The Ambassador – Off Production but not Memories

Amby - The King of Indian Roads 

I was not surprised but pained when I read the news about Hindustan Motors suspending production of Ambassador Car at its Uttarapara plant in West Bengal citing reasons of huge debt and lack of demand for the vehicle. Not surprised, because it was expected sooner or later going by the proliferation of new car models and companies in the last decade. Pained because the car which is known as the ‘grand old lady’ or ‘Amby’, the car which I looked at in awe as a kid is dying a slow but confirmed death due to remaining a complacent onlooker in a past paced auto market. It also suddenly hit me that the two ‘Grand Old’s - The Congress party got a drubbing in the same month in which Ambassador went off the production lines.

In fact, Congress is the first political party in India and Ambassador is the first car manufactured in India. What a strange coincidence!!! There are lessons to be learnt for Congress from Ambassador’s failure but I will not delve into that now as this is more about Ambassador than drawing lessons for Congress.

For all those kids born up to the 70s or late 70s, a car meant only the Ambassador or a Fiat until Maruti 800 came on the scene in the mid-80s. As a kid whenever we saw the Amby on the road, there was a great longing or urge to get into it for a ride. The car looked so huge that we were left wondering how it could go at such speed in spite of its size. The driver of any Ambassador car looked like a hero as he was seen managing a ‘giant’ in a deft manner. Very few people owned cars during our school days and whatever was owned were mostly Ambassadors, that too white.

Some of the government owned Ambassadors were so immaculately maintained (even today it is a practice) with white cloth on the seats and the back rests. Some of our friends who were sons/daughters of government servants used to come in Ambassador and the childish pride with which they used to alight from the car in front of everyone at the school gate is still fresh in memories.

My father who worked with the Postal & Telegraphs Department, before becoming an Advocate, used to hire an Ambassador car for our occasional family trips to the holy shrine at Tirumala which is a distance of almost 460 km. There was a feel of lot of space for everyone that even if somebody wanted to join the trip in the last minute was happily accommodated. The boot space too felt so huge with all travel gear dumped in. In the entire journey, the most memorable moments were when the Amby used to be stopped on the ghat road for radiator water that TTD provided in small concrete tanks at various pockets.

At Tirumala, of all toys that were sold, it was an Ambassador look alike that was bought in different colours after a lot of crying and ‘harassing’ of parents. Such was the impact of an Ambassador on the young minds.

In India, there would be lakhs of people who would have gone to their marriage pandal to get married in a decorated Ambassador; many lakhs of people who would have reached hospitals in case of an emergency in Ambassador when there were not many ambulances; many mothers who would have taken their new-born babies to home in an Ambassador after delivery at a hospital; several people who would have learnt driving on Ambassador; several newspapers have been reaching their readers in far-flung areas in Ambassador. The list can go on.

Keeping aside that there were not many choices to buy another car, Ambassador was successful those days because it was sturdy and felt safe by its sheer size and looks. People loved it and they continue to do so. The problem today is because that love for Ambassador did not turn into an urge to own one. Should we blame the Management of Hindustan Motors for such a sad plight of the Grand Old Lady? How else would one explain the reasons for no design changes in the last 60 years? Did West Bengal government play any role in ensuring that HM survived?

We should not forget that Ambassador ruled India when there were not many pucca roads, no four-lanes, no power steering, not many petrol stations, no tube-less tyres, no ABS, no EBD, etc. It will be forever remembered as the undisputed king of Indian roads.

We may not see it being produced anymore. It may remain popular only with a few taxi-drivers and politicians, but Ambassador will continue to be the most adored car in India with its image firmly etched on the mind of every Indian car lover. Who knows, it may bounce back just as Bullet of Royal Enfield!!! Till then let us keep ourselves busy with other desirable cars as Ambassador may not be desired until it comes, if at all, in a new avatar, but it will always be liked.