In 70's Ambassador and Fiat Padmini were the only cars visible in India. Ambassador was manufactured by Hindustan Motors and was an official car of India. It was used by the politicians and by the general public. The car used by the public was black and yellow in colour. The one which was used by the politicians was white in color and had dark tinted glasses.

Ambassador of 80’s had following features:

• Was a bulky looking car.
• Had a heavy steering,
• Had a tough body
• Was good for long journeys
• Had a powerful engine and
• Was available in diesel and petrol

A part from the Ambassador there was another car which was quite common in 80s and that was Fiat Padmini. This car was also used as a public transport and had following features:

• It was comparatively smaller than Ambassador.
• Had a boot
• Had a heavy steering and a
• Heavy body.

These two cars have ruled the Indian roads in 70’s and early 80’s. In late 80’s when Maruti Suzuki came to India it captured the market of the existing cars The first car which was introduced by Maruti Suzuki was Maruti 800.

Maruti 800 was a 4 seater hatch back and had following features:

• Was lighter than Fiat Padmini and Ambassador.
• Had compact looks.
• Was available in metallic colors
• Had imported interiors and
• Was Cheap.

The engine and the body of Maruti 800 was not as strong as compared to the engine of Ambassador and Fiat. Despite of some flaws Maruti 800 was accepted and appreciated by the Indian consumer. With time, improvements were made and Maruti 1000 was introduced in the Indian market. This saloon shaped car was also liked by the Indian consumer. This car was bigger, had a better engine than 800, had a boot, was available in dynamic metallic colors, had imported interiors and world class looks.