This is a sequel to my earlier article, “The Demise of a Car”, that appeared in the last issue of our “GYAN Vitaranam” magazine. Er… hold on for a minute. On second thoughts, I call it rather a prequel, because the subject of this article, Maruti 800, in fact kicked the bucket about five months earlier than the subject of my previous article, Ambassador, did.
In an elaborate ceremony held in New Delhi on 14 December 1983, the then Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, handed over the keys of the first Maruti 800 to Mr. Harpal Singh, who won the ownership of the car through a lucky draw. The first generation Maruti car (SS80) was based on 1979 Suzuki Fronte.
In 1986, the 800 underwent some minor facelifts, but overall it remained the same it had been on introduction. A Euro III emission-compliant version was released in 2005 to meet the Indian emission regulations. An LPG version was also released in....
