$2,500 Car Unveiled: The New Tata Nano

[indica]

PHOTOS:
http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/w166/sidindica/
WEBSITE:
http://www.tatapeoplescar.com/

A comfortable, safe, all-weather car, high on fuel efficiency & low on emissions

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata ‘NANO’, the People’s Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People’s Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People’s Car will be launched in India later in 2008.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, “I observed families riding on two-wheelers – the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People’s Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People’s Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility.”

Stylish, comfortable
The People’s Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.

When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions will offer a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual’s preferences.

Fuel-efficient engine
The People’s Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.


Meets all safety requirements
The People’s Car’s safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.

Environment-friendly
The People’s Car’s tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.

[JBsZ06]

I would buy it. I would like to have a car I could drive into NY CITY and not be concerned about it. At that price who would care..

I wish they would sell it here in the states.

I think it costs less than most sets of aftermarket rims and tires...

Thanks for the heads up.

[MelvinJ]

Beats a scooter for a family of four.

[69nova]

Everytime I visit NYC, I see Mercedes, Lexus', Caddies,.. parked on the curb's edge marked with dings all over the fenders and the owners having to negotiate some of the worst streets in the nation (example, Flushing NY, 132nd street in the Bronx). A cheap car, desinged for urban traffic such as going to the train station or grocery runs, would be ideal.
This leads to another question- how inexpensive could GM produce a car if they made it bare bones (no radio, console for your ipod)? Is a vehicle that fills this niche already being made?
Maybe Tata will start building cheap Jaguars and Land Rovers?

[Ach]

This will do wonders for the prestige of Jaguar and Land Rover.

[Relik86]

Those seats look like those X-Rocker things I see in Wal-mart, but more upright... ouch.

[artrix]

It looks really ugly, but at least i like all the other things about that car, except im not so sure about the safety

[69Firebird400]

Tata plans to sell it in India exclusively for the first two years, then export to emerging markets in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. After that, they plan a better-equipped, more powerful version for Europe. They said that the one sold in Europe would cost 2-3 times as much, but still, a $5k-7.5k car is still pretty cheap!

indica, thanks for the photo gallery. I especially liked the LS9 thrown in at the end for good measure.

[wescoent]

Originally Posted by 69nova

Everytime I visit NYC, I see Mercedes, Lexus', Caddies,.. parked on the curb's edge marked with dings all over the fenders and the owners having to negotiate some of the worst streets in the nation (example, Flushing NY, 132nd street in the Bronx). A cheap car, desinged for urban traffic such as going to the train station or grocery runs, would be ideal.
This leads to another question- how inexpensive could GM produce a car if they made it bare bones (no radio, console for your ipod)? Is a vehicle that fills this niche already being made?
Maybe Tata will start building cheap Jaguars and Land Rovers?

You want to drive this thing into Manhattan???!!! While competing with cows and motor scooters in Mumbai, I'm replaying an image in my head of an Isuzu box truck ripping across the George Washington Bridge, and merging into a lane full of cars. Personally, I feel a lot better in a big old Lincoln Town Car than in this tin can. This thing would fold up like a paper bag in a collision with the monstrous vehicles in American cities.

Second issue is the potholes. Those rims are going to be shattered into a million shards of steel hitting a big pothole at 40mph.

[t-rex]

Safety isn't a big issue with Indians. If you fully understand the Hindu religion, you'll know why.

[paul8488]

Intersting how they mention that it's safer than a 2-wheeler... in that light, I can see people buying one. FOr those us us huge to big safe cars, it seems scary.

[igor]

ok read up on it:
1) no high beams
2) top speed is about 50mph - limited not by the engine, but wheel bearings
3) only one front wiper
4) Rear-engined - RWD
5) 2 cylinder 40hp engine - about 59mpg. the engine costs about $700 anf is built by BOSCH
6) extensive use of glue and plastics instead of screws/welding/rivets/ and metal.
7) practically no trunk - it fits a purse under the front hood.
8) lower value materials used instead of hardened steel in such places as wheel axles.
9) speedometer is only "approximate"
10) no radio, AC, power steering
11) manual or automatic transmission.

Igor

[Smaart Aas Saabr]

Originally Posted by JBsZ06

I would buy it. I would like to have a car I could drive into NY CITY and not be concerned about it. At that price who would care..

I wish they would sell it here in the states.

I think it costs less than most sets of aftermarket rims and tires...

Thanks for the heads up.

You can just buy an older "real" car for $2 500... and considering the price of used cars in NYC that would actually be a pretty nice and presentable (eg not a beater) car...

[Ambalanche]

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol...cle3164205.ece

Here it is, The Tata Nano. Kinda looks like a Potato..

[tomcat_cool17]

2 Questions: How easy would it be to steal it so I can get one free?
How will it hold up after 2 years in the salt belt?