Reasons where you know you are a true Jeeper!

1. A new dent in the sheet metal actually fixed another dent, or it just added some character.
2. You know at least 3 800 numbers to aftermarket off-road business by heart.
3. You are on a first name basis with the guys at every local auto parts store in town.
4. You want to take things apart and rebuild them, even if they are not broken.
5. You have a monetary equivalent of a Mercedes Sedan invested into your jeep, but it still looks like crap.
6. You consider starting a vehicle five times in any given minute routine.
7. You own a vehicle, which now weighs 1000 pounds more than when it came off the showroom floor.
8. You look for jeeps in everything, and try to figure out the year and model.
9. You are the type of person who immediately goes postal if you sit in a highway traffic jam more than 5 minutes, yet you can spend six hours driving one and half miles and consider it to be a form of relaxation.



10. You'll stop and look at any old rust heap thinking parts vehicle.
11. Your Jeep has more (farm/boat/military/other) equipment on it than OEM parts.
12. The weatherman says "Stay in, it's dangerous" and you think "Time to go wheeling".
13. You are happy that you can't use 1st gear on the street.
14. A military convoy passes by and you only look at the axles, tires, and antennas.
15. You have enough straps, chains, rope, etc. in your Jeep to keep the Queen Mary docked during a hurricane.
16. You understand that JEEP is a way of life, not just for transportation.
17. You use a hose to clean the inside and the outside.
18. A low-rider Jeep pulls up next to you, and you get out and Bitch slap the driver.
19. You have a high-water mark on the Inside of the Jeep.
20. You use a ice scraper on the Inside of the windshield.



21. The AAA guy breaks down, you stop and fix his problem and get back on the road.
22. You'll drive 2 days at 600 miles a day so you can spend 2 more days driving 3 miles per day.
23. You have more pictures of your Jeep than of your kids.
24. You spend more time deciding which $3.00 bushing to use than you do on personal hygiene.
25. You take your date home early on a Saturday night so you can work on your Jeep.
26. You call a scratch or dent, a beauty mark.
27. You roll it over and don't get upset.
28. You puke when you see a RAV-4.
29. You pull into the Unplowed parking spots on snowy days.
30. You take your friends wheeling and they say, "Trail?; I don't see any trail!"
31. You've been forced to add CJ, YJ, and TJ to your spell checker.
32. It rains and you don't care if your top and doors are on or off.
33. You change your plugs in the parking lot at work while on break.
34. You get more heat through the holes in the floor than you do through the heat vent.
35. Every page of your repair manual has greasy finger prints on it.
36. Every car wash in town has banned you for life.

Rallies Need Support!

In a country so vast, its surprising that motorsport is still at such a nascent stage. Albeit for a few rallies organized by Maruti, the upcoming Volkswagen Polo Cup Races and the JK Tyre track events, India is still yet to evolve into an era of grand motorsport.

We've often spoken of a Formula One track, and though that is coming up in Greater Noida, it remains to be seen when the first race will actually be held. No doubt, F1 will bring in a new era to Indian motorsport and the track will open new frontiers for other races, however India has a heritage in rallying as well.

The Himalayan was one of the oldest and most dangerous rallies ever run, second only to the Dakar Rally. Why is it that impetus to rallies is not increasing in the country. We don't need tracks or major infrastructure to be set up at the cost of crores of rupees, all we need is proper awareness and great PR to push an event to such stature.

I have personally taken part in the Desert Storm rally as well as the Raid de Himalaya, and according to me, both are world class rallies. FIA approved, yet participation seems to wane at entry time.

Rallies are a great way to evoke tourism in the far corners of the country, as well as bring in a certain amount of revenue to various states that rallies run in, however the development and lack of manufacturer participation on this front has left the sport to reside in a small corner of Indian motorsport history.

Manufacturers need to sit up and take a look at what is available. By ushering in a rally team, what you essentially get is great publicity as well as a chance to prove your product pitted against the elements. Why is it then that manufacturers don't look into this area? A prime example is what Mitsubishi has managed with their Pajero brand; a brand soley built on its credentials in the Dakar Rally.

Just imagine, the credentials A Mahindra or a Tata could give to their SUV's if they were to compete in the Raid or the Desert Storm and win. India has great rally drivers, and the need for nurturing this sport is also extremely necessary. WRC might seem like a distant dream, however India offers terrain and tracks to train some of the best drivers. Manufacturers need to broaden their horizons and really take this up as part of their marketing and product promotion plans.