Jan 27, 2016 06:56 PM
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We are in the 7th decade of our sovereignty, yet we know so little about the 7 cars that defended our nation and that we can still be a proud owner of one of them.
1. Willys Jeep
The Willys MB(commonly known as a Jeep, formally as the U.S. Army Truck, ¼ ton, 4x4) and the Ford GPW are four-wheel drive utility vehicles that were manufactured during World War II. Produced from 1941 to 1945, it evolved post-war into the civilian Jeep CJ, and inspired both an entire category of recreational 4WDs and several generations of military light utility vehicles. Advanced and modified version of these Jeeps were utilized in India till late 90’s. A few pieces of these classic automotive heroes are probably lying around in the stables of Indian army but finding one, or procuring the same at an auction is getting rarer by the Day.
Did you know? The term “jeep” was used by Army mechanics for any untried or untested vehicles in early 90’s. A more likely part of the jeep name came from the fact that the vehicle made quite an impression on soldiers at the time, so much so that they informally named it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye comic strip and cartoons created by E. C. Segar as early as mid-March 1936.
2. Jonga
The Jonga was a Nissan designed vehicle used by the Indian Army. Jonga was an acronym for Jabalpur Ordnance aNd Guncarriage Assembly. A total of 100 Diesel Jongas only were sold to civilians. In 1999 the production of the JONGA stopped. The Army auctioned and scrapped many of them and they were replaced by 4x4’s manufactured by Mahindra vehicles. Though they are no longer in the service with the Indian Army they can still be spotted in the areas near famous military cantonments in India. Ironically the Indian Army has still not been able to find out its true substitute so far; as the diesel Mahindras have not yet proven themselves, and Gypsy Kings of Suzuki, are too light an off road vehicles to suit the military requirement.
3. HM Ambassador
Did you know? HM Ambassador was the first car to be made in India and was based on the Morris Oxford series III model, first made by Morris Motors Limited at Cowley, Oxford in the United Kingdom from 1956 to 1959.
Declared the best taxi in the world by Top Gear in 2012. Sale of Ambassador taxis had been banned since 1 April 2011, a year after BS IV emission standards were rolled out in 11 Indian cities. Despite its British origins, the Ambassador is considered as a definitive Indian car and is fondly called the “king of Indian roads”. Sadly, HM stopped its production in the year 2014 due to poor sales.
4. Mahindra Jeep
Mahindra’s MM540 has been defending the nation’s borders for ages now and has been fatigueless while doing so. The car can pretty much tackle any terrains, even overseas during its tenures of peace mission in United Nations. For those who wish to own it, this jeep also has a civilian version called Mahindra Thar.
5. Mahindra Bolero Striker
Striker was designed by the engineers at Mahindra’s customization wing with an intent to be utilized by the Indian Army. Striker was based on Bolero. The wheelbase was shortened and the power to weight ratio was improved. However, the modifications were just not skin deep and thus, it was never utilized by the never-compromising Indian Army.
6. Maruti Gypsy
It was introduced in the Indian market in December 1985 with the 970 cc F10A Suzuki engine and while sales were never very high it became very popular with law enforcement. It instantly replaced Premier Padmini as the quintessential Indian rally car due to its performance, reliability, tenability and the go-anywhere capability. As quoted by Autocar India, “There is nothing that can touch a Gypsy off the road, except perhaps an Arjun battle tank.The trouble is that everything else does better on the road - the ride from the archaic leaf springs all round is horribly bumpy and the interiors are utilitarian as well. Gypsy in a loaded condition(>200 kg load) is more comfortable. And available with only two doors, its inconvenient too. As of 2010, the Gypsy is only available against an order with an advance payment and a waiting period of over 3 months. This has led to the creation of a strong market for used Maruti Gypsy.
7. Tata Sumo
Tata Sumo was launched in 1994 as a ten-seater jeep designed for urban, rural and military use. It was one of the first passenger vehicles designed in India. Prior to the Sumo, the Indian market had stagnated, where the most modern vehicles in the same class were from Mahindra and Mahindra, primarily derived from the original Willys Jeep models. Upon release, Tata Sumo quickly captured a major segment of the utility automobile market in India. Within three years of its launch Tata Motors sold 100, 000 Sumo vehicles.
Tata will launch a new version of Tata Sumo in 2018, based on a new lightweight platform, Codenamed ‘Raptor’ that will also introduce a new range of budget SUV’s and MUV’s. The body will have a'body integrated frame’ joined with the chassis.
