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Old 12th August 2010, 20:02   #76
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Looks like the Ambassador is finally getting a facelift, during a planned re-launch with retro looks, with the help of a European company.

Hope HM comes out with a VFM, comfortable 6 seater !

Hindustan Motors to re-launch Ambassador in retro design by mid 2011 | Online Latest News
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Old 13th August 2010, 09:44   #77
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It will be just another shoddy job from Hindustan Motors.
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Old 13th August 2010, 11:48   #78
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new saree for grandma ?
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Old 13th August 2010, 11:51   #79
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ambassador and future?? that is an oxymoron
ambassador is past...
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Old 13th August 2010, 11:52   #80
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I wish they do it properly this time. How about inspiration from the latest Mini, Fiat 500 and Beetle? Why not hire the guys who did those? I'm expecting something better from HM now although I myself know that they are not capable enough to churn out a modern car with retro looks. Will it be a facelifted Avigo?
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Old 22nd August 2010, 22:48   #81
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Even among many of the new generation cars, I find the ride in a well-maintained ambassador is better. When I was having an ambassador, I remember, bad roads were not a problem for me at all. We don't even have to reduce speed at bad roads. It absorbs well. HM could not go forward due to lack of facelifts to the demand of modern community and the anti-rust processing techniques. Even the new ambassadors purchased, need the setting of all the doors before you start running and periodically, say, once in every 10,000 kms.
But, ride quality was excellent.
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Old 23rd August 2010, 19:34   #82
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KMohanan View Post
We don't even have to reduce speed at bad roads. It absorbs well .. ride quality was excellent.
Agree with you here, Mohanan.

Shows that even leaf spring suspensions if tuned properly with the right dampers can do a good job
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Old 23rd August 2010, 19:38   #83
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Future is andhera , blackboard . I sincerely believe Ambassador is a lost cause. It should be given a grand farewell rather than see it die ...
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Old 23rd August 2010, 21:52   #84
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This article came in todays economic times.

HINDUSTANMotors last week announced a major overhaul of the iconic Ambassador car in what auto analysts and brand experts see as a last shot at redemption for the car that ruled the pot-holed Indian roads for decades. And not many are excited about its prospects.
“It is a spacey car but the technology is obsolete,” says Murad Ali Baig, one of the country’s bestknown auto analysts.
Modelled on the British Morris Oxford of 1956 and in production since 1958, the Ambassador accounted for three out of every four cars that plied on Indian roads in the seventies before first Maruti Suzuki and then others such as Hyundai Motors and Tata Motors stole the road show with sleek, fuel-efficient and features-rich vehicles.
“The Ambassador lost out to the contemporary, trendy and the ‘in’,” says Jagdeep Kapoor, managing director of brand consulting firm Samsika Marketing Consultants.
It will be an uphill drive for the Ambassador, or ‘Amby’, to cater to the expectations of the new generation.
That is what Hindustan Motors aspires for.
It will hire a European design house to help redo the car with “retro design and cutting-edge technology”, says Manoj Jha, managing director of Hindustan Motors.
The new car will look different from the current Ambassador, he says.
It will cost between 5 lakh and 7 lakh, comply with European emissions standards and hit the roads by August next year.

The company wants it to be a niche product and will continue producing the existing model as well. Experts believe this will be the Ambassador’s last chance to survive.
“I hope Hindustan Motors knows which design house to select because this might just be the last chance ever for the Ambassador brand,” says Adil Jal Darukhanawala, editor-in-chief of automobile magazine ZigWheels.
“Instead of a makeover or lipstick job, what the Ambassador needs is a clean sheet approach to design an all-new car from the ground up,” he adds. But it is not easy task, as pointed out by Mr Baig. The car retains its old suspension, architecture and platform. The only bit of modern engineering it has got is the Isuzu engine.
It will cost a minor fortune to overhaul it completely and the company is unlikely to do that, says Mr Baig. What it can do is adopt hydraulic suspension, bring in new gear-shifting technology and improve upholstery and interior design. But, even then, the car may at best go to 2,000 sales per month from 600-700 now, says Mr Baig.
That may not be good enough in a market of more than two lakh cars a month.
Mr Kapoor of Samsika, however, believes the Amby, loved for its spacious sofa-style rear seats and sturdiness, can still make a comeback if it can be effectively upgraded and marketed.
“If the brand wants to rejuvenate itself, it will have to retain its goodwill and the positive attitude and cater to the new expectations of the new generation,” he says. “It can still be Ambassador of the Indian roads provided intangibles such as goodwill, image and attitude can be achieved through repositioning, communication and services.”
The Amby relaunch could be a make-or-break move for Hindustan Motors, which posted losses of 43 crore last fiscal and had to inform to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction as its networth eroded more than 50%.
The company, which also manufacture and sell Mitsubishi Motors vehicles such as Mitsubishi Lancer, Cedia and Pajero, has been losing several top-level executives in recent months. Then MD R Santhanam left the company in May, followed by executive vice president Moloy Chowdhury, chief general manager of sales and marketing Ratan Singh and assistant general manager (North Zone) Romesh Lalwani.
Only a grand success of the new Ambassador can perhaps pull it out of the red.
Now the question is, if Amby can do a Royal Enfield Bullet, which has found renewed acceptability in the country.
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Old 23rd August 2010, 23:33   #85
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if Royal Enfield can script a comeback story why cant Hindustan Motors do the same?
I sincerely hope they churn out something which is good looking as well as modern
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Old 24th August 2010, 02:24   #86
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iron View Post
if Royal Enfield can script a comeback story why cant Hindustan Motors do the same?
I sincerely hope they churn out something which is good looking as well as modern
I would really want them to come out with something that will surprise everybody.. something like this :
Attached Thumbnails
What is the future of Ambassador?-amby-2011.jpg  

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Old 24th August 2010, 12:05   #87
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Nice work Asutoshb. I have seen some Nice Amby concepts and I liked yours too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iron View Post
if Royal Enfield can script a comeback story why cant Hindustan Motors do the same?
I sincerely hope they churn out something which is good looking as well as modern
Because they dont have Siddharth Lal running HM.
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Old 25th August 2010, 00:57   #88
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I wish HM takes a leaf out of the books of the Morgan Car Company and sells it exclusively only to the avid collector. How one can still sell such a car in the mass market beggars belief.
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Old 25th August 2010, 14:54   #89
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ashutoshb View Post
I would really want them to come out with something that will surprise everybody.. something like this :
Nice work as usual ashutoshb. You must be habitual to these compliments these days.

It seems that your Amby is based on the VW Beetle (& inspired from the DC Ambirod).
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Old 25th August 2010, 16:44   #90
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Thanks Cardeep!

The Audi TT was the base and the current Amby Avigo was the inspiration.
Attached Thumbnails
What is the future of Ambassador?-amby-source.jpg  

What is the future of Ambassador?-amby-2-door-yellow.jpg  


Last edited by ashutoshb : 25th August 2010 at 16:49.
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