Ajay Arora has dreamed of owning an Ambassador car ever since he backed his father?s into the garage wall when he was eight years old.

Earlier this month, Arora bought one of his own, white like the one he crashed 30 years ago. ?It?s like getting your first love back,? said Arora, a wealthy Indian who owns a print shop in Mumbai.

The Ambassador, with its rounded contours and distinct humped shape, has been an icon on the dusty roads of India since 1957, but fans like Arora are few and its days may finally be drawing to a close.

It is derided by many as a symbol of the License Raj, the name for a restrictive bureaucracy in effect from 1947 to 1990 when only the Ambassador and boxy Fiat cars were available to Indians. Then, the Ambassador was ubiquitous, desired as dowry, featured in films and favoured by politicians. Since restrictions on foreign manufacturers were lifted in 1991, it has been overtaken by newer and nimbler cars.

The Amby is now in its 50th year of production, but anniversary celebrations have been put on hold after a strike to protest the suspension of some employees and nonpayment of wages at its manufacturing plant in Uttarpara in eastern India. Some experts believe the stalemate could bring down the final curtain on the storied vehicle.

The Ambassador, which had about 70 per cent of the market at its peak in the 1970s, has only a fraction of the growing market now. Passenger vehicle sales are expected to double by 2010, from 1.4 million units in the year to March. ?The Ambassador represents all that was right and wrong with India,? said Dilip Chhabria, an independent auto designer. ?It?s a symbol of post-independence India, a sign of power, and has an old-world charm. But it didn?t keep pace with progress ... and that?s also part of the reason why we?re so nostalgic about it, because it?s from a different era and so unlike modern cars.?

Hindustan Motors Ltd., India?s oldest car maker, rolled out the first Ambassador car, modelled on the Morris Oxford III, in 1957. It was fitted with a more powerful 1,800 cc Isuzu engine in 1993. Despite makeovers and new features such as power steering and a sun roof, the Ambassador has stayed basically the same and this is maybe why it is now on its way to becoming extinct...