Fifty years ago, a decade after independence, India's national car first rolled off the production line. The Hindustan Ambassador was based on the Morris Oxford Series II, and even today many British tourists in India are strangely reminded of the late 1950s as they sit in the back of an Ambassador in the Mumbai traffic.
For if India's national car is far from a cherished classic, it is the engine of the Indian taxi trade, usually carrying anything between five and 10 passengers, plus livestock - the factory suggests that the front bench seat can carry four occupants "provided the driver is not too fat".
But it's not just taxi drivers - government officials from India's president downwards still favour a bullet-proof armoured Hindustan as their official vehicle. Young Indians who crave a locally-built Fiat Tipo may dismiss the Ambassador as the "bullock cart", but in a country where roadside mechanics abound, its simplicity is one reason why 20,000 Ambassadors are still sold each year.
And it does possess an undeniable sense of dignity. Yes, the acceleration is so woeful that the speedometer may as well be replaced by a calendar before you reach the top speed of 90mph, and its handling hasn't quite come to terms with the concept of roundabouts, but to merely sit in the Ambassador is to enter an automotive Tardis. In place of air conditioning there are triangular quarter lights on the front doors; the windows are still opened via rack and pinion handles; the gear change requires brute force rather than any finesse, and the occupants (all five to 10 of them) are forced to sit very upright, for the Ambassador is certainly not a car to encourage a slovenly posture. As for stopping, the brakes prefer to be given notice in writing, but at least new Ambassadors now boast power-assisted steering, as the unassisted steering gives a turning circle of approximately 64 feet.
Potential buyers in Britain or Ireland should head for Merlin Garages near Carmarthen, where they can snap up "50 years of safety and sturdiness" with some vital luxuries - a heater, an ashtray and individual front seats.
If the lure of a new Ambassador finished in a tasteful shade of "Grotto Blue" is not reason enough to buy, then here are two clinching arguments. First, this 1957 relic has outlasted virtually the entire British motor industry. Secondly, it has featured in an iconic film, Rock Dancer, a 1995 Bollywood remake of The Bodyguard.
The undoubted highlight of this fine picture is its "international guest star" Miss Samantha Fox, who jives around India's national car (in the company of several bemulleted and satin-jacketed gentlemen) while singing her 1986 hit Touch Me to a bhangra beat. As many film critics agreed, you wouldn't have found Kevin Costner or Whitney Houston doing anything half as interesting.