Ambassador : The King of Roads

Gone are the days after the independence of country,when those giant Cadillac, Chevrolet,Austin , Pontiac, Buick etc were plying majestically with proud owners on the wide streets of cities like Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and Madras,One of the original three car manufacturers in India, founded in 1942 by Mr. B.M. Birla, a humble beginning of great journey started in 1957 under the flagship group of  Hindustan Motors is an Indian automotive manufacturer based in Hind Motors, Uttarpara West Bengal, India. The flying start of the brand model Hindustan Ambassador was based on Morris Oxford III model of its parent British company Morris Motor Limited, Cowley, Oxford , UK from 1956 to 1959. 

Although modelled after the British Morris Oxford, the Ambassador was the first car to be made in India with its indigenous project after independence and its first car rolled out in 1957 to boost the country's social economy under Nehruvian concept.Soon it picked up to its pinnacle to lead the market and became a status symbol of elite class.The Ambassador has remained the choice of a dwindling share of bureaucrats and politicians, usually in white with a red beacon on top and a chauffeur at the wheel.

Meanwhile,the company upgraded its models from its original 'Land master' to young Ambassador Mark II followed by Mark III and Mark IV till 1980. Not very long ego ,the cavalcades of new Ambassadors were seen crossing Bali bridge and reaching to M/S Austin Distributors Limited Calcutta. As young one I still with many of my age group remember the comfort of spacious inside where a whole family could be accommodated with  sufficient leg space. If my memory goes back correctly I had a young Mark II journey from Shillong to Karimganj Assam in the winter of 1964. An entire family of 5 with kids along started at morning 7.30 .a.m. through newly opened road through Jowai and we reached at a place called Sonapur at around 1.30 p .m. where we were to cross the river Lova which had no bridge to cross during those days. Driver advised us to get down from car and cross the river over stone blocks since the river precisely had no flow of water during winter.We crossed the river on foot;but the driver crossed the same driving his car over those stones slowly and he reached the other side comfortably. Sitting in present, I am astounded to think those cars did not have four wheel drive system, but......that was Ambassador.Despite its British origins, the Ambassador was considered as a definitive Indian car and is fondly called the "king of Indian roads" Those cars had five speed manual transmission and  later days it was changed to 1800 cc ISUZU engine naming Ambassador grand. But, it was too late. The sojourn was getting into end. Already the magnificent love of people had lost its pace in the race with young Maruti by Suzuki Motors of Japan and could not keep its promise to the nation with changed scenario of globalised economy.Once up on a time the maker of this grand car used to boost openly that out of every five cars on the road , one is Ambassador;It lost further cachet and market share when global automakers began setting up shop in India in the mid-1990s, offering models with contemporary designs and technology. The Ambassador ultimately had to surrender its supremacy into time and age and lost i n race.  All through its history, the company has depended on government patronage for its sales and for survival by eliminating competition. Manoj Jha was the Managing Director who stepped down from the post on 21 February 2012 and the King of Roads ceased from production and last Ambassador rolled out from factory on 24th May 2014.
The last nail in the coffin was hammered on 11th February 2017, when the Company has been sold to 'Peugeot' of France along with its brand name for only Rs 80 Crore and thus the burial of the giant king is completed.