Ambassador awaits final curtain

The Ambassador: many in India see it as a reminder of the License Raj, which operated from 1947 to 1990.

Ajay Arora has dreamed of owning an Ambassador car ever since he backed his father's into the garage wall when he was eight years old.

Earlier this month, Arora bought one of his own, white like the one he crashed 30 years ago. "It's like getting your first love back," said Arora, a wealthy Indian who owns a print shop in Mumbai.

The Ambassador, with its rounded contours and distinct humped shape, has been an icon on the dusty roads of India since 1957, but fans like Arora are few and its days may finally be drawing to a close.

It is derided by many as a symbol of the License Raj, the name for a restrictive bureaucracy in effect from 1947 to 1990 when only the Ambassador and boxy Fiat cars were available to Indians.

Then, the Ambassador was ubiquitous, desired as dowry, featured in films and favoured by politicians.

Since restrictions on foreign manufacturers were lifted in 1991, it has been overtaken by newer, nimbler cars.

The Ambassador is now in its 50th year of production, but anniversary celebrations have been put on hold after a strike to protest the suspension of some employees and nonpayment of wages at its manufacturing plant in Uttarpara in eastern India.

Some experts believe the stalemate could bring down the final curtain on the vehicle.

The Ambassador, which had about 70% of the market at its peak in the 1970s, has only a fraction of the growing market now. Passenger vehicle sales are expected to double by 2010, from 1.4 million units in the year to March.

"The Ambassador represents all that was right and wrong with India," said Dilip Chhabria, an independent car designer.

"It's a symbol of post-independence India, a sign of power, and has an old-world charm. But it didn't keep pace with progress ... and that's also part of the reason why we're so nostalgic about it, because it's from a different era and so unlike modern cars."

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USER COMMENTS (2 COMMENTS)

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Ambassador awaits final curtain
Posted by Bikash Mallick, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 30 April 2007 at 19:52 UAE time


I remember those days when our only family car 'Ambassador Mark II' was a passion to us.In those days our driver - Jhaji was like our great sarathi since he could drive this car.Everyday we all 10 - 12 kids used to go to school in this car,it is specious,safe and absolutely fit for Indians roads.Time has come to retain this old gold.

Ambassador awaits final curtain
Posted by Hombil, Muscat, Oman on 30 April 2007 at 16:48 UAE time


The article made a nostalgic reading. It took me back to mid-1970, when I had bought my first car a secondhand Ambassador. Although I had learnt driving and got my driving licence on the family's Fiat, I loved my Amby, which was not only rough n tough, but was also very reliable, besides being very comfortable. Being an old horse, one could find its spareparts and mecahnics in any corner of India, so one was never left stranded in case of a breakdown. When I left Mumbai for Oman in 1980, I fetched more than double the price I had paid. That would say something about the good old Ambassador! 
 
Yes, time has come (long overdue) for the final curtain and India will miss the good old Amby.

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