Tuesday, June 2, 2009

White, black and red

No matter how many sleek cars come out, the Ambassador seems to have a completely impregnable niche as the car of choice for all officialdom in the country. Though Hindustan Motors has a manufacturing facility in Chennai, the Ambassador is built at their plant in Uttarpara, West Bengal. The first ever car to be mass-manufactured in India, the Ambassador was originally based on the Morris Oxford, but has had a few changes (that's right, just a few) in its design since the first Ambassador rolled out in 1948.

I am sure in much of the country's hinterland, the white Ambassador continues to be an enduring symbol of the government; and even within that, there would be categories, I guess - white Ambassador with pitch-dark windows would indicate a senior official, while one that includes a red beacon would probably be the pinnacle of babu-dom. On the streets of Chennai though, this is just another car, trying to use the extra fittings to get past the traffic faster!



7 comments:

chorinchath said...

Still the most popular FAMILY car ! because you can accommodate about 10 and ideal for pot-hole filled Indian roads.

LVISS said...

ONE CAR WHERE U CAN SIT WITH SPREAD LEGS .

Shantaram said...

@ Narayanan: Hmmm... I'm sure a recent non-Ambassadorial experience has led to this comment :)

@ lviss: Do you know you sound suspiciously like Shilpa Shetty :o!!

LVISS said...

CAN TAKE ANY AMOUNT OF BEATING , A WORK HORSE.

Anonymous said...

Hahaa ... cross posted and missed .... :)

Ram N said...

Hahaa ... cross posted and missed .... :)

Shantaram said...

@ Ram: As with many others!