This post is dedicated to the two icons of the Indian Automotive Industry that ruled the roads for almost five decades - the Hindustan Ambassador and the Premier Padmini (commonly known as the Fiat) and mostly about my memories of them. 

Though they are long gone, they have a special place in the Indian hearts of my generation. Memories of events like weddings, birthdays, road trips, cinema, visitors, celebrities, etc. often include an Ambassador or a Padmini.

This post is not about the politics of the time or the “License Raj” that limited the options for Indians. So please refrain from making any comments about that. Also. I am not talking about the Jeeps or cars that came later. There will be dedicated posts for them. Here, I only want to glorify these two icons.

There was a 3rd option as well - the Standard Herald which I won’t cover in this post. Most of my memories of the Standard are of one by the side of the road or in a garage under repair. I did like one part about the Standard though - its hood opened from the back to front giving a much better view of the engine bay.  

A majority of people growing up in India during the 60s to 80s took their first car ride in an Ambassador. Unless they grew up around Bombay (Mumbai), then it was the Padmini.

And for a vast majority of weddings during the same period, the designated wedding car was an Ambassador. Unless the wedding happened around Bombay (Mumbai), then it was the Padmini 🙂

If you ever went to Calcutta (Kolkata) and took a taxi, it would have been an Ambassador. If you did the same in Bombay (Mumbai), you would be in a Padmini.

For those who could afford cars - If you had a larger or a joint family, your household owned an Ambassador. If you were from a nuclear family, it may have been a Padmini. 

Company cars for official work would be Ambassadors. The private cars of the senior employees of these companies would be Padminis. And government cars were always Ambassadors. 

Going through this post, you may feel a bit of bias towards the Ambassador. And you will be right because I personally have way more memories with Ambassadors than with the Padmini. 

For the Ambassador, what started as Mark I with a ~1500cc engine in 1957 continued until the 90s when the first heart transplant was done with a 1800cc Isuzu-sourced petrol engine. Until then, only cosmetic touchups were done once a decade resulting in Mark II, Mark III, and Mark IV. For most people, the changes to the front grille and turn signal lights were not a big enough upgrade to notice. Unlike global markets, there wasn’t much competition until the 90s and thus no need for innovation. Thankfully, the Ambassador was a decently reliable car offering a very comfortable ride. I recollect the simple mechanics and the fact that a roadside mechanic anywhere in the country can repair one kept the sales charts going for several years even after the Maruti was launched. 

In the absence of any real safety regulations, these cars were fairly ok with thick steel body panels that lasted decades. In fact, it was normal and almost expected for Ambassadors to have a 2nd or a 3rd life with an after-market diesel engine if it originally came with a petrol one. The chassis and body were strong enough to outlast several powertrain transplants. The factory-fitted diesel engine was quite decent too. The Ambassador can be credited with starting a cottage industry of mid-size diesel engines for after-market fitments. 

I am narrating a couple of personal stories to highlight the ease of running Ambassadors. When I was in the 6th grade (late 80s), we hired an Ambassador Diesel for a family wedding trip. The drive to the destination was about 700 kilometers and we had to stay there for 20+ days. The car was a Mark IV with a factory-fitted diesel engine. The drive was expected to take 2 full days (yes that was considered reasonable in those days). This was during the winter months and we were heading to a village in the northern part of the country where it got pretty cold. 

On the first day, we were driving through a very rough patch of road that fell under a planned “submerged zone” for a dam. Our car was fully loaded with stuff for the wedding, both in the trunk and the carrier overhead. And did I mention that there were 8 people inside - not unusual for an Ambassador. So, as you would expect the ground clearance was as low as it could get. On this rough patch, we hit a rock that punctured the oil sump. The driver realized as soon as we hit it so he immediately parked the car. Inspection revealed a leak. There was no possibility of a repair shop in this remote location behind a dam. To my surprise, the driver was unfazed. From his stuff, he took out a bar of washing soap and a piece of a cotton rag. He got a spanner and started beating the piece of the soap and the rag together into a homogenous ball within a few minutes. Then he crawled under the car and plugged the hole with this ball. We were ready to go. This fix worked for 25+ days until we returned back to our hometown after the wedding. 

The second story is from the 2nd day of the same trip. This was before DI (Direct Injection) diesel engines were introduced in India. Diesel becomes more viscous as the temperature drops making it hard for the engine to start. We had to stay overnight at a guest house after driving 350+ kilometers on the first day. This place was in a hilly region and very cold. So, as expected, the next morning our car wouldn’t start. The driver tied a cloth at the end of a stick and dipped it directly into the diesel tank. Then he lit it on fire with a lighter and placed it under the engine for a few minutes. The car started right after. Once we reached our destination, a kerosene stove was purchased with the sole purpose of placing it under the engine every morning for 10 minutes to get the engine going. 

Such was the ease of maintaining an Ambassador. A true family car that could easily seat 6 and even 8 adults.

Now coming to the Padmini. It was the more elegant of the two (excluding the taxis) though quite rugged. Smaller with an 1100 cc petrol engine, sleek lines, and a nice grill, it was an attractive car. Though no one called it Padmini - it was and remained a Fiat. This car’s engine was noisier than the Ambassador’s and had a typical whine associated with it, especially in reverse (perhaps that was the gearbox). Just by the sound, you could easily tell if it was an Ambassador or a Padmini approaching you. 

The Padmini did introduce a diesel engine much later than the Ambsaador and named the model 137D. I was not a fan of this engine at all. It never fit the profile of a Padmini. It was very noisy and rough, spewed a lot of black smoke, and just felt completely out of place.

Folks that owned a Padmini were considered more affluent even though the price wasn’t much more than the Ambassador. This distinction came from the Indian belief of value for money. For a similar amount of money, you could get a bigger car capable of carrying more people so why would you buy a Padmini over an Ambassador? 

Ambassadors were offered in very few factory colors. The Padmini on the other hand could be had in more colors that suited the car well. 

There’s so much more to write about these cars including numerous memories but I will keep those for future posts. I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Please share your own memories in the comments below. Thank you for reading!