[Thad E Ginathom]

I'll take mine with no power steering please : I need some arm muscles!

[avishar]

A large segment of Ambassadors sales goes in replenishing the Kolkata taxi market.There are some 40,000 taxis on road,and with last few years have seen almost the entire batch being replaced.So there you go,a big area of ambassador sales.

[ashwin_seattle]

Ambassador is thriving on the PATHETIC governance going on in West Bengal.
No wonder, if Jyoti Basu can rule for 30+ years, so can this PLAIN JANE.

I am surprised to see people getting defensive on the DE-MERITS of this car. OK agreed, your heart still goes bananas over an ambassador, but still when even a maruti 800 has better dynamics than this car, please at least agree to those valid points.

If you want to buy an ambassador, pls go ahead, but pls dont impose this on others.

BOTTOMLINE:
Ambassador is WAY PAST its prime(actually that happened in the 60's). DAMN the West Bengal govt and Hindustan Motors for pushing this IRON MAIDEN on to people even when its 2010.

Oh, cmon, even if you want to, heck at least introduce some basic featuresin the car and give it a face n bodylift.

DAMN WE INDIANS, how can we still accept such a car in production!!

DAMN the UGLY yellow/black ambassador taxis!!

Let me shake you guys up - WE ARE IN 2010!! PERIOD! Such things need to go into respectable retirement.

[silversteed]

Are we not talking about the Amby? The post above makes me feel as though it's the WB Govt that's being discussed here.

[cuboid]

Originally Posted by silversteed

Are we not talking about the Amby? The post above makes me feel as though it's the WB Govt that's being discussed here.

+1

And why would something be around if it has no demand at all? Why would 'taxiwallas' in kolkata buy Amby taxis and not Indica? There must be some reason, right? They are out to make a living off the car and let them decide what suits them best. No need to advocate to get rid of Amby.

Personally, I feel Amby has the best rear seat in a sub-6 lakh car. and by far.

[chittybang]

What HM needs to do is reinvent the car and still maintain the design cues. Something along the lines of the fiat 500 or the VW beetle but does HM have it in them to do it? I suspect they will need external help.

[silversteed]

I don't think HM by itself has the ability to do that. But their partners - Mitsubishi would definitely have it. Just think of the way the Lancer has evolved (EVO series). Though there are differences here, it's quite possible to leverage their expertise and tech-knowhow to "reinvent" the Amby

[cruiser@0523]

Originally Posted by silversteed

I don't think HM by itself has the ability to do that. But their partners - Mitsubishi would definitely have it. Just think of the way the Lancer has evolved (EVO series). Though there are differences here, it's quite possible to leverage their expertise and tech-knowhow to "reinvent" the Amby

I dont think so mitubishi will be of any help.. just look how the lancer has evolved in India, it has not changed much the diesel is still on sale as far as i remember and the cedia is a bit overpriced and is suffering serious blows from the likes of Cruze, civic, corrolla. It is HM which needs to change, and think in a way a private company thinks and as someone rightly said, we are in 2010 for gods sake !

[Arkin evoisrevo]

Is it safe to compare the iconic Black London Taxis (produced till June 09) to the Amby.
I beleive these have a seating capacity of 6/7+1 and are based on some old model, but are 'up-dated' or whatever to meet modern standards.

[DigitalDragon]

Well I doubt if all the post-owners here have really driven an Ambassador, I HAVE. The topic is on Amby's tomorrow and well every tomorrow has a past. So there is no probelm of what an Amby is today and also there is nothing wrong in perceiving what an Amby could be tomorrow. Management & Govt are different perspectives all together, I believe, we are talking from a car owner's perspective.

Let me take an example: The ford "ikon" is really an icon now with more than a decade of presence. Was it having crumple zone initially and NO it was not and today it has. Are we still not calling the ikon as ikon ? In the same line Amby will not lose its charm if it equips itself with modern technology/features and accessories. Well, cost IS a factor - but the amby will still be an Amby, in any case if it has:

1. Better chassis and plastics
2. A better engine
3. Modern safety and comfort features

I would keep mum on the styling as that, for long, has established an AMBY image. Quite subjective.

Coming back to HM as a company, they could still continue with the existing amby (probably on demand) e.g. Amby Classic and the new age one as Amby NX (New Gen) - Why ...just to make Both Ages people happy.

Being a technology service provider to HM (I have been to their R&D dept, testing track, and plant), Uttarpara I hardly believe that they will ever think of changing the Amby.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I know one family to whom the Amby is an extension of plain white shirt and vesti style; they are quite well off (at least in property, if not in cash flow) but are the kind of people that would dislike show of wealth. A mutual friend (also a businessman of the older generation) wondered why they should replace their amby with a new one, when there was a choice of better and better-value-for-money imported cars: he told me he had concluded that they would hate to be seen as "showing off".

