Amby turns golden now

ajmat · 5th January 2007, 09:08

Old man will dance a jig on this one

As more and more cars are fading into oblivion to make way for new models, Ambassador, the oldest automobile brand in India, is moving into its golden jubilee year of production.

A limited edition ‘Golden Amby’ model, will be launched by Hindustan Motors to commemorate the car’s golden jubilee year.

The special edition will don a new ceremonial colour and will feature new upholstery and fittings, but obviously, will retain its bulky lines, along with the legendary “bench seat” at the front.

The Ambassador is the first car to be manufactured in India in 1957 at Uttarpara in Kolkata. Lovingly called the Amby, in its 50 years of existence, it has seen the Licence Raj, Permit Raj, Babu Raj

Read on here

man23ish · 5th January 2007, 09:26

Truly marvellous.. It is perhaps the only car that is still being sold with only minor modifications to its earliest model..

It can be modded to have all the features that any contemporary car has. And was the only car apart from the Mercs and the BMWs to be made with a bullet-proof body and glass..

I guess, this probably constitutes a world record.. Amby deserves a round of applause..

I am emotionally attached to the Amby because i learnt my driving on an Amby..

theMAG · 5th January 2007, 09:47

Dear RSji, congratulations on this milestone. HM couldnt have done it alone without you as the brand ambassador

GTO · 5th January 2007, 10:04

If they really want to make it a special edition, they should make the special ed look exactly the same as it did at launch in the fifties....with identical colour choices, fittings, wheels, interior trim etc. (am sure they have the capability).

The only thing they should not go back on is the mechanicals. The 1.8 and disc brakes should stay.

shuvc · 5th January 2007, 10:12

That's nice.
If you browse the Kolkata meet thread snaps - we checked out the latest Amby Grand. It comes with a moonroof !

akroy · 5th January 2007, 10:21

WOW, What an achievement !! Hope Rudra Sir will be the most proud T-Bhp member today...Kudos to Amby !!
I still remember our trip from Kolkata to Malda in my uncle's new Amby in 1990...We were 11 of us 6 kids(i was 12yr old and the oldest of the lot) and 5 adults (including driver)...

Abhi

Surprise · 5th January 2007, 10:51

Had seen members outcry at Maruti for continuing Esteem, but why getting carried when HM still doing with the same old Ambassador?

man23ish · 5th January 2007, 16:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise

Had seen members outcry at Maruti for continuing Esteem, but why getting carried when HM still doing with the same old Ambassador?

Well, aren't you surprised??

Amby has stood the test of time for more than 50 years now.. Its rear-seat is still the most comfortable of all, even with a leaf-spring suspension.. It has been the official govt. vehicle for several decades and still going strong.. It is as rugged as rugged can get.. Sheer Engineering Value !!

True it doesn't look stylish aerodynamically, especially comparing against the newer lot of cars. But it does have an aura of nostalgia written all over it.. Remember your first tricycle, your first school, etc.

All first things are meant to outlive things that come in later.. The Amby was the largest selling car in India for atleast 2-3 decades.. It used to represent the Indian automotive scene and there was little competition..

Sheer Nostalgia man..

PS: No offense intended.. ;-)

rahul_intlad · 6th January 2007, 01:05

Amby still do duty in my village in kerala.Boy does that trunk have some luggage space.
As for its people carrying capacity,the initial models with bench seats infront too had I think taken 10 people for a wedding.

One think I disliked was the turning radius another was the fact that it gets a little uncomfortable for front seat passengers with the heat from the engine coming in.Ofcourse these were the earlier ambassador models without Power steering.Dont know if it has changed a lot with the newer models.

Steeroid · 6th January 2007, 08:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

If they really want to make it a special edition, they should make the special ed look exactly the same as it did at launch in the fifties....with identical colour choices, fittings, wheels, interior trim etc. (am sure they have the capability).

I agree - what a collector's item it would've been if they brought out say 1,000 nos of the original Mk 1 or even the Landmaster?

