Among India’s the most iconic car brands has been offered by Hindustan Motors to the French automaker Peugeot for a $12 million (80 crore rupees), officials stated.
The Ambassador car was one of the country’s most prestigious vehicles cherished by government ministers. However it has run out of production from 2014.
It is unclear whether Peugeot will restore the brand.
Based on the British Morris Oxford, the Ambassador was for 3 decades India’s most selling car.
Peugeot has long been eager to get a foothold in India and was among the first foreign car makers to enter the country in the mid-1990s.
The car was from the 1960s to the mid-1980s a status symbol in the country and was the only mass produced luxury car on the marketplace.
Although not popular for its excellent appearances, the vehicle did win kudos for its large interior and sound suspension, which was ideally fit to Indian roads. It was also one of the first diesel automobiles to appear in India and among the first to have air conditioning.
But its fall was as incredible as its rise – dropping from sales of over 20,000 automobiles in the mid-1980s to about 2,000 in 2013-14 when production was suspended.
The vehicle was likewise known for its peculiarity.
The handbrake hardly ever worked effectively – rather spawning a generation of motorists that might easily do hill starts deftly stabilizing the accelerator and brake.
The indicator controls were typically mounted in uncommon positions, its brakes were notoriously soft and its steering lock was practically non-existent.