[shortbread]

Its really unfair to blame the Amby. When this car dies (which it eventually will) its not its fault. This car has far outlived and served the purpose it was originally designed for.

If anything or anyone is to be blamed it must be the management intelligence (or the complete lack of it) that exists in HM. They actually had the cheek to believe that Indians will continue to buy this despite them being both stubborn and stupid enough to not invest and evolve this icon.

I hope the Amby trademark is sold of to some organisation which will do justice to it and HM goes bust taking down its management as well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

As mentioned in the English-Language thread...

Turtle is not a verb. One cannot turtle, or be turtled, nor can one's car.

By the way... What's all the fuss? No-body is pushing the Ambassador anywhere. Ultimately, market forces will do that. Market forces would probably have done so decades ago, without government control of the car industry. Repeating myself: it is a second-hand design, a cast off; Surely the thing had had its day in its birthplace before the first one was made here?

[godog]

The amby is a leaf-sprung, ladder framed limo. Why one would want to CORNER it is beyond me.

To sum up all the requests that have been made in *this single thread*

''HM! Every stage in the amby's production line needs Japanese Quality standards! Everything else is ok. And we love u HM!''



Reverse psychology :)
heheh


the amby is comparable, to a small extent, with the Lincolns of yore (1990s, towncar and it's ilk). Any1 remember them?
Or is it just me?


Its heartening to see such prolific banter on a subject that brought me to tbhp.
Thank you all.


Any one know of a 2007- Amby 2.0 Grand for sale? You now know whom to contact! :)



p.s. Whats with the air in chd? Some volcano erupted, kya? People have emotional bonds with this car, atleast treat that with respect.

p.p.s. Tbhpians go unmoderated when making personal attacks in here? I'll stick to the misc. section then.

[musicmanaman]

Some members have written in favour of Amby and some have critisized it.

I'll give you my prespective. I own and drive an Amby Avigo Petrol everyday and have done so for the last 2 yrs and 17k kms. The cars we have owned over the years are some for short duration and some for long, Omni, M800, Mahindra 540, Mahindra Armada, Tata Searra, Tata Estate, Contessa Petrol, Maruti Zen.

I feel safe driving the Amby, even though it's not got crumple zones, and air bags becasue, it's body metal gauge is simple very thick, there is a long bonnet if I hit something from the front and a huge boot if something hit's me from the back. the sides too feel solid, the body does not rattle, atleast it's been so this far. Buttom line is even though the body is not morden by any means, it's still raw solid.

The drving position, and this is where I'm 100% of the time, is high, and the visibility is good, in cars like the Zen and 800, I used to feel like everyone is going to run over me, but not in the Amby, The steering feel is not too light, I have PS, but definetely not bad. the pedals feel is the only area which will make you feel the car is a 50 yrs old design, but even here the cluth is solid, 41k on the odo now, and no signs of weakness, and the break bite is not too bad either, front being disk.

Comfort wise, The back seats are fantastic, however the leg room is less. the front seats are not too bad either, and mine is a all leather trim. The AC is quite good, and there is power loss with AC, however not as pronounced as it is with many cars, especially the Maruti's.

Look wise, I love it. People have often asked me, is this a new varient of the Amby, even though mine is a 2004 car, maybe simple becasue a very few Avigo's were sold.
Mine came with 5 alloy wheels, leather seats, digital Odo, PS, AC. The dashboard is different and looks awasome at night.

Drive wise, it's a fantastic between 40kmph to 110 kmph, just flyes between 40-110, if kept in the right power band. The power tapers off post 110, and takes a while to reach 125 kmph, but between 40-110 it's a rocket. The initail pickup is not too bad either, and can easily keep pace with some mordern counter parts atleast till 100 kmpr, which it does below 17 secs. Mine is a MPFI engine.

Ownership expirence, simply great, no surprices, the only problem being, one has to keep checking the coolent levels as it goes down every couple of days, and the radiator has a tendency to start leaking, overheating is a problme if car is stationary with AC on, when the temprature outside is very hot. The car behaves much better in winters, and for some reason, the pickup is better in wintes, maybe becasue of cool air going into the engine. I drive to work very early in the morning, and do 11kms in 10-11 mins, simply overtake everything on the way. The average FE in all these 17k kms that I have covered has been 7.5 kmpl, with best being 9+ and worst being 6+, with AC on 100% and all city drive.

I have been thinking about replacing the Amby now, as I usually feel like chainging cars every 2 yrs, however just can't seem to get over the Amby, and simply can't find anything as VFM, as the Amby.

I would also like to mention, I'm not too big on nostalgia, and I don't have any special liking towards the Amby, it's just that I see the Amby serving my purpose without glitches, and I feel it's great VFM, I din't pick the Amby becasue I have a liking for Old cars, infact I don't like old cars, I needed something that's practicle and easy on the pocket, and the Amby so far has been so. I would advice people to take drive in the Petrol MPFI petrol Amby before commenting on the same.

Cheers.