Hindustan Motors Limited the oldest automobile manufacturer in India is planning to give the six decade old Ambassador a new life. The HM brand along with the Ambassador seems to have faded away into oblivion. Hardly anyone knows that the car is still in production. Technically, the low sales figures should have put an end to the car. Thanks for once, to our corrupt ministers (as we know anything the bureaucracy wants will stay) the car lived on.
Now however, HM has announced that they will be producing a sub 4 meter long Ambassador to take advantage of low excise duty, just like the Indigo CS. The somewhat short Amby will have a smaller boot. Interior comfort and legroom will be the same as the normal Ambassador. Anyone who has taken a seat in the Ambassadors from the Euro II era onwards will tell that the rear seat is more comfortable than that of a Mercedes Benz E Class. The massive bucket seats upfront are criminally comfortable, more like those reclining TV couches. If you aren’t careful it’s very easy to fall asleep in them. I should also mention that the aircon if used on full blast for sometime can turn you into a giant icicle after some time.
The Ambassador always has been and still is a legendarily comfortable car. HM has woken up and finally decided to do the car justice by announcing that in about a year they will launch a brand new Ambassador. The new car will feature a new aerodynamic design along with modern interiors and electronics. The new car will also come loaded with equipment and safety features. HM has decided that while the car will be made modern it will not compromise on its dependability, space and comfort. That’s a good thing. The Ambassador is a bench mark for the perfect comfortable grand tourer. It can eat up kilometre after kilometre without a sweat and will transport you in uber comfort. I’ am a big fan of the Hindustan Motors Ambassador and can’t wait for the new Amby to hit the roads. Let’s hope you don’t have to spend a fortune to maintain it like the current car. Also, HM should address the panel gap issue as goats and elephants can slip in without you noticing through the huge gaps between the doors.
Having said that, I think the current Ambassador Grand looks totally cool and retro, you still get those heavenly seats which you sink into. I wish I had the money to go buy one, in black. I know I would have to spend a fortune to maintain it but I don’t care. If Great Britain has the Rolls Royce Phantom we have the HM Ambassador, and we should be awful proud of it because, well at least we wholly own the company.
What I think HM should do is make the new car look like the late HM Contessa, more like a modern take on a muscle car. And they can continue to make the current Ambassador Grand as a classic car, albeit with better panel gaps and lower the cost of ownership by fitting quality parts.
Here is to HM, although they took their own sweet time, may they make a great new Ambassador without losing its character and turn the old one into a retro luxury car.
