RIP Ambassador: India Won’t Be The Same Without You

Just when the wind of change was sweeping across India and Narendra Damodardas Modi-led BJP was getting elected to power, a part of India’s legacy folded up, probably never to return again. But the legacy had nothing to do with the monarchy of India or the country’s historical diamonds even though the latter had graced the overseas museums for long. No, the legacy was all about India’s very own love affair with automobiles.

It was a day that would go down in the history of modern India. The iconic Ambassador, manufactured by Hindustan Motors, ended its journey on May 24, at the factory that once rolled out the puffed-up version of Great Britain’s long-defunct Morris Oxford. India has been driving these cars manufactured at Uttarpara in West Bengal since 1957.

But the decision to stop production was taken after the abysmal drop in sales figures of Ambassador cars. Only 2,200 units were sold in the last fiscal even though Indians bought nearly 1.8 million four-wheelers during that period. With business hitting rock bottom, the writing was already on the wall and Ambassador had to wrap up its journey.

The only breather is a statement from Hindustan Motors that says: Production closed until further notice. Does it signify chances of resurrection? That just might be the case – at least those who want to cling to some ray of hope believe so. Most of the fans believe that the beautiful, bountiful Ambassador will be back on the Indian roads again.

As we all know, a car signifies mobility and class. But in the case of Ambassador, it was not a mere vehicle that carried people from point A to point B. In those early days, when India was just waking up to the fact that it was a free state and scales of hierarchy had to be created from the starting point onwards, the Ambassador played a very significant role in fixing that scale.

In fact, Ambassador spoke the language of metaphors. It signified ego, power, money, class, close-knit families and much more. It was the tugging string that still linked us to British India. It was also about the all-powerful babudom that had taken over (it was the ultimate status symbol for every government official and even the elected representatives of the country).

At a time when branding was never done by hired agencies, Ambassador stood for majesty and elegance. When on the move, it could easily attract a glance of appreciation from all and sundry and ruled the Indian roads for nearly three decades till it was done in by a low-cost hatchback. The Ambassador began to lose its sheen from the 1980s when Maruti Suzuki introduced its first Maruti 800, touted as the people’s car.

The Ambassador manufacturers had failed to see the fast-changing consumer map pervading the entire country. We no longer had cities with large joint families. Industrialisation had started to eat into the family space and migration in search of greener pastures had begun in villages and semi-urban areas. Joint families had begun to move out with their ‘share’ of property. The phrase ‘invasion of privacy’ had just entered lives, with the term privacy gaining its own definition.
Image: Wikipedia