Tuesday 2 August 2011

A Car Named For Thee

As most of you know, India's economy and standard of living (for some) are growing rapidly.  The typical signs of change are everywhere, from fancy new hotels to an explosion in car ownership.  Suzuki, Tata and Hyundai lead the charge with Honda, Ford, Skoda and Toyota also having a presence.  But there's one car that sticks out.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the Ambassador:


Affectionately nicknamed "The Amby," the vehicle has been in production since 1948.  Its design remains largely unchanged, save for some interior tweaks and perhaps a small horsepower bump.  As it is, the Amby is a slug with an 85hp engine.  You can forget about any modern features starting with A/C or anything electric.  Safety? How about a seatbelt.  Price?  About ten grand.  The attractive points that keep the Amby in production are its ease of repair due to its ubiquity (duh) and a good suspension that can handle India's tough roads.

How do they still sell this thing?  We don't know.  It's got history and tradition on its side.  And a government that generally still buys them by the parking lot full for its various agencies.  It's known as a politician's car.

The icing on the cake is when the car is clearly marked as a G-Man mobile.  It sometimes displays this flag:


You could not make up a better ID if you were producing a James Bond film from the late 60's!

2 comments:

  1. hey guys! i'm linking this to my blog since you have much more info on this stylin ride than I do. we rented one the other day! good stuff.

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  2. Link away, thanks! We didn't know you could actually rent one of these beauties....

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