Reunion

On the day of the Hyundai Veloster Turbo test drive, some Celicas joined in on the occasion. To be honest, I did not expect to have this many Celica to turn up and it was definitely a nice view with all the different colors. I have lost count how long ago was the last time I had an event with the Celica club and I am happy to see them. There were some old members that I have not seen in a long time and there were some new faces along with new rides. It has been such a long time since I had someone to have these car talks with. There were moments with the old members where it felt like the time we were apart did not happen and we were chatting like how we used to. Around the new faces however, I felt very much older being 2 generations of owner before them and was sharing some knowledge I have accumulated back in the days. Definitely feels good to be back in the club and how much I have missed being around motorheads like me.

Among all the photos I have taken on that day, I particularly like the photos that I took below. The reason being it is a rare shot of both the Pre-facelift model and the Face-lift model side by side. I would say nice to see both models being so stock but you can see that the silver Pre-facelift model has skirting from the front all the way to the rear and you may not see it, the grey Face-lift model is sitting on aftermarket rims. For an untrained eye, the difference between these 2 models might be limited to just a re-worked front bumper and new rear lights. I can assure you there are 2 more differences on the exterior. It might not be clear but the Face-lift from lights have a small design change and is now height adjustable xenon lights instead of projector lights. The cover just above where the car plate would be is of different design with a chrome line on top. It is really nice to see them both together side by side. What a sight !

When I was an active member of the Celica Club Malaysia, this is particular Celica was my twin car. Just like my ex-Celica, it is a late Face-lift model and it also shares the same color. This body color is actually a special color called the Thunder Grey (yes, that is the name used in UK) and is made only available for Face-lift models. You might not know it but there are very, very less Face-lift models that could be found on the road especially with this color. So, you could say it is quite rare. I have only seen 3 of them including my previous ride. One of the member present asked me whether it reminds me of the days I had my Celica. Truth be told, seeing one with the same color and also a late model, it does stirred something inside of me.

At the end of the day, it was really good to catch up with the old members and to chat up with some new faces. Is that a sign that I will be coming out of retirement and join club outings more often ? The answer would a NO. I really enjoy this car talk especially about Celica with guys and going out on convoys but I think I am more comfortable to join once in a while for a big event such as the test drive. Maybe when I get a new sports car, I would join more often because right know it feels a little weird being the odd one out. Who knows what the future hold ?