[sudeep.bansal]

It feels amazing to finally be a part of Team BHP!!! This is my fourth attempt (Have been trying for over a year now). Over drinks with friends on Saturday night, I received the email You're APPROVED!!, it made me jump with excitement and leave all the frenzy only to pick up my laptop and read what all I can do in the forum now.

Finally now I am able to post a little introduction!

My name is Sudeep, I'm a 26 year old petrolhead working as a Marketing Analyst in Florida, USA. I have been fascinated with cars ever since childhood and wanted to get my hands on the steering even when I was too tiny to reach it. An avid collector of hotwheels in the 90s and now a huge collection of diecast models occupy my room.

Living in the United States has helped me further my craze for autos as I work on my cars myself (minor stuff though). It keeps my passion going and pocket happy (repairs and service here are expensive and I'm a marwari).

Currently a Lexus IS250 and Mini Cooper occupy the garage of this car fanatic and working towards achieving the dream of my life (NISSAN GTR).

I've been a silent follower of Team-BHP since many years but last year thought of contributing to the cause myself in some way I can. After 3 unsuccessful tries, here I am to be with species like me who live cars.

Regards,
Sudeep

[Loud]

Welcome to T-BHP, Sudeep. Nice to have you as a member here.
Wish you a pleasant stay here.

Pics of the diecast models you have, please!
Waiting for an ownership report of your Mini and Lexus. Hope that you soon step out of the Nissan showroom with the GTR.

Cheers!

[sudeep.bansal]

Originally Posted by Loud

Welcome to T-BHP, Sudeep. Nice to have you as a member here.
Wish you a pleasant stay here.

Pics of the diecast models you have, please!
Waiting for an ownership report of your Mini and Lexus. Hope that you soon step out of the Nissan showroom with the GTR.

Cheers!

Thanks for the warm welcome Loud. Will post the ownership threads for the Lexus and Mini soon.


For now, enjoyy 2 of my diecasts (Ferrari 550 maranello and my own IS)

[Loud]

Originally Posted by sudeep.bansal

Thanks for the warm welcome Loud. Will post the ownership threads for the Lexus and Mini soon.


For now, enjoyy 2 of my diecasts (Ferrari 550 maranello and my own IS)

Wow! The Lexus looks really nice to me.
I had a Merc SLR McLaren, which was since I was in 9th standard. After 3 years, it was lost after we shifted to our new house. It was about an year ago.

What about putting the Lexus on the dashboard of your Lexus? (Just like many Chevy Beat owners do here...)

[Mohan Mathew A]

welcome sudeep. your mention of hotwheels reminded me of my matchbox collection. i had a reasonably big collection of around 40 or so. but in the 4 years i was away for my engineering my cousins took many and destroyed many. i still have not forgiven them for it

Nice cars, both the IS and Mini. looking forward to the ownership threads

[sudeep.bansal]

Originally Posted by Mohan Mathew A

welcome sudeep. your mention of hotwheels reminded me of my matchbox collection. i had a reasonably big collection of around 40 or so. but in the 4 years i was away for my engineering my cousins took many and destroyed many. i still have not forgiven them for it

Nice cars, both the IS and Mini. looking forward to the ownership threads

Yes indeed when you grow up your parents ask you to give away your small toys to younger cousins and nephews. Till today my parents laugh at me for wasting money on toy cars.

@Loud: The heat in Florida is killing. I tried the same by putting the diecast on my old car (2004 Mazda RX-8) and because of the heat, the plastic wheels and rubber melted a bit and stuck onto to the dashboard, which made me lose money when I was selling the car. Don't want to risk that with the Lexus.

But sure I will post the ownership threads soon. This weekend I will be taking detailed photographs of the car and draft my thread.

[mohansrides]

Hello Sudeep... Congratulations on your membership and welcome.

Those are some nice cars that you have. I'll bet that that Mini has more soul than the IS, am I right? Is it a stick? You should take the VW GTI for a spin. My guess is that you will drop some dough on the spot and take it home.

By the way, it's interesting that you live in Orange county. You need to get the hell out of there to get in some decent driving. I highly recommend TN and AR.

P.S.
Lived in Orlando for an year (15 years ago) and traffic was horrid. I went back some 6 years ago and it was worse. That whole downtown area right off of I-4 is a freakin nightmare.

[sudeep.bansal]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

Hello Sudeep... Congratulations on your membership and welcome.

Those are some nice cars that you have. I'll bet that that Mini has more soul than the IS, am I right? Is it a stick? You should take the VW GTI for a spin. My guess is that you will drop some dough on the spot and take it home.

By the way, it's interesting that you live in Orange county. You need to get the hell out of there to get in some decent driving. I highly recommend TN and AR.

P.S.
Lived in Orlando for an year (15 years ago) and traffic was horrid. I went back some 6 years ago and it was worse. That whole downtown area right off of I-4 is a freakin nightmare.

Thanks Mohan...Yes indeed the traffic during office hours is ridiculous but during off hours it is manageable. Im from Mumbai too so nothing is bad traffic for us.

Both my cars are two different animals here....The IS is a luxury cruiser (sport mode unlocks the beast though). The Mini is my fiance's and I seldom drive it....but i really like how spirited it is. It is not a stick though because it gets difficult to sell a girl's car in stick. I had a tough time selling her beetle. I did test drive the GTI autobahn for a friend when he was hunting for cars and mannnn...it is something out of this world. The only reason I don't see it selling much is because of the pricing, at $32k for the autobahn, you enter into luxury segment where you can pull off an Acura TSX base for the same cost. Add another 2-3k and there you have IS and C-class. So, all in all people skip the option of a premium sports hatch when you can venture into compact luxury sports sedans at the price point.