It certainly blazed it’s way into our lives and hearts…
Our first car in our life. An SUV….wow, that was like a dream come true. I have to say, did I love this macho machine….yes….until the end….really rugged and solid…it yielded to my passion, anger, frustration, happiness and every other emotion with which I drove this vehicle….truly enjoyed every single drive in this lovely vehicle….6 cylinder vehicle with 4.2 litre engine, 275 horse power at 6000 rpm….mileage was a disaster at 5 kms per litre of petrol…but since we were in Kuwait an oil rich country with one of the lowest fuel rates…who cares really…it was comfortable, spacious and menacing in my hand especially….slow to pick up….but once on the run…can it be threatening ask my wife and friends who sat with me when I was in the mood….that was some drive back then…sometimes breezy…sometimes manic….my wife would say most times the latter….
Did I enjoy those long drives in Kuwait….sure I did….My average speed ranged between 140 to 160 kms per hour and once I flat pedaled it to 200 kmph…it’s maximum speed….when I was driving back from office with my colleagues….my wife would often say….you think you are in control….but the passengers they are really having a mild heart attack sitting next to you….what I really like about this machine…it was strong, massive and there usually are those locals who try to threaten by tailgating you in the fast lane…not with me buddy….either I overtake you by zipping across lanes or I tailgate you so close that you will eventually give way to me….it’s just that it’s scary when you think of what could happen, if there was a crash….you don’t think about that when you drive….if you do…just don’t drive….
Why did I go for this car?
As part of my salary package, they provided KD 100 every month as an allowance for Car reimbursement. You cannot claim it unless you bought a car from Alghanim which owned the Chevy brand as a Franchise. It was a smart way of selling their cars to their own employees…pay salary and get it back in the form of installments from them…some ingenious guy thought of this…mostly probably an Indian only….given the fact that we never owned a car…we both loved to own something big…preferably a SUV and not the normal sedan types. Besides, you cannot own and maintain them in India as it’s quite expensive. Therefore, we both decided, let’s enjoy while the ride lasts.
Once I got my license I had put in a word to some of my friends in the group to look out for a suitable second hand car in good condition. Though, the car color was not ideal, it came with low mileage and good condition and price point. Once it was decided to go for it after the test drive with my friend…I picked it up. I guess for a few weeks, I went along with another friend of mine since I had to drive almost 50 kms one way to my office. Once I got the hang of it…then it was time to take wifey out on a long ride…
Along with Vidya and Kalpana (Balu my dear friend’s wife), we went to Al Kout Mall…around 40 kms from Salmiya sometime in August 2007 in the evening. We spent some time at the mall and then returned back home. Balu could not join then as he was busy at work….
It carried everyone from me, my wife, our parents, friends, colleagues…and of course the little one from the tummy until he was 6 years old….this one really grew old with us….was mauled and treated badly by me…I had this run over pavements and dirt roads without any care and it had to undergo some major repairs…fortunately Ram found some Indian mechanic in a run down place who could do it for 1/10th of the price quoted by my company….and made it brand new all over again….
It was one helluva ride until I had to bid goodbye to my lovely car….how I dearly wished I had one like this in India…impossible to maintain such a gas guzzling machine with the way petrol prices are soaring in India…it was a tearful farewell indeed to another pet ride of my life…short but sweet indeed…to a racy life…from August of 2007 until 14th August 2014….as they say…we really scorched and torched the roads of Kuwait…
Beautiful Life 