Sleek interiors, superb pickup, aero-dynamic design… the Ambassador car possibly stands for the opposite of such sales pitch jargon, yet the ‘Amby’ for several generations of Indians is the stuff of memories.
Earlier this week Hindustan Motors (HM) announced that they are suspending production of the Indian icon. The production of the car in India, which traces its ancestry to the British-made Morris Oxford III, was moved to Uttarpara in West Bengal from Gujarat in 1948.
For those of us who grew up in the 1950s and right up to the 80s, it was probably the first car of our memories. The first one we rode in, fought for the window seat as we struggled with the roll-down handle, stared at the mesmerising bunch of bobbing, plastic grapes hung on the rear-view mirror and imagined the air-conditioner’s cooling effect, all the while squeezed into the sofa-like backseat with seven or eight others.
The car even taught many of us driving. The Ambassador became synonymous with places and things – yellow with Kolkata, the beaconed white with babu-dom and politicians and the black one with style. Then there were green, blue, grey, red…
An Ambassador was also about patriotism. Before the Japanese, Koreans, Germans, Italians and the Americans came, it was our only car-maker. While the Maruti Suzuki 800 became the ultimate aspirational car of the 1980s, the Amby became less cool. When the others came–compact cars, sleek sedans, hulking SUVs and box-like MUVs—we forgot our Amby. The solid, old reliable made-in-India was relegated even as it tried to keep with the times by going Nova, Encore and CNG. The stringent emission norms too didn’t help, HM simply couldn’t keep up with the changing times.
Dealerships for Ambassador cars are hard to find, most have stopped dealing with the car. Finding a dealer in the city is tough but 11 phone calls later (including one to a dealer, it turns out former, in Thiruvananthapuram), Geomotors, Eroor, pops up. “It is not that we haven’t been getting enquiries about the car, but for the last one year we have had little support from Hindustan Motors, so we haven’t been taking bookings,” says Simon who works at the dealership.
Covered with tarpaulin and gathering dust (because the resale prices are bad), some of these lie in car porches. Only a few brave ones venture out with these. One such proud owner is film director K.N. Sasidharan. He has had his steel-coloured Ambassador for the last 29 years, since 1984. “It is a convenient, safe car. Not once has it let me down; it is a diesel car and gives a good mileage. It has been a sort of companion all these years,” Sasidharan says. Although he owns another, ‘modern’ car, he continues to be attached to his Ambassador. “You only sell something when you don’t need it, isn’t it?”
The Ambassador has become a collector’s item now and mostly it is nostalgia and affection that keeps these cars with people. “My car was a gift from a friend. I am fond of it as it is a classic. It is a 1979, Mark III model. Maintenance costs a packet, but getting mechanics isn’t too tough,” says T.K. Mohandas, wildlife photographer. While Sasidharan hasn’t modified his car, Mohandas has by making changes to steering wheel and adding indicators and of course, the mandatory seatbelts.
“This is my second Ambassador. I use it as a taxi. It is spacious, the mileage is good and it is a solid heavy car… what else would one need in a car?” asks Jayakumar. This former employee of Autokast says of his 2007 model Ambassador Nova. He has a simpler take on the car’s waning popularity, “families have become smaller, cars are available with more features (a price tag of close to six-and-a-half lakh rupees is a put off) plus you need more experience to drive it.” The best part, according to him, is that it can be repaired anywhere in this country, “big town, small village…no fuss and anywhere.”
An Ambassador is also part of theIndia experience and India kitsch. Starred hotels offer tourists rides in the car and it features desi-inspired knick-knacks. A boutique hotel in Fort Kochi offers its patrons rides in an Ambassador car.
For another generation brought up on a diet of several genres of cars, the Ambassador is simply ‘taxi’. Unfortunately the distinction escapes them. Let’s hope the machines start rolling again at Uttarpara.
Maybe it is not yet time to say R.I.P., maybe its just a ‘see you in a while’…but Amby we will miss you!
Published - May 29, 2014 07:37 pm IST
