the ambassador turns fifty in style

It's been the iconic workhorse of the Indian roads for decades, the favourite of cabbies and government babus alike (it's the only Indian-made vehicle that can be upgraded to a bullet-proof version). And this year, the Ambassador car celebrates its golden jubilee with new models to reinforce its cult following, both in India and abroad.
Originally based on the 1948 Morris Oxford and, subsequently, the Land Master, the Ambassador was born in 1957 and lorded over India's modest car market for decades. In its heyday, the 1970s, the CK Birla-owned Hindustan Motors sold 15,000 of these clunky machines every month.
Of course, the advent of a whole new generation of vehicles has seen Ambassador sales dwindle to less than a tenth of that number, with central and state governments, as well as the tourism sector, still its most loyal customers. Says Hindustan Motors managing director Ravi Santhanam: "In its golden jubilee year, we plan to leverage both the great legacy and robust brand recall and will be introducing a new model every year."
The new models will be run on all four fuel types-LPG, CNG, petrol and diesel-will come with a sunroof and better styling.
The car's iconic stature was underlined by the Smithsonian museum, which held an exhibition of the Ambassador a few years ago. And if further proof were needed of the Ambassador's brand power, Richard Branson provided it in plenty when he rode atop one when he launched Virgin Airlines in India. Recently, a British firm even started a luxury taxi service in London with a fleet of exclusively Ambassador cars, charging £40 an hour.
Clearly, in its 50th year, the Ambassador is all set to spread its irresistible charms worldwide!
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meglev mumbai?

Maglev is a bad idea
Any one who has done the airport to downtown hop on the Mumbai locals knows that Mumbai needs massive transport solutions. However the proposal to set up a magnetic levitation train at the reported initial cost of 30,000 crore is a white elephant in the making. Maglev is a prestige statute not a utility project that can take the load of the harried commuters of the great metropolis. And it is not coming any time soon. From the feasibility to the first ride downtown is a good 15 years away. As for the cost it is estimated that the Shanghai train cost 320 coroe a kilometer. The real problem with a Meglev is that it is not compatible with existing infrastructure. You have to create a total new set of tracks for this train to run along with fencing and other perihenrialiia - and in Mumbai this could well be a costly logistical nightmare.
The Maglev technology involves magnetic lavation transportation that can do 600 kilometers per hour. That is like traveling the 25 kilometers from the airport to church gate in five minutes flat. The technology uses the magnates beneath railcar to lift up and forwards the vehicle and very fast speed over short distances. However the reason why this incredible and admirable technological wonder has not found too many converts in the cost. The upfront cost tool the 80 kilometer metro line in Shanghai is a staggering $12 billion the maintenance costs per year i estimated to be upward of 80 million of dollars. A ticket on this costly wonder is 600 rupees a ride one way. While this may look expensive a taxi in mumbai already costs 275 rupees and takes one and a half hour to reach where as for 600 rupees you will be alighting at the church gate station in five minutes.It can be argued that a combination of Bangkok style monorail and Delhi style metro can take the load of f mumbai at a much cheaper ate. What is more the tried and tested combination of metro and monorail are far more readily mountable. It is important when considering a project do this size e the maximum number of people that will benefit. The economics of scale on pricing issue therefore factor mass transit systems and rule the magnetic lavation option put Indian in infrastructure will do well to stick to

the nano!

Small wheels they keep on turning
The successful launch of Nano, the much-awaited 1-lakh cars by Tata Motors, at the Delhi auto expo changes the rule of the games for the automobile industry.

The success of the car will depend on three aspects. First in its ability to seat four people in comfort, second in is fuel efficiency, and third its maintenance costs. The most interesting part of this design is that while it is a smaller car then the maruti 800, it has 21 per cent more interior space. With a four shift manual gear and comfortable but non-recline seats is offers value for money. The key to the car is its all-aluminum, two-cylinder, 624 cc, 33 bhp, multi-point fuel injection petrol engine. It is claimed to offer 23 kilometers to a liter. The Tata vendor network has so far a record of reasonable service costs when compared to the competition.

The Nano will have different implications for the customer, the company and the competition.

For the costumer for the first time there is a genuine choice between buying two wheeled vehicles and a motorcar. A whole lot of new costumers will now enter the car market.

For Tata Motors the small car comes with big management challenges. These include ensuring quality manufacturing of the car. Managing the scale of operations on a level that the industry has not seen before is the second imperative. A third imperative is to set up a reliable vendor network.

For the competition the car is a huge challenge. None of them seen to be in the same league, when it comes to producing a car at this price. While a two wheeler firm has shown prototypes these are very far away from production stage. The real challenge will be for motorcycle firms like Hero Honda and carmakers like Suzuki and Hyundai motors. They can either cut the price of their existing products or introduce new lower cost vehicles. Neither are easy options. Lastly the second hand car market is likely to be hit the hardest. Buying a second hand car at twice the price of a first hand one is not likely to be an option any more. In the end that exciting smile you see on the first time car owners face may stay for a long while to come.