There are some cars that will be there come what may- like the Ambassador, and Premier Padmini . But there are other cars that have changed the landscape of car ownerships in India like no others did. Car ownerships has always been associated with wealth and status in society. It was like the car owners announced that they had arrived. When the middle class felt empowered to own passenger cars as a means of convenience, the products were small but significant. Tata Nano is yet to launch, and it already holds the promise to change mobility in India. Let us look at some of the significant cars that have changed the way we look at cars.
Hindustan Ambassador or Amby: It is known as the grand old car of India. Based on the Morris Oxford Series III cars of UK, the Ambassador started production I later 1950’s. The production of the car stopped only recently. Though it has strong British roots, Ambassador car is considered a complete Indian car. The car was considered a high point in the lifestyle of creamy layer of the society. It was the preferred vehicle by Prime Ministers and Presidents of India for a long time. It is currently powered by 75 bhp petrol engine.
Ace car designer Dilip Chabbria created a customised version of Amby called the ‘Ambierod’ that is worth approximately Rs 4 crores. Though it is not manufactured by Hindustan Motors, Ambierod has won great acclaim across the world.
Maruti 800: It was the revolutionary car that changed the way people moved in the country. It made middle class families sit up and take notice of benefits of car ownership. Called the M800, it was actually powered by a 796 cc engine. It was the best selling car for nearly two decades. Till date Maruti Suzuki has sold 2.5 million units of it in India, since it was launched in 1984. People were not worried that the car had air conditioning or not,
safety features or not. The car handling was easy to master and people quickly took a liking to it.
Tata Indica: Tata Indica is one of the indigenously developed cars. It is one of the top selling hatchback of its time. It was one of the earliest attempts by Tata Motors, a commercial vehicle manufacturer to passenger car segment. It was also hailed as a dream car by Tata Group Chairman Mr. Ratan Tata. One the first week of its booking in 1998, Tata received 11,500 bookings, the highest for any car. It was also exported to Tata markets in Africa, Latin America, Europe and United Kingdom. Due to its high fuel efficiency, Tata Indica became the most popular with taxi operators. It was also the cheapest car available in petrol and diesel versions.
Hyundai Santro: The car took the urban middle class by storm. It helped Hyundai become the second largest passenger car manufacturer. Santro has bagged numerous awards and was for some time the largest selling car in the small car segment. It was launched in 1998 and continues to sell even today. The radical styling created fans and critics in equal number. Hyundai Santro is considered a complete family car. It has incredible roomy cabin, spacious legroom and comfortable seating, which was new for the Indian car market then. Santro provided effortless driving dynamics coupled with an intelligent transmission that delivered a wide range of speeds for different urban traffic conditions.
Maruti Suzuki Alto: The new 800 cc engine Alto ushered in new wave of car ownership in India. It crossed the 10 lakh unit mark in less than seven years. It appealed to the Indian middle class, who wanted more fuel economy from their car and had low running costs. Alto zoomed past 800 sales in a short time and became India’s largest selling car every year. It was introduced in 2000 with a 3 cylinder engine that delivered 46 bhp worth of power and 62 Nm of torque.
Tata Sumo: It was the first
MUV(multi-utility-vehicle) was launched in 1997. It was one of the first indigenously designed cars in India. People interested in utility vehicles depended on Mahindra Willys Jeep. When released Tata Sumo quickly captured the majority market share of utility automobiles in India. It offered luxury and a imposing stance that was liked by car buyers. It was also well suited to meet tough indian road conditions. It became so successful that soon Tata launched many variants of it. Nowadays it is available as Sumo Victa and Sumo Grande, the SUV version of the vehicle. It was initially offered with a 2litre aspirated diesel engine, but later it was also offered with a turbocharged engine.
