[travancore]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

it was sad to see the decrepit condition of the ghost town that made the cars almost everyone in India rode in, in the 20th century.

Thanks, memories of times gone by!

[travancore]

Originally Posted by dileepcm

While the quality of photos is extremely high, the quality of life of low-level workers in particular was clearly at the very lower end of the spectrum. Many are seen with torn shirts, one or two with no shirts at all, one of them having lunch at dirty floor and so on! I have a tough time appreciating the content of the photos from an 'automotive' point of view as it more and more reminds me of any other sweat shops. Just my thought!

It is a matter of perspective, I consider. After all, a few thousand people (including ancillaries / parts manufacturers) must have found a steady source of employment, food, clothing, shelter, education and medical care - in a still largely rural, newly independent India! Social justice (or injustice).....depends on the view point.

[President]

Simply Superb & so Nostalgic! So nice to hv a factory tour.

[Samba]

Excellent thread. Rated 5*.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

(thanks to D-BHPian Samba - this place is practically walking diatance from his home), it was sad to see the decrepit condition of the ghost town that made the cars almost everyone in India rode in, in the 20th century.

My schooling was from Hind Motor High school in the 90's. Most of my classmate's father worked for this factory and the school was located right inside the factory.

In 90's things were different. The factory was roaring, full of staffs, the hospital was active and very reliable with good doctors.

In early 2000's when the Santro, Zen, Matiz and specially the Indica started capturing the market, Ambassador got a real hit in its sales. Instead of making a new hatchback company started to make stupid models like the Ambassador Avigo. Stopped production of their HM Trekker which was a hit in village's and they came up with a HM Winner which flopped. After these flops company decided to issue VRS and sack employees.

With mere number of sales they survived for another decade. From 2000-2010.

From 2010 they sacked many more employee's and used to make cars for a period and then stop production. Again after a certain time they resumed the production. This way they could carry forward till 2014 and ultimately they had to shut it down completely.

Since then there is no electricity, few families still prefer to live in the darkness. The roads which were well lit is now pitch dark at night with Jackals and Snakes roaming openly! Its a sad sight for me. I have seen the heydays and i have seen its end.

A ref pic on the main road of the HM factory in the evening! Shot a couple of days back, when i went to adjust my Duster's headlight beam!

[pksnathan]

Originally Posted by Samba

Excellent thread. Rated 5*.



My schooling was from Hind Motor High school in the 90's. Most of my classmate's father worked for this factory and the school was located right inside the factory.

In 90's things were different. The factory was roaring, full of staffs, the hospital was active and very reliable with good doctors.

In early 2000's when the Santro, Zen, Matiz and specially the Indica started capturing the market, Ambassador got a real hit in its sales. Instead of making a new hatchback company started to make stupid models like the Ambassador Avigo. Stopped production of their HM Trekker which was a hit in village's and they came up with a HM Winner which flopped. After these flops company decided to issue VRS and sack employees.

With mere number of sales they survived for another decade. From 2000-2010.

From 2010 they sacked many more employee's and used to make cars for a period and then stop production. Again after a certain time they resumed the production. This way they could carry forward till 2014 and ultimately they had to shut it down completely.

Since then there is no electricity, few families still prefer to live in the darkness. The roads which were well lit is now pitch dark at night with Jackals and Snakes roaming openly! Its a sad sight for me. I have seen the heydays and i have seen its end.

A ref pic on the main road of the HM factory in the evening! Shot a couple of days back, when i went to adjust my Duster's headlight beam!

Attachment 1803190

Really a sad state of affairs to see a once sprawling car factory teeming with activity now closed down.Hindustan Motors may have continued their popular vehicle Trekker and side by side could have concentrated in a viable small car project.in my humble opinion this being done could not have resulted in complete shutdown.The management could have thought of producing body shells and spare parts for the existing Ambassador cars.just my thought.

[travancore]

Assembly line at Cowley, 1946. Bound for India




Advertisement from 1949




Advertisement from 1951 -mentions "New"




Indonesian Press Delegation, 1954

[SnakemanJohny]

Many thanks to travancore for the wonderful thread and photos, and also to SS-Traveller for the snaps on the current state of HINDMOTORS.

As for dileepcm's observations, Hindustan Motors was hardly a 'sweatshop', setting standards in industrial circles for working conditions, employee welfare etc. The visitors from abroad would testify to that.
As for workers wearing torn vests, India was a simple country then. M K Gandhi set examples using backs of postcards and chits of paper to write on. We used our resources fully and had not yet embraced the culture of 'conspicuous consumption' of the modern world led by the U S of A. So workers in a hot and humid environment thought nothing of wearing a 'gangee' with holes while working with oil, grease, paints & metal shavings -- they still do, in small factories ! Only they do not wear shorts anymore, bermudas, maybe !
Same with eating lunch on the work floor -- am sure there were no lunchrooms with stainless steel tables for workers then, maybe only for 'sahibs' ! Most of India still ate on the floor at home, anyway !

In those days, we sat on wooden benches on trains, and buses (many did not have glass windows - except the split windscreen - but only canvas drop-curtains for the sides and back).
Would you believe me if I told you I travelled on Dakota airplanes in the North East sitting on wooden benches with goats tied to the chair legs -- bleating at the top of their voice when taking off or landing ?

It was a different India then, when you got one imperial gallon of petrol for a Rupee !!

[KartikeyaL]

Adding some misc. pictures to Travancore's fabulous thread (from Reuther's visit to Delhi and then to the plant).

Courtesy: LIFE

[travancore]

Some lovely period photos, that perhaps restorers among us could use as a colour guide. Rare to see colour photos.

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by travancore

Some lovely period photos, that perhaps restorers can use as a colour guide. Rare to see colour photos.

Excellent, thanks for sharing! Are these dated? I would say around 1958, they seem to still have the older style bumpers but OHV engines already making an appearance. And now we know they were in blue

[Stanher]

Originally Posted by travancore

The birth of a true icon; and one that lasted six decades in its various avatars. Captured through the lens of a LIFE photographer, 1951. I believe the ethereal quality of these pictures deserves its own thread!

Part I:

Lovely pics.! In a couple of them, there appear what look like truck (pick up?) cabs in unfinished state. Could these have been the Studebaker trucks?

[travancore]

Originally Posted by karlosdeville

Excellent, thanks for sharing! Are these dated? I would say around 1958, they seem to still have the older style bumpers but OHV engines already making an appearance. And now we know they were in blue

Unfortunately not dated :(

[karlosdeville]

Originally Posted by Stanher

Lovely pics.! In a couple of them, there appear what look like truck (pick up?) cabs in unfinished state. Could these have been the Studebaker trucks?

I would say Chevrolet, some trucks were also built by HM. Here is a brochure from 1958.

[travancore]

Originally Posted by Stanher

In a couple of them, there appear what look like truck (pick up?) cabs in unfinished state. Could these have been the Studebaker trucks?

If these were the trucks you were referring to, they probably are Studebaker.