End of an era

The Ambassador has been sold to the French car maker Peugeot for a nominal $12m

From the 1950s onwards, Ambassador represented a dream to the country’s upwardly mobile and increasingly aspirational middle classes. Tsering Topgyal / AP Photo

The Ambassador car was once India’s most sought-after car. From the 1950s onwards, it represented a dream to the country’s increasingly aspirational middle classes. But, despite being one of the country’s most prestigious brands for more than half a century, production was suspended in 2014. Now the marque has been sold to Peugeot, the French car maker, for just $12 million (Dh44m) and hopes for a return to production have faded.

Where did it all go wrong? Nostalgia is big business in the car world, after all. That’s what BMW realised when it revitalised the Mini, that emblem of Britain’s Swinging Sixties. VW did something similar with the Beetle, as has Fiat with its modern-day 500. What all these models share is state-of-the-art engineering coupled with the essence of the original styling.

Unfortunately, the Ambassador has remained largely unchanged since its heyday. Perhaps Peugeot should pen and produce a retro-future version of the Ambassador, like the 500 or the Mini. Now that really would be a good ambassador for contemporary India.