They want to save the iconic World War II jeep from oblivion
They want to save the iconic World War II jeep from oblivion
No modern SUVs for these guys; their passion is the Willys MB jeep, and they have even started a club to preserve the iconic vehicle.u00a0
"My friends and I love old jeeps for their might and make," said Babu Krishnan (37), who started the club.
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Jeepers! Babu takes a ride in his Willys on which he spent around Rs 3 lakh |
"That passion for old models drove to form this club. Most of us own old vehicles and the demand for such vehicles is increasing these days, but when it's four-wheeler, it's the Willys for us," he said.u00a0
Babu started his search for rare vehicles in 1996, when he was working as a country manager for a juice company in Bahrain. He bought his favorite 1964 Willys for Rs 1 lakh, after a two-year search in India. He then spent Rs 2 lakh on renovations.
Other models toou00a0
The group now also has a 1964 and 1969 Willys.
"The group preserves and promotes the few old Willys in city," said Harsha.G, Babu's friend. "But we are interested in other old models too. These vehicles are unique and more comfortable than models designed these days," he said.u00a0
Other models include the Fiat and the Ambassador, and the Lambretta and Rajdoot in the two-wheeler category.
A new trend Automobile experts also feel that the trend of buying old car models is increasing these days.u00a0 "Techies especially prefer old four-wheelers such as the Fiat, and Yamaha and Bullet when it comes to bikes. There's a lot of buying and selling going on, and the unique thing about such vehicles is that they get costlier as they are older," said Sanjay Kumar, an automobile expert.u00a0
