[jayeshdamle]

Kudos to all the guys at the Team BHP community to keep it Bias free. Thanks to all the members as well for their contributions to keep every one of us aware and vigilant. Long live and prosper T-BHP.

[SJM1214]

Wow.

Great to see one more article (Article in FactorDaily) on Team-BHP.

Congratulations to GTO, Moderator team and all the members for this amazing achievement. I am proud to be a contributing member of this amazing community.

[MorePower]

Not too often in the dog-eat-dog world of media do you see a 'rival' publication acknowledging its competitor (in a matter of speaking)! Having worked in the broadcast media industry for more than a decade, I know what goes on behind the scenes, how the 'honest' reviews are written, how the 'ratings' are 'awarded'.

Hence this article is music to our ears!

Team-Bhp has been, is and will be the definitive guide for all things auto. Period!

Kudos GTO, the Mods and the entire Team-Bhp community for making this pitstop so special!

[JayPrashanth]

A beacon of light in a severely compromised ecosystem. Keep shining.

Cheers,

Jay

[ALTIMAed]

Its an honour to be a part of this group. Gives a 'high' feel to know that I am a part of a family that is getting recognized and being looked upon as a force to reckon where automobile reviews are concern.

In my circle, to those who do not know about Team Bhp, I call it "The Encyclopedia Britannica of Automobiles".

Can I say more, I do not think so.

[nkrishnap]

This is an achievement of significant importance. The unbiased nature and iron fist for rubbish has taken it to this level. Kudos and continue the good work.

A recent experience, just mentioning that I am member of Teambhp had the sales guy from a car dealership on his toes to ensure things went smooth. Additional privileges of Teambhp apart from the sea of information on all topics.

[vb-saan]

Late to respond on this thread - this is just brilliant!
It’s almost like an acknowledgement from the mainstream media saying "we will do the kind of journalism which is commercially viable for us, but cannot ignore the unbiased voice”.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Wow.

Great to see one more article (Article in FactorDaily) on Team-BHP.

Congratulations to GTO, Moderator team and all the members for this amazing achievement. I am proud to be a contributing member of this amazing community.

Great, many thanks SJM1214 for sharing the above article. What impressed me the most was the last line in the article, quoting it below:

Based on total monthly visits, Team-BHP is just 600,000 monthly visitors (16%) shy of BBC’s biggest media brand — Top Gear.

Now the above article was published way back in April 2017. Lot of water must have flown under the bridge in the last 1.5 years. Does someone have the latest stats on the total monthly visits on Team-BHP compared to Top Gear?

[appu.bhandari]

The acknowledgement from ET just reconfirms the fact to the whole public that TBHP means Integrity.
The one place where you get a true picture of a car unlike the glossed over views of other publication of "repute".
This is the one and only place i refer to when friends ask me for my recommendation on cars.
My hearty congratulation to GTO & all the hard working mods of TBHP.

[quickfox11]

Makes me feel so proud that I am an active member of this community. We can only imagine how many tough moments GTO and the whole team would have re-lived over and again for the sanctity of this forum!

Wish to hear GTO's story someday - the exciting journey, filled with sweet-sour stories, he took to establish TBHP where it is today. My salute to GTO and the whole team, and three cheers to all it's members for being true to the machines they adore!

[Sebring]

TeamBHP is a community initiative at its finest. Tight rules make it consistent and are responsible for the success. Feel incredibly proud to be part of the Team. Keep it up, Guys

[lejhoom]

Congratulations. Thank you, every one for making this happen. Feel proud to belong here.

[V.Narayan]

Our Vision Statement for 2033

This may be an opportune time to reflect and think out what our vision for the next 15 years is. (1) Where do we wish to be in 2033; (2) What do we want to be known for in 2033; and (3) Who should our audience be. And while thinking of 2033 we need to keep an eye on 2048 - I'll leave that for the next generation - my battery is likely to cop it before that.

Let's start with number #3 - today our audience are those with some enthusiasm for cars/bikes and those who may not be enthusiasts but are customers who refer to T-BHP for data, owner reviews, uncontaminated opinions and solutions for problems.

