Standard herald car
Some
distance from my house I have noticed a dilapidated old Standard Herald car
lying. It was badly rusted and had no engine as it had been sold. Now the car
also has disappeared, sold for scrap.
It
is hard to imagine, but this car was one of 3 Indian cars (Fiat and Ambassador
being the other two) that made history. The car the Standard Herald was a
remake of the English Standard-triumph car. The car was produced in India for
almost 30 years, but was sold only in small numbers. It had a 948cc single carb
engine that gave it a top speed of just 115km an hour. The car was manufactured
in Madras and had a stream lined look.
It had better acceleration than the other two Indian models, but somehow
it never caught the fancy of the Indian public.
The
Standard two door car was a better model than the 4 door one. But as the
Standard Company wanted to compete with the Fiat and Ambassador, which were
both 4 door models, the company thought that in case they converted the 2 door
to 4 doors it would be a success. But such hybrids always fail and the car even
then sold only in small numbers. Its engine was fine, but the body was weak and
prone to rattle just after 6 months of use. It also had a problem with the
shaft connecting to the differential.
The shaft was prone to breaking, but I am
told the engine was smooth and noiseless.
The
car was discontinued in 1988 and in 2007 the car company was dismantled down
and sold. The standard Herald was initially a 2 door model, which was converted
to a 4 door model, but it never met with much success. The car however remains
part of the Indian Auto Industry. Now one does not see a Standard Herald on the
road in India, as Japanese cars have flooded the roads. The standard Herald was the only Indian made
car which came without a retractable roof. The roof had to fix down manually
and was a bit of a bother. A normal
model was also available. All said and
done the Standard Herald does have a place in the history of the car in India.
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