our Dyna truck. Mum said that once dad stopped for a nap, only to be waken up by me crying cause i was scared of the shining full moon in all its glory in the bleak desert night

- Travelling in the back of station wagons with my cousins for the oasis trips.

- Getting awed by my uncle's W126, and it's never ending hidden features.

- Peering into cars to see their marked top speed, and drawing/cutting dashboards into cardboards.

- Excited to see hatchbacks and MUVs in India, cause I was used to sedans, station wagons, pickups and trucks only.

- The first time I steered a car- dad's Cressida.
- First time drove a car- dad's Hilux in the desert.

-Fine tuned my driving skills in our poor Omni. Tortured the poor thing to the hilt. (Inside our compound, not public roads)

- Drawing plans to make our Omni into the Scooby Doo van.

- Spending hours in our Indica, trying to find the James bond style seating position.

- Waiting for each month start to buy Autocar, going through each and every page, stopped buying an year into discovering TeamBhp.

- Waiting for the Formula 1 race weekend, no one at home could understand me watching cars go in circles. Empathetic friends will say, "ah Schumacher, Narain...seen the last cricket match?"


- Seeing the Tokyo drift Monte Carlo and Christine movie, started my decades old obsession with Contessa. Each time I used the internet was for Contessa, everytime i saw one on road got excited. Each time I saw one in a garage or used car yard, would go and meet the people there. The only thing I have ever asked my parents to buy me was a Contessa. ( Started the craze when Contessa could be had for below 50k. When i was serious about buying it became one lakh. Now i see ads for 2-3 lakhs)

- The usual NFS/GTA games eating up all our free time and study time. Actually, all the time spent at home.

[deathwalkr]

One of my fondest memories was in my dad's 1st gen m800 and we were on the way to Mysore or someplace and he was clocking a very exciting [then] 80kmph and sitting in the back seat i happened to look back to see a blip that was coming in very fast...

I just caught a glimpse as it overtook us as if we were parked...the standard 2000! God, i think i fell in love then!

[Dippy]

This thread brings back so many memories. Just putting down a few

- I spent a considerable amount (10 years) of my childhood in Dubai. I so fondly remember my Dad taking me to the Dubai Motor Show every year. It was totally a father- son thing we did. And I went to the Dubai Motor Show this year last week after 27 years. It was pretty nostalgic to say the least.

- Sitting on my dad's lap in our Toyota Cressida steering the car on my way to school.

-Dad buying me a 1:64 car almost everyday.

-Seeing the Ferrari F40 for the first time in the flesh as a 10 year old.

Checking out the Contessa at National Garage and Tata Sierra at United Motors in Mumbai.

Checking out my Dad's cousin's Maruti SS80 right after delivery.

-Driving my Premier Padmini for the first time.

- My first car a Maruti 800 AT

Recording episodes of Knight Ride, Street Hawk and AirWolf on my VCR

[TheHelix0202]

There’s quite some more nostalgia here in the replies that are all too familiar with me too. So, I thought of adding a couple of more points that I’d missed.

- Autocar. Lots of it.

-Some of my other favourite classics include the Mitsubishi Lancer, OHC, Fiat Petra and Palio twins, Suzuki Baleno (despite the modest rear), Tata Sierra, M800, Zen, Alto, etc.

-After a road trip that included traversing the ghats, I’d come home and recreate the heavy lorries ploddingly up the hills with full load. Oh, was I a sucker for model cars. “Where is mah Bennley!?”

-My dad tells me that I could identify some 21 cars at the age of 1.5-ish and some 60+ about a year later. This number gradually increased to 100+ in the consecutive years (I’d point to a specific car told by name! Quite some child prodigy talent that I wish my kids have in the future! )

[Rajeevraj]

The only time my dad owned a car was when I was a toddler, so I had no memory of it. So basically from the time I remember we had never owned a car.

So my fondest memory was the time my dad drove an uncles ambassador car for a short trip we had to go on. That was the one and only time I recall him driving a car and I was pretty proud of it sitting in the passenger seat. When he went up to 60kmph, I was deliriously with joy.

I think that one off thing was due to some urgent need-Never recall him driving again before or after that one time. So that made it pretty special.

[KL01toKA03]

My favorite memories were about the sounds of cars and bikes. As a kid, my dad used to own a Yezdi and Premier Padmini. From a very small age, I could recognize the sounds of these vehicles from a distance. I also developed a knack for recognizing the sounds of other vehicles based on the exhaust notes or horns, to the amazement of my parents.

My favorite game once I got a computer was Road Rash. I might have wasted a lot of time on that game, but given a chance I will do the same things again.

[mayankk]

Brilliant thread.
Here's a few:
1. Being petrified as a 10 year old boy of the Bullet's bone breaking "back".
2. Sitting on my Mama's yezdi, and turning turning the alternating the gearpedal/kick start
3. Vroom vrooming the 800 and learning the gears
4. The "Turbo Boost" button on the Zen LX
5. Notching up the volume to 11 on the 2150 and XPlod Sub
6. Lining up to fill petrol in the RX, and then topping up another tank with carefully sourced Mobil 2T
7. Singeing everything on the road with a first gen P180. Sitting proud at red lights, cocky even, until was shown the backside of a YamDoot.
8. Going with dad to INA market for getting the Padmini fixed for one or the other thing every Saturday. And the mechanics being familiar with every aspect of the car, like a doctor would be.
9. Bets of all - Empty roads of Delhi. Morning drives and rides, even just 10 years back in Central Delhi were actually transcendental.

[rrsteer]

- Helping my dad as a tool man every other weekend, while he went about improving his Contessa. For his touring he had bought a pre-owned Contessa and had got a Toyota engine installed in it. All repairs were done by him. He was THE MAN. Sadly, I never picked up any of his engineering skills.

- Summer of 1997- travelling to Rohtang Pass on the Contessa with full family and songs from the movie 'Gupt' playing on loop endlessly. My elder brother was fascinated by those songs. I can still very clearly hear him mumbling 'yahan wahan dhuan dhuan, chuppa kahan, haaan Gupt hai woh'.

- I grew up in a joint family. My Chacha worked in a senior position with Dunlop India Ltd. Everyday after school I would be found lost in the parking lot counting the number of Dunlop tyres found on cars vs. MRF tyres. I heard him say MRF was their chief competitor and I wanted to know which one was winning in the market!

- Staying awake for Pranoy Roy's 'World this Week' to watch a particular Dunlop tyres advertisement. Dunlop sponsored that program for a while. The ad showed a jumbo jet landing on the tarmac on Dunlop tyres and the voice over would start by saying "In precisely 60 seconds... "

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Staying awake for Pranoy Roy's 'World this Week' to watch a particular Dunlop tyres advertisement. Dunlop sponsored that program for a while. The ad showed a jumbo jet landing on the tarmac on Dunlop tyres and the voice over would start by saying "In precisely 60 seconds... "

That was one of my favourite ads too. I still remember the last line:

"Dunlop is Dunlop, Always Ahead"

Cheers,
Vikram