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THE King of Indian roads since 1958, the Ambassador is dead. "The end of the road"! would be an apt epitaph. It was a long and eventful reign but the invasion from the firangis was too focused and professional. In its heyday, Hindustan Motors, put out about 25.000 units a year. It served royalty, it served the red beaconwallas and as a taxi it had no rival. Jeremy Clarkson hails it as the world's best taxi. If it was the world's best, why is it dead? The Ambassador started life as the Morris Oxford in England and in a highly unusual move immigrated to a former colony. That was in 1954. It was the Landmaster then, with a rather well-rounded fore and aft. It had a 1489 cc side valve engine which was later improved to an overhead valve engine. Everyone loved it. It was spacious on the inside, good looking (well, almost!) on the outside and could tackle Indian roads with a never-say-die attitude. It was not reliable.
In 1957, all the tooling of the Morris Oxford III was transferred to Hindustan Motors in Uttarpara, West Bengal which was the birthplace of the “humpy-setter” for the next 50 years. It became the Mark I. This was followed by the Mark II, III, IV and the Nova. There were hardly any significant changes. It was lipstick and nail-polish for the ageing dowager. The biggest change to the Mark IV was in 1979. A 1489 cc diesel engine was introduced and India's love affair with diesel-engine cars began. The 1990s saw a tide of foreign cars come to India and Hindustan Motors’sales slipped. The Ambassador ISZ was introduced. It had an ISUZU 1800 cc petrol engine. The interior was upgraded, a new dash board, bucket seats and seat belts. The body was exactly the same, the doors rattled, the windows did not roll up, the trunk lid did not close. The ISUZU engine was great, but the gearbox still crunched and groaned. In addition, to the Marutis and Hyundais already on the road, Toyotas, Hondas and Ford joined the ever- increasing attack from overseas. For the first time, the Indian automotive buyer had a car where you did not have to slam-bang the door three to four times to close it. Push start was a thing of the past. Synchromesh gearbox, disc brakes, power-operated windows and yes trouble-free motoring. Frequent breakdowns were the bane of the "humpy-setter". There was another quirky trait to the Ambassador. It heated up, whether in the marketplace, the club parking lot or the Secretariat, the Ambys would be neatly lined up, side by side, bonnets open — to cool off the engine, gaping like crocodiles at rest. The radiator boiled over. Habits, especially bad habits, die hard. Despite, or inspite of all the advancement the Amby has made, breakdowns and a gaping bonnet still plague the car. The accompanying photograph shows an Ambassador at Matka Chowk going through the rigour and ritual of on -the-road repairs, bonnet open. It used to be a common sight decades ago. No more, the Amby is driving into the sunset. Good Motoring !
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good motoring