To this, tomorrow I would aim for bureaucrats, law makers, policy pundits and the Ministry for Surface Transport also becoming our audience and seeking inputs and views and public voice through us. To a small extent that is already happening but I am talking of embracing them and getting to the point where are views are read through thoughtfully while designing policy. Long shot but that's how great organizations are built.

We may also want our audience to expand to include mainstream truck operators. It may seem unusual today but in 15 years it is quite likely that a part of the trucking business in India will get much more professionalized and will want to be posting on this august well-run forum. Bharat in all its multi-hued forms is catching up faster with India than India realizes. And then there are tractors and large farm equipment's. [Dear GTO, please always keep a corner for aircrafts and warships!!!]

Coming to #2 - what do we want to be known for. This is easy because the founders and half a generation of moderators have already laid the foundation of values, ethics, standards, independence and none of these need to change. The original mission statement of being an independent high quality web site for automobiles with no economic links to the industry was an inspired one. The wonderful thing about inspired value statements is that they don't ever need changing - and ours is one we follow every day in every thread. All of us [including yours truly] who've been bopped on the head by the Moderators know this.

Coming to #1 - I of course have my ideas but this one I leave open to the members to pour forth their thoughts and suggestions on Size, Reach, Content, Free or Paid, Linux open source (what we are now) or Microsoft paid product [with so many IT nerds I couldn't resist this], Aims, India or International, Diversity, Green & Climate Change and what ever else you want. I am not touching on funding and financial size as that can be kept out for purposes of this vision statement.

So folks put on your thinking caps, gulp down a cuppa coffee and put down your thoughts.

Onwards and Upwards.

[Iyencar]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Our Vision Statement for 2033


I would aim for bureaucrats, law makers, policy pundits and the Ministry for Surface Transport also becoming our audience and seeking inputs and views and public voice through us.

I would like this forum to be the driving force that brings about a change in how manufacturers treat us as a customer. Allow me to elaborate.

The problem: Right now we have no lemon laws. Manufacturers can essentially get away with selling a sub par product without any fear of legal repercussions. The only hit that they may take is financial when the market rejects the product or some minor loss of reputation. Let's face it, the average Joe is hardly aware of any manufacturing issue his particular car model faces simply because the manufacturer either simply brushes it under the carpet or gets it rectified silently. A quick search across this forum will show that this is not a problem isolated to any one manufacturer.Toyota's wiring harness, Honda's build, VAG's DSG or their premature disc wear... the list is wide and varied.

The proposed solution: Now, these problems are already being highlighted by the forum members. This is a huge first step. The idea is to go a step further and take collective action. Each person going individually to a dealer will not result in any sort of solution. The forum already has strength in numbers. Let us leverage that and create a mechanism where the affected owners fight it out as a group in the consumer courts. Maybe a meet-up for affected owners, followed by a thread with step by step directions on how to file a case with the courts and inviting members to join in. I am thinking something along the lines of a class action lawsuit. I don't know if the law allows for one. All I am saying is even if the affected members come together and file their individual cases at one go it is sure to get traction and more importantly, attention outside the walls of this forum.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

So folks put on your thinking caps, gulp down a cuppa coffee and put down your thoughts.

I took your advice to heart. If my post above seems like incoherent rambling, please put it down to my excessive caffeine intake.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Onwards and Upwards.

I am hardly qualified to dabble in matters as serious and significant as the Vision and Mission of the forum. While leaving these worthy issues to be dealt with by the founding fathers, I would like to see three things happening in the next decade and half.

We must:

1. Identify, nurture, shape and develop a second line of leadership which could take the forum forward with the same level of passion, integrity and quality as the current lot. We need heads with a keen sense of business and hearts that could sustain the rigours of the quest for quality.
2. Take the forum and its principles to a larger audience by trying to redline the international automotive scene too. A Bhpian from China interacting with a biker from the US or a Finnish member responding to route queries from a Bhpian in Egypt is a dream that should someday be realised.
3. Remove the Road Safety section altogether because hopefully by then, people would be belting up sitting inside the world's safest cars and driving exceedingly responsibly; thereby eliminating the need to post there. Bad drivers, irresponsible pedestrians and consequently accidents should be things of past by then.

Too idealistic? Perhaps.

Impossible? No.