Mpower · 6th January 2007, 08:55

There is something to be said about a car that has outlived others like Contessa, 118NE, Padmini, and even the Zen.

They should keep that chassis and put an all new mini MPV like body on it like a Megane/Zafira/Xsara...it will keep going.

PS: has anyone noticed Ambassador and Fiat had their own unique smell. You could blindfold me and walk me into a car and I can tell if its an Amby or Fiat. It was an awesome smell...I'm all nostalgic now.

salilpawar1 · 6th January 2007, 17:19

If don't want to buy the real thing, you can buy these scale models for modelcarworld.com. Don't ask me how to buy, maybe BHPian Beeman can help you out

1:43 Diecast HM Ambassador1

1:43 Morris Oxford

You can get this in shops in India.....

1:32 Plastic HM Ambassador

1:32 Plastic HM Ambassador CNG Cab

awini · 7th January 2007, 01:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajmat

The Ambassador is the first car to be manufactured in India in 1957 at Uttarpara in Kolkata. Lovingly called the Amby, in its 50 years of existence, it has seen the Licence Raj, Permit Raj, Babu Raj

actually, as i understand, the first car to be manufactured in independent India was the 'baby' hindustan, based on the morris minor, in about 1948/49

Ram · 7th January 2007, 13:00

Correction, the Morris Minor based Baby Hindustan was not the first car manufactured in India. That came later in 1950.

A larger engined car, the 1938-1948 Morris Ten commenced manufacture in India under the name Hindustan 10.

In 1938 the Morris Motor Co. and MG merged with Riley to form a new company: the Nuffield Organisation.

Our honorable automotive pioneer, Mr. Ghanshyamdas Birla signed on the dotted line with Nuffield, UK, to manufacture the Morris Ten in India. The first HM plant manufacturing Hindustan Tens was at Okha, Gujarat in 1942.

The first car manufactured(assembled) in India was the Hindustan Ten -- a badge-engineered Morris Ten.

One year after independence, in 1948 the plant was shifted to Uttarpara, West Bengal.

I remember seeing a cream painted one in 1981 at Chhagan-Mitha pump, Chembur while servicing my first Fiat 1100-D in 1981. It was owned by a kindly Sardarji who spent a lot of time talking about it with me.

Here's a close-up. You can see the Hindustan Ten badge.

The high-end plastic used in those days was thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin called Bakelite. I remember the phenolic smell of Bakelite, esp. when hot.

The Hindustan Ten had a 1148 cc OHV engine that developed 37.2 bhp @ 4600 rpm.

Breathing through an SU carburetor, it delivered 10 hp to the road wheels(thence the name Morris Ten) and was capable of 112 km/h.

Interestingly the next car, the successor to the Hindustan 10 was also called Hindustan 10.

But that was a whole different car based on the Morris Oxford MO. The engine was downgraded back to a side-valve affair! It was not until the Ambassador that the OHV engine would resurface in India.

Among the first batch of cars assembled in Okha, Gujarat, India was this maroon and silver vehicle.

Sorry for the poor quality image

When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was in Gauhati, Assam for the Congress annual session at Pandu in 1958, he rode around in this Maroon and silver 1948 Hindustan Ten. The car back then belonged to maverick poet-politician, Devakanta Barooah (who once-upon-a-time coined the slogan: India is Indira and Indira is India).

It is currently owned by Manohar Choudhury, a Guwahati businessman and member of the Classic and Vintage Car Club of Guwahati. It can be seen in the club's museum in Guwahati.

Owning a car was almost a royal privilege in those days. The museum of the Classic and Vintage Car Club of Guwahati has eleven other cars harking back to those days.

sreedotk · 7th January 2007, 20:24

I dont know if many people will agree. The Ambassdor is like the Mini/Renault 2Cv/Volkswagen Bettle /Fiat Ciquecento of india. It was a people mover though not a mass people mover.

What would be perfect would be for hindustan motors to do is to get a good designer to design a retro model like BMW and Volkswagen did (and Fiat is doing) to those name plates. Keep the line but make it mordern. A matching retro mordern interior and a nice engine.

They make engines for Ford and Mitsubishi, i am sure they can strike a deal to use either one of the companies engine. They should also tweak the engine and safety engineer the chasis and package and sell it. I am sure they will have a decent Export Market too.

But alas it is going to be a pipe dream as i am hinduja is more interested in Hutch than the Butch Ambassdor

5th January 2007, 09:08	#1
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,858 Thanked: 27,925 Times View My Garage	Amby turns golden now Old man will dance a jig on this one As more and more cars are fading into oblivion to make way for new models, Ambassador, the oldest automobile brand in India, is moving into its golden jubilee year of production. A limited edition ‘Golden Amby’ model, will be launched by Hindustan Motors to commemorate the car’s golden jubilee year. The special edition will don a new ceremonial colour and will feature new upholstery and fittings, but obviously, will retain its bulky lines, along with the legendary “bench seat” at the front. The Ambassador is the first car to be manufactured in India in 1957 at Uttarpara in Kolkata. Lovingly called the Amby, in its 50 years of existence, it has seen the Licence Raj, Permit Raj, Babu Raj Read on here
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 09:26	#2
man23ish BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 626 Thanked: 18 Times	Truly marvellous.. It is perhaps the only car that is still being sold with only minor modifications to its earliest model.. It can be modded to have all the features that any contemporary car has. And was the only car apart from the Mercs and the BMWs to be made with a bullet-proof body and glass.. I guess, this probably constitutes a world record.. Amby deserves a round of applause.. I am emotionally attached to the Amby because i learnt my driving on an Amby..
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 09:47	#3
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	Dear RSji, congratulations on this milestone. HM couldnt have done it alone without you as the brand ambassador
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 10:04	#4
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,497 Thanked: 300,308 Times View My Garage	If they really want to make it a special edition, they should make the special ed look exactly the same as it did at launch in the fifties....with identical colour choices, fittings, wheels, interior trim etc. (am sure they have the capability). The only thing they should not go back on is the mechanicals. The 1.8 and disc brakes should stay.
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 10:12	#5
shuvc Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,913 Thanked: 352 Times View My Garage	That's nice. If you browse the Kolkata meet thread snaps - we checked out the latest Amby Grand. It comes with a moonroof !
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 10:21	#6
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	WOW, What an achievement !! Hope Rudra Sir will be the most proud T-Bhp member today...Kudos to Amby !! I still remember our trip from Kolkata to Malda in my uncle's new Amby in 1990...We were 11 of us 6 kids(i was 12yr old and the oldest of the lot) and 5 adults (including driver)... Abhi
	() Thanks

5th January 2007, 10:51	#7
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	Had seen members outcry at Maruti for continuing Esteem, but why getting carried when HM still doing with the same old Ambassador?
	() Thanks

6th January 2007, 01:05	#9
rahul_intlad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 1,579 Thanked: 4 Times	Amby still do duty in my village in kerala.Boy does that trunk have some luggage space. As for its people carrying capacity,the initial models with bench seats infront too had I think taken 10 people for a wedding. One think I disliked was the turning radius another was the fact that it gets a little uncomfortable for front seat passengers with the heat from the engine coming in.Ofcourse these were the earlier ambassador models without Power steering.Dont know if it has changed a lot with the newer models.
	() Thanks

6th January 2007, 08:55	#11
Mpower Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 10,409 Thanked: 1,729 Times View My Garage	There is something to be said about a car that has outlived others like Contessa, 118NE, Padmini, and even the Zen. They should keep that chassis and put an all new mini MPV like body on it like a Megane/Zafira/Xsara...it will keep going. PS: has anyone noticed Ambassador and Fiat had their own unique smell. You could blindfold me and walk me into a car and I can tell if its an Amby or Fiat. It was an awesome smell...I'm all nostalgic now.
	() Thanks

6th January 2007, 17:19	#12
salilpawar1 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Mumbai (MH-01) Posts: 852 Thanked: 247 Times View My Garage	If don't want to buy the real thing, you can buy these scale models for modelcarworld.com. Don't ask me how to buy, maybe BHPian Beeman can help you out 1:43 Diecast HM Ambassador1 1:43 Morris Oxford You can get this in shops in India..... 1:32 Plastic HM Ambassador 1:32 Plastic HM Ambassador CNG Cab Last edited by salilpawar1 : 6th January 2007 at 17:34.
	() Thanks

7th January 2007, 13:00	#14
Ram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Singapore, Mumbai, Nagpur Posts: 2,166 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	Correction, the Morris Minor based Baby Hindustan was not the first car manufactured in India. That came later in 1950. A larger engined car, the 1938-1948 Morris Ten commenced manufacture in India under the name Hindustan 10. In 1938 the Morris Motor Co. and MG merged with Riley to form a new company: the Nuffield Organisation. Our honorable automotive pioneer, Mr. Ghanshyamdas Birla signed on the dotted line with Nuffield, UK, to manufacture the Morris Ten in India. The first HM plant manufacturing Hindustan Tens was at Okha, Gujarat in 1942. The first car manufactured(assembled) in India was the Hindustan Ten -- a badge-engineered Morris Ten. One year after independence, in 1948 the plant was shifted to Uttarpara, West Bengal. I remember seeing a cream painted one in 1981 at Chhagan-Mitha pump, Chembur while servicing my first Fiat 1100-D in 1981. It was owned by a kindly Sardarji who spent a lot of time talking about it with me. Here's a close-up. You can see the Hindustan Ten badge. The high-end plastic used in those days was thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin called Bakelite. I remember the phenolic smell of Bakelite, esp. when hot. The Hindustan Ten had a 1148 cc OHV engine that developed 37.2 bhp @ 4600 rpm. Breathing through an SU carburetor, it delivered 10 hp to the road wheels(thence the name Morris Ten) and was capable of 112 km/h. Interestingly the next car, the successor to the Hindustan 10 was also called Hindustan 10. But that was a whole different car based on the Morris Oxford MO. The engine was downgraded back to a side-valve affair! It was not until the Ambassador that the OHV engine would resurface in India. Among the first batch of cars assembled in Okha, Gujarat, India was this maroon and silver vehicle. Sorry for the poor quality image When Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was in Gauhati, Assam for the Congress annual session at Pandu in 1958, he rode around in this Maroon and silver 1948 Hindustan Ten. The car back then belonged to maverick poet-politician, Devakanta Barooah (who once-upon-a-time coined the slogan: India is Indira and Indira is India). It is currently owned by Manohar Choudhury, a Guwahati businessman and member of the Classic and Vintage Car Club of Guwahati. It can be seen in the club's museum in Guwahati. Owning a car was almost a royal privilege in those days. The museum of the Classic and Vintage Car Club of Guwahati has eleven other cars harking back to those days. Last edited by Ram : 7th January 2007 at 13:18.
	() Thanks

7th January 2007, 20:24	#15
sreedotk BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 247 Thanked: 90 Times	I dont know if many people will agree. The Ambassdor is like the Mini/Renault 2Cv/Volkswagen Bettle /Fiat Ciquecento of india. It was a people mover though not a mass people mover. What would be perfect would be for hindustan motors to do is to get a good designer to design a retro model like BMW and Volkswagen did (and Fiat is doing) to those name plates. Keep the line but make it mordern. A matching retro mordern interior and a nice engine. They make engines for Ford and Mitsubishi, i am sure they can strike a deal to use either one of the companies engine. They should also tweak the engine and safety engineer the chasis and package and sell it. I am sure they will have a decent Export Market too. But alas it is going to be a pipe dream as i am hinduja is more interested in Hutch than the Butch Ambassdor
	() Thanks