Great cars of the past

                    Premier Padmini

This car was one of the most important and popular car of the late twentieth century . It was manufactured in India from 1973 to 2001 by PAL(Premier Automobiles Limited) a part of the Walchand group unde license from Fiat . This car was named after 14th century Rajput princess . This was an excellent car of its time and had much better outlooks than the cars of its time (though there were not many) especially than that of HM Ambassador . It was also very easy to drive which proved to be its plus point as the only popular car of its time , the HM Ambassador , was very difficult to drive and it was often said that if someone is able to drive an Ambassador it would be easy for that person to drive any other car , maybe even a bus ! 

This car had a 1.1 liter 48 bhp petrol engine and was much lighter than the heavy Amby and had a top speed of 120 kmph which was far better than that of the Amby . 

It was also popular as taxi in Mumbai (MH) and was owned by the high class people of that time .

Premier manufactured the Padmini at their Kurla plant in Bombay until they sold a majority stake to Fiat SpA in September 1997. The licensed vehicle was initially manufactured as the Fiat 1100 Delight. For model year 1973, the car was marketed  as the Premier Padmini. The car, in its peak during the 1970s-1980s, achieved immense popularity among youngsters, celebrities and women . As stated earlier when compared with the Hindustan Ambassador, it looked more modern in appearance, more fuel-efficient and was very easy to drive.

In the later stages Fiat provided AC for the Padmini which was considered as a luxury feature for the cars of that time and hence gave a boost to its sale . It is still (2014) possible to find Padmini taxis in Mumbai .

It was a legendary car of the past .