VOA标准英语2010-India's Automotive Ambassador Refuses to

Much of the recent attention paid to India's automotive sector² has been on ultra-affordable cars, such as the $2,500 Tata Nano, or the latest expansion of joint³ ventures with foreign manufacturers. But there is one indigenous⁴ car, on India's roads since the late 1950s and still in production, which refuses to completely yield to the sleeker⁵ competition. It is the Ambassador, manufactured since 1958 by Hindustan Motors.

The Ambassador once monopolized⁶ India's roads and, for decades, was the speediest car in the country. Nowadays, no more than 10,000 are sold annually⁷, nearly all to government agencies and cab companies which, in total, accounts for about 0.5 percent of domestic market share.

That is a huge fall from the early 1990s when the Ambassador held a 70 percent share.

The Ambassador has changed little during its half-century plus production run, still retaining the boxy shape of a 1948 Morris Oxford⁸ sedan. There is ample interior space to allow passengers to stretch their legs and enough headroom for tall, turbaned drivers. The Ambassador has a solid pig iron steel body, high ground clearance⁹ and big, rounded windows. It is easily bullet-proofed, making it a favorite among security services tasked with protecting VIPs. 

The Ambassador's unique leaf-spring rear suspension allows it to bounce gracefully¹⁰ over the inevitable¹¹ bumps and potholes¹² on Indian roads. It is a package appealing to 15-year veteran taxi driver Baljinder Singh Bagga, who says the maintenance on an Ambassador is also cheaper than other cars.

"It's a very comfortable car. It's very safe," he says while parked at his cab stand adjacent to a hotel in New Delhi.

Beyond comfort and safety, the Ambassador has become a symbol of Indian pride. Hindustan Motors' chief general manager for sales and marketing¹³, Rattan¹⁴ Singh, explains."If someone comes over here in India, he can't go without seeing the Taj Mahal at Agra. When the foreign tourist comes over here he can't go away without sitting in and driving the Ambassador car. That's the pride."

Fashion designer Alecca Carrano, born in Lebanon and raised in Austria, is one of those foreigners who moved to India and fell in love with the local legend. She says most Indians think she's crazy for owning an old Ambassador.

"They really don't understand it because, of course, to them, it's such an old, crap piece. [Indians think] it should be thrown in the dumps and only new cars should be allowed on the road," says Carrano with a laugh as she sits in the driver's seat of her red Ambassador of uncertain age.

Some auto¹ critics share such sentiments, calling the rust-prone Ambassador archaic¹⁵ with vague steering¹⁶, sluggish¹⁷ transmission and weak brakes, worth little more than scrap¹⁸ metal on the used car market.

Golf writer Meraj Shah, another rare private owner of a late model Ambassador, cautions prospective¹⁹ buyers to look elsewhere if they're seeking the fuel efficiency or reliability²⁰ of Japanese or Korean engineering.

"I used to work on an Enfield, that's the motorcycle I have, and it's very similar to an Ambassador: a lot of oil leaks, a lot of bad engineering and a loosely constructed engine. So I'm kind of used to getting my hands dirty," says Shah as he brought his silver Ambassador in for a tune-up at the Safdarjang garage in New Delhi.

Under the hood²¹ of the newer petrol-powered models is a 1.8-liter engine designed by Japanese carmaker Isuzu. Taxi fleets prefer the more fuel-efficient models powered by a compressed natural gas kit²² that fits in the trunk.

Sher Singh, a mechanic at the garage, who has been working on Ambassadors for more than a decade, says using just his "hands and feet" he can practically fix anything on the car. 

"The older models used to have a lot of problems but the automaker listened to the complaints [from owners and mechanics] and the problems have been rectified²³. So it's a relatively²⁴ trouble-free car nowadays," he says.

The mechanic's boss, Sharad Mehra, managing director of Safdarjang Motors (which sells and repairs Ambassadors) chimes in that the car "can be repaired at any place in the country" unlike pricier foreign imports which may not have extensive parts networks throughout India.

Mehra laments²⁵ that the Ambassador is now seen as a vehicle primarily for government bureaucrats²⁶ and taxi fleets causing it to lose appeal among private buyers. (In decades past it was also a favored form of transport for villains²⁷ in Bollywood films, perhaps because the trunk is large enough to hold several corpses).

"It has that feeling of vintage," says Mehra. "It's like an old wine."

Mehra, who has two Ambassadors in his corporate²⁸ fleet, acknowledges he drives to work in a Hyundai.

Despite occasional reports Hindustan Motors is planning to discontinue the car, affectionately known as the Amby, the automaker insists there are still enough orders from government buyers and taxi fleets to continue making it worthwhile.  It says it plans to continue manufacturing Ambassadors for at least another 50 years.

 

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

5 sleeker   

磨光器，异型墁刀

参考例句：

• As tight as a corset, the new speed suits make the wearer sleeker and more streamlined. 这种新型泳衣穿起来就像紧身胸衣，可使穿着者身形光滑，更具流线型。
• When he became leaner and faster, his digital doppelganger also became sleeker and more fleet-footed. 当真科比变得更瘦并且更快，他的虚拟兄弟也变得灵动飞快。

6 monopolized   

v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上，男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
• The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网

7 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

8 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

9 clearance   

n.净空；许可(证)；清算；清除，清理

参考例句：

• There was a clearance of only ten centimetres between the two walls.两堵墙之间只有十厘米的空隙。
• The ship sailed as soon as it got clearance. 那艘船一办好离港手续立刻启航了。

10 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

11 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

12 potholes   

n.壶穴( pothole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Potholes are also home to tiny desert animals. 洞穴也是弱小动物的家。 来自互联网
• If you're going to enjoy the good times, you've certainly got to deal with some potholes. 如果要享受甜美的胜利果实，当然要应付这些战绩不佳的指责压力。 来自互联网

13 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

14 rattan   

n.藤条，藤杖

参考例句：

• When they reached a long bridge fastened with rattan strips,everyone got out and walked.走到那顶藤条扎的长桥，大家都下车步行。
• Rattan furniture,include rattan chair,rattan table,and so on.藤器家具包括藤椅藤桌等等。

15 archaic   

adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的

参考例句：

• The company does some things in archaic ways,such as not using computers for bookkeeping.这个公司有些做法陈旧，如记账不使用电脑。
• Shaanxi is one of the Chinese archaic civilized origins which has a long history.陕西省是中国古代文明发祥之一，有悠久的历史。

16 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

17 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

18 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

19 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

20 reliability   

n.可靠性，确实性

参考例句：

• We mustn't presume too much upon the reliability of such sources.我们不应过分指望这类消息来源的可靠性。
• I can assure you of the reliability of the information.我向你保证这消息可靠。

21 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

22 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

23 rectified   

[医]矫正的，调整的

参考例句：

• I am hopeful this misunderstanding will be rectified very quickly. 我相信这个误会将很快得到纠正。
• That mistake could have been rectified within 28 days. 那个错误原本可以在28天内得以纠正。

24 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

25 laments   

n.悲恸，哀歌，挽歌( lament的名词复数 )v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• In the poem he laments the destruction of the countryside. 在那首诗里他对乡村遭到的破坏流露出悲哀。
• In this book he laments the slight interest shown in his writings. 在该书中他慨叹人们对他的著作兴趣微弱。 来自辞典例句

26 bureaucrats   

n.官僚( bureaucrat的名词复数 )；官僚主义；官僚主义者；官僚语言

参考例句：

• That is the fate of the bureaucrats, not the inspiration of statesmen. 那是官僚主义者的命运，而不是政治家的灵感。 来自辞典例句
• Big business and dozens of anonymous bureaucrats have as much power as Japan's top elected leaders. 大企业和许多不知名的官僚同日本选举出来的最高层领导者们的权力一样大。 来自辞典例句

27 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

28 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。