The Ambassador is withdrawn, not for any diplomatic debacle, not for any controversial statement and not for any slip of tongue. But even after the Ambassador is withdrawn, the glory and grandeur that have been the part of its story will hardly fade.
Wait a while. We are not talking of an Ambassador with IFS tag; no, it is the stately Ambassador car whose manufacture had begun as early as 1948 by Hindustan Motors Ltd. floated by the outstanding Indian entrepreneur Seth G.D. Birla. The first Ambassador car rolled out of the plant in Uttarapara in West Bengal in 1948. We can say that the Ambassador found its place on the streets of India along with the dawn of independence. It lent the vehicle some sort of prestige which was enhanced further when it became the officially recognized vehicle for the Indian political elite and the powerful bureaucracy. India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru rode the Ambassador during his 12 years stint as prime minister. His successors including Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi also rode the same brand. In due course of time the Ambassador became the symbol of power status.
Originally designed along the British manufactured Morris, the Indian Ambassador remained supreme on Indian roads right up to late 1980s when Maruti Suzuki showed up on the streets of India as the first major replacement. Yet till the day manufacturers of Ambassador decide to shut down its production, the Ambassador remained the vehicle of prestige and power in our country. Apart from political bigwigs and inaccessible bureaucrats, big business magnates and financial czars also maintained the car as status symbol.
Some additions made to the interior gave the feel that one was sitting in a drawing room and not in the car. It was tough, it was commodious and it was elegant. Some improvements were made and Ambassador Mark I and Mark II and even Mark III had been manufactured. Ministers usually liked white colour while bureaucrats and the army Generals preferred black.
In late 1980s came Maruti and gradually it changed the thinking of the people about the use of a vehicle. Maruti was small, affordable and also easily available because its production was rapid. Although Maruti Suzuki did not actually pose any threat to Ambassador yet it did reduce the significance of status symbol. The Ambassador would remain the official vehicle and continued its journey. The real challenge came when there appeared a revolution in the vehicle manufacturing business in the country and a shift from traditional vehicles to modern vehicles gradually gripped the market in India. With the manufacture of new brands from all over the world and in the light of competition among manufacturers to produce new and more prestigious brands, the status symbol attached to Ambassador began to vanish. Japan and Germany emerged as pioneers in the manufacturing of new sleek and elegant cars with much fuel efficiency and other advantages. The status symbol also began to change and the Ambassador looked like an old and retired maid in the house having played her role with admiration.
The Ambassador Car manufacturing plant could not withstand the competition of contemporary vehicle production in the country. At one time the plant in Uttarapara would produce 700 to 800 cars a day which had till recent days fallen to just 100 cars per day. Manufacturing losses were running in crores and the managers then decided to retire the Ambassador. Nevertheless, Ambassador has carved a niche in the vehicle manufacturing history of our country which perhaps no other car can replace. Its story has become inseparable part of our post-independence history. The more interesting thing about this car is that it maintained its enviable status with the power class and braved for so many decades the fierce competition to which it was exposed. People will remember it with nostalgic air because as a taxi, it has won the title of being the best taxi in the world according to Top Gear assessment made in a car fair held recently in London.
What are the possibilities of its revival in near future? People with nostalgia of sorts with this brand may desire that the Ambassador should revive and reappear on Indian roads with such modifications as are required by new civic laws. This is not a remote possibility and in a century of high level technological efficiency anything can be possible.
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