Tata Motors' $2,500 NANO automobile gets official
By Darren Murph 
posted January 10th 2008 9:00AM
posted January 10th 2008 9:00AM
[Image courtesy of Manan Vatsyayana/Raveendran for Getty]
posted January 10th 2008 9:00AM
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Ok, serious question. How would one go about buying this car?
If you're in North America, you don't. Tata doesn't sell there.
At 31hp, the only way this vehicle hits highway speeds is in the vertical. OTOH, having been passed on the streets of Delhi by a buffalo-drawn cart, it's probably perfect for its intended market.
Well, thing is, I don't. ;) I live in Colombia, South America, and this type of car would be perfect for me since its super cheap, and the cities here have the same problem as over there (with the motorcycles and such). I was actually planning on getting a cycle, but since this costs just as much, it seems more logical to me to get it instead.
You really will never go past 40mph here, unless its on a highway, and I really don't plan on driving those lanes of death. :P Only thing is how would I go about importing that car...
This reminds me of the Adobe that they had on SNL years ago:
Adobe
Spokesman.....Phil Hartman
Spokesman: These days, everyone's talking about the Hyundai, and the Yugo. Both nice cars, if you've got $3,000 or $4,000 to throw around. But, for those of us whose name doesn't happen to be Rockefeller, finally there's some good news - a car with a sticker price of $179. That's right, $179. The name of the car?
Adobe. The sassy new Mexican import that's made out of clay. German engineering and Mexican know-how helped create the first car to break the $200 barrier. At this price, you might not expect more than reliable transportation - but, brother, you get it! Extra features: like the custom contour seats, or the beverage-gripping dash. And the money you save isn't exactly small change!
Jingle:
"Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
The little car that's made out of clay!
We're gonna save you some money
that you can spend in some other way!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Adobe!"
[ show Adobe driver get into a fender-bender. She casually steps out of the vehicle and uses her hands to mold her bumper back into its proper shape, in under six minutes! ]
Spokesman: Adobe. You can buy a cheaper car. But I wouldn't recommend it!
Announcer: Not approved for street use in some states. No warranty either expressed or implied. All sales final.
Great! Now you owe some writer residuals for posting that!
I'm gonna hafta cross a picket line to get to Engadget!
It reminds me of the Adobe from SNL:
Adobe
Spokesman.....Phil Hartman
Spokesman: These days, everyone's talking about the Hyundai, and the Yugo. Both nice cars, if you've got $3,000 or $4,000 to throw around. But, for those of us whose name doesn't happen to be Rockefeller, finally there's some good news - a car with a sticker price of $179. That's right, $179. The name of the car?
Adobe. The sassy new Mexican import that's made out of clay. German engineering and Mexican know-how helped create the first car to break the $200 barrier. At this price, you might not expect more than reliable transportation - but, brother, you get it! Extra features: like the custom contour seats, or the beverage-gripping dash. And the money you save isn't exactly small change!
Jingle:
"Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
The little car that's made out of clay!
We're gonna save you some money
that you can spend in some other way!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Adobe!"
[ show Adobe driver get into a fender-bender. She casually steps out of the vehicle and uses her hands to mold her bumper back into its proper shape, in under six minutes! ]
Spokesman: Adobe. You can buy a cheaper car. But I wouldn't recommend it!
Announcer: Not approved for street use in some states. No warranty either expressed or implied. All sales final.
"...for $2,500, or about as much as a DVD Player in a Lexus" –Ashling O'Connor (reporter for The Dehli Times)
LOL! SNAP!
They need to get Tigger to pitch this thing, "Tata for now!"
i'm from india... and for some reason i'm not offended by that statement but rather find myslef agreeing to that lol
What is French air, and how does it power a car?
SCNR
This car is for the many Indian families and in other third world countries where a man,his wife,his 5-7 year old kid and 0-2 year old baby travel in a scooter...the man riding,the older kid standing in front of him and his wife sitting pillion holding the baby.
If you think they can travel safer by paying double the cost of the scooter,Tata Nano is the answer.
This may be a golf cart for many of you in developed countries,but for developing countries,this is a car..for going from Point A to B.Thats all it promises.And thats all Ratan Tata said before unveiling this car.He even kind of mocked at Osamu Suzuki for saying "Its impossible for Tata"...LMAO @ Suzuki!!!
And for the cow jokers,come to any A/B Indian city and dare to find a cow on the road.
This could be a fine city car, a la the Smart car. At 1/6th the price. However with only 31 horsepower it's probably not going to be offered in developed car markets. But if it's a hit look for other companies to offer something similar.
Cool, I want one as an escape pod for my truck! ;-)
Scared those wheels will fall off in the first pothole as very small!
You should definitely get a small car like this - because it will definitely be an escape pod from the noose around you neck of exhaust from your gas guzzlers.
And it can definitely take place in your truck bed, maybe still have room left over for a mountain bike.
Is your ego strong enough?
You should definitely get a small car like this - because it will definitely be an escape pod from the noose around you neck of exhaust from your gas guzzlers.
And it can definitely take place in your truck bed, maybe still have room left over for a mountain bike.
Is your ego strong enough?
I wouldn't like to be driving that when some twunt in an F350 cuts me up....
what is techinal specifiactions of this car???
I feel proud that this car will be manufactured in my state (West Bengal, India) and exported worldwide. Btw. It meets Euro 4 norms too.
I love Tatas but I prefer them to be a little bigger. Ill wait for the next model, the D-Cup.
A Heads-Up on the safety issue.
I am from India and I can reassure all concerned that ALL the cars manufactured here are zilch on safety. A sedan made here will be ten times that price, guzzle that much more fuel and that much more pollution but its safety will be marginally better.
With the consumer rights we have no one is ever going to be sued for making unsafe cars anyway.
Umm..there are no F350s in India. But you have to deal with this - http://www.gadling.com/media/2006/03/overloaded_vehicle.jpg
$2,500 base. Of course, this doesn't include the "round things that make it go" package. This includes:
1. Drive wheels (to make car go forward) (2) 2. Non-drive wheels (to keep car from dragging rear end) (2) 3. Steering wheel (to steer car, or pound on in frustration with purchase of this vehicle) (1) 4. Pulleys (no more than 3, or the car will flip over)
After that, we recommend the "round things that make it stop" package. This includes:
1. Brake rotors (4)
I still like it.
Bodacious Tatas!
Tata cheklist:
2500$ car - Done
Next - 25$ laptop
SWEET.
I want one of these to keep in my trunk as a spare.
What your driving with a trunk that size?
Chevy Tahoe, Lincoln Navigator, Cadillac Escalade... Take your pick.
I'm not sure what you're trying to get across. . .
Wow, it runs more efficient than cars here. 30mph, eat shit!
I am waiting for their electric car which they are manufacturing with the help ISRO.
Hope they provide charging stations at most petrol pumps "gas stations" at least in cities.
And may be they also provide a solar panel based battery charger with the electric car.
Plus may be they can all do that for $2500.
oh and $75 dollar laptop built in the electric car would be fine to check mails on the road.
Its a nice try, but the first time you got into an accident would be your last. Plus, those small tires wont work in the snow.
Yup, all that snow they have in india/china/well, almost everywhere except the cold places and up stupid hills which no reasonable man should be going anyway.
Why is everyone treating this car as if it's for their own markets? it's a cheap car to get someone who isn't rich by virtue of birth to the nearest market or whatever, that's all, and for its purpose it looks like it might do a very good job.
Finally, an accessory worthy to put in the back of my Hummer H2.
This car is intended for use by families like this.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7181432.stm
As you can see it is safer.
Gas costs about 8$ a gallon in India, for Indian income levels it is the equivalent of 40$ - 50$/Gallon in