[KarthikK]

I am already 3 years old in this forum, have been part of innumerable Team-bhp meets and wholly accustomed to Team-bhp, its rules and features. Three whole years after joining the forum, why an introduction now?! The reason is simple - because I hadn't ever posted an introduction of myself, yet kept 'welcoming' other newcomers on other intro threads! Every time I saw an intro thread here, I would think "Heck, why didn't I introduce myself back then?". And so, finally, I thought I'd rather get done with my formal introduction to put my conscience to rest. Three years and ~800 posts after being on the forum and participating in all its entireties, most of you know me well anyway, but here's my awkward intro thread 'Better late than never!'. I'm jobless on a cloudy Sunday morning, and I offer apologies in advance for a rather boring, long-ish intro.

Who am I? and what do I do for a living? :
I'm all of 26 years young, and from Bangalore, where I've been born and brought up. Thankfully I'm not yet married, the hourglass still has some sand left . On the career front, I graduated with an engineering degree in Computer Science. Needless to say, I'm a software developer by profession, and budding entrepreneur in the years to come; Interned with Sun Microsystems, worked with an embedded OS company called Symbian OS, then moved into a telecom giant called Nokia where I was working until earlier this year. Recently I have switched gears and now I'm into coding in game development and simulation. That's about what I do on weekdays. On weekends, I help my dad and mom with our family business or just attend to my hobbies.

After a few years of slogging in IT (read as saving money for buying cars *stupid look*), I aspire to takeover my dad's business, and in parallel develop some entrepreneurial venture in the field of automobiles, although the idea is still a little raw at present. A few of you would even remember me asking suggestions in this thread last year -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...-ventures.html


What do I do with my spare time? :
Apart from cars, my other hobbies are quite simple - I travel a lot, love landscape photography, gardening and I'm a hardcore foodie! Other passions include dogs and their care. I have worked and volunteered with the Kennel Club of India and Golden Retriever club of India during dog shows. Aquariums and tropical fish are another interest area right from childhood. Goldfish have always been an integral part of our home for as long as I can remember.


My tryst with cars, the formative years :
My fascination with cars has been there right from childhood, like most of you fellow members. It started with RC cars and Lego systems during my pre-teen years. A little later, the craze was so high that I would buy only racing games when I got my PC during the high school days. Back in 2001, I even ended up saving up a whole year's supply of pocket money to buy that famed PC steering wheel with force feedback, just to become an underage Porsche 911 driver on the Autobahn, albeit virtually (anyone remembers NFS Porsche Unleashed??). The steering wheel was my gateway to virtual driving, not just sports cars but even Formula1 cars *lol*. The love with cars and everything related to them continues, although nowadays I prefer more real-world driving than virtual.


Entering real-life driving at 18 : my car ownership history :
Our first car at home was a humble Maruti 800 5-speed MPFI version, way back in 2002. I honed my driving skills on that car after getting my license in 2004, and somehow that car still holds a special place in my heart. In 2006, after my persistent pestering, we finally swapped the M800 for a Maruti Swift ZXi, which was another fantastic car and extremely fun to drive. In 2008, I got myself a pre-worshipped Accent 1.6 for a song. In 2011, thanks to Team-BHP and GTO's review thread, I went in for a Fiat Linea T-Jet+, which I now happily use for all my weekend jaunts and drives.


As a driver / owner :
You will find me to be a bit unconventional as an enthusiast or driver. I prefer better handling than outright top speed, and love the pure adrenaline rush that driving brings in its entirety, not just the speedo or top whack figures. For this reason, I would rather drive in the hills and hairpins all day long, than on boring expressways. My driving style is tilted towards being sedate and composed more than towards high-revving (sounds absurd for a T-Jet owner??). A good driving experience, to me, is the best combination of acceleration across the low end and mid-range, razor sharp handling, predictable braking, steering feedback, control over the vehicle and last but not the least, some gizmos to play with.

On a rather different note (as an owner), I do not name my cars; I don't refer to my cars as 'she' or 'her', nor do I tend to equate them with girlfriends or 'second wives' either. I just love driving these machines objectively; My preference is more towards enthusiast cars which offer the best driving experience, and I have no special fan-boy stance towards any particular brand. I do tend to prefer European brands lately though, due to the handling and build quality advantage. My dream car would be a BMW 330i or 530D, which is still quite a few years of hard work away from reality.


(Lack of) Experience with Bikes :
I''m more of a casual rider who uses bikes for urban commuting, not a hardcore biker who travels/tours. Some bikes I have owned in the past : I started out with a modest Honda Dio 'moto-scooter' in 2003. That scooter served me for 4 years. The first upgrade was to a Pulsar 200cc in 2007. That was one of the most fun bikes I'd ever ridden. In late 2009, the next upgrade was to the Pulsar 220cc and I now ride a pre-abused (new term coined??) Thunderbird Twinspark 350 lemon edition.


How and Why Team-BHP?
I was following this forum as an ardent admirer/reader since its early years of inception in 2005-2006. It was only in 2009 that I decided to apply (again a case of 'better late than never') for membership. Fortunately I am one of those fortunate few whose membership request was approved on first attempt *winks*. I've never gone towards any other automotive forum to be quite frank. The quality of posts, members and forum maintenance, the lack of nonsense and the sheer magnitude of information here on Team-BHP was, is and will be unmatched.


My favourite threads / sections on Team-BHP :
I usually keep haunting the car ownership / review threads, typically related to my own cars or else its the 'Indian Car Scene' section. Other sections I love to haunt and help out in, are the 'what car?' section, 'Used Car Prices', 'Travel / Route Queries' and 'Travelogues' sections. As a reader, I love to browse the Technical stuff, 'Motorsport' and old car restoration sections. Oh yeah, how can anyone forget the 'Shifting Gears' section?! Add that too.


The road ahead on Team-BHP :
This forum has contributed immensely to me in terms of its vast knowledge base, helpful members and fantastic threads, automobile-related or otherwise. It wouldn't be an understatement to say this forum has made me the informed (yet magazine-less) enthusiast that I am today. I look forward to many more decades of participation on this superb forum, and to many more joyful and informative interactions with you all!

[Sheel]

Welcome Karthik

As a driver / owner :
You will find me to be a bit unconventional as an enthusiast or driver. I prefer better handling than outright top speed, and love the pure adrenaline rush that driving brings in its entirety, not just the speedo or top whack figures. For this reason, I would rather drive in the hills and hairpins all day long, than on boring expressways. My driving style is tilted towards being sedate and composed more than towards high-revving (sounds absurd for a T-Jet owner??). A good driving experience, to me, is the best combination of acceleration across the low end and mid-range, razor sharp handling, predictable braking, steering feedback,

This sounded so much like me that I got scared . Something like Karthik calling Karthik.