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Queen Elizabeth of the Indian Road
At that time, the Indian roads were ruled by bicycles. Some rich Indians had scooters like Vespa or Lambretta. Only the wealthy people could afford cars, and the Ambassador car of Hindustan Motors had become the Status Symbol. In 1953, an iconic car was launched, and the 'Make in India' movement of the Indian auto industry began. The Indian Ambassador car, based on The Morris Oxford 3 by British carmaker Morris Motors, had already made a name for itself as 'India's first car.' The macho Ambassador was followed by a sleek and compact Fiat Millecento as an alternative.
The Millecento was the first car designed by the famous Italian automobile company Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino or Fiat, especially for the Indian market. The headlight on its front grill elongated the car to a different look. In 1956, the Millecento was converted into 1100 Elegant, and with some upgrades, models from The Select to The Super Select were released.
A decade later, in 1965, the first car manufactured in India by Fiat - 1100 Elegant proved to be a grand success. Mumbai-based Premier Automobile Limited Company (Volchand Group) started producing cars with Fiat licenses. Almost all of its parts were made in India, which was a major reason behind the success of the car. In 1974, the car was marketed as Padmini. The sedan was named after the Rajput Queen Padmini, known for her beauty and elegant appearance in the 14th century. The Italian Fiat became a dream car for Indians as Indian Padmini. Even the sedan 'Padmini' was marketed as a beautiful princess of your own in its ad. The company compared the car to the royal Indian beauty in that ad by showing a beautiful model in traditional Indian attire and jewelry.
Another reason why cars became popular in the Indian market was that Padmini's second meaning is Goddess Lakshmi, who places herself on the lotus. So, it was not presented as a female car because not many women in India were driving cars in those days; the name of the sedan was a very well-known representation of the importance of women in Indian culture. It was basically an effective idea to Indianise an Italian product.
After that, Padmini became an indispensable part of Indian families for generations. If your childhood has been in the 70s and 80s, there are higher chances to see Padmini in the backdrop of your childhood memories. Padmini was the first car to challenge the Ambassador's monopoly in India. Commercially, the ambassador was more successful, but Padmini dominated the market for years as a family car because of her appearance and compactness. Padmini became the synonym of the famous Kali-Pili (taxi) of Mumbai. Even today, if you go to Mumbai, you will find Padmini proudly running on the roads in any corner of the city.
Till the advent of the Maruti car and a few years later, Padmini became popular in India. The entire car was assembled in the company's Kurla plant, which was operating until the company sold its stakes to Fiat back in 1997. Although it may have been years since the car's manufacturing stopped, many of its loyal customers still prefer to travel in Padmini.
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