A mere knock against an Ambassador invariably crumples newer autos

A mere knock against an Ambassador invariably crumples newer autos.Balvinder Singh, 69, has driven a Delhi cab for 50 years – not the same cab, but three successive Ambassadors “Mechanically they are sound autos Very reliable,” he says, fondly patting the fender. We are superior to other cars.”Mercedes Benzes, Opel Astras, Ford Escorts, Daewoo Cielos and zippy Maruti Suzukis have integrated into Delhi’s traffic snarl of three million vehicles over the past few years, but the Ambassadors keep ambling along at a stately pace rarely more than 60 kilometres per hour They are not known for manoeuvrability, but for endurance. “The Prime Minister rides in a bullet-proof one.”Besides decrepit Ambassador taxis, including some that have been roadworthy since the 1960s, the government ban will affect 4,000 fume-belching buses and virtually all of the old Harley-Davidson diesel tricycles which haul eight passengers at a time. No matter how many passengers, or what the weather conditions, it still gets you there I just give it fuel and water Rough roads, potholes – no problem Diesel engines don’t stall in the monsoon.

On many, the springs have sprung because the driver sleeps in the back. With snubbed snouts and high suspension, Ambassador sedans are usually painted cream or in the taxi livery of yellow-topped black. They are as ubiquitous on Delhi’s streets as the humped holy cow and share similar rounded lines.Cab driver Man Singh, 27, says: “My Ambassador is more like a water buffalo It is very strong. A government anti-pollution campaign will soon banish all commercial vehicles older than 15 years and that will hit Delhi’s fleet of Hindustan Ambassador taxis hard. More than 80,000 are destined for the scrapheap.Most cabs look far older than they are because the Hindustan Ambassador comes off the assembly line with a chassis virtually identical to a 1954 Morris Oxford II The seats are like your gran’s sofa.

“It was a bad thing the bombers did to us.”Tirana- The United States began evacuating non-emergency staff from Albania yesterday after temporarily closing its embassy in response to the twin bombings in Africa. “He loves them so much but a mother’s love is always …” she trailed off.When it was time for Jeri’s coffin to be lowered into the rich, red soil at the bottom of the family compound, the sound of her sisters crying drifted back up the hill Inside her grandmother’s house Sheila became hysterical. NEW DELHI no longer has stop lights. Busy intersections have “relax lights” instead, where each red light is painted over with the word “relax”. When ordered outright to stop, obstinate Delhi drivers used to carry on honking and jockeying for position. Most taxi drivers would just shut off their engines in an attempt to save fuel at the lights.
But in spite of the laid-back traffic instructions, cab drivers in the Indian capital feel anxious. The State Department said it feared the embassy might be a target for Islamic extremists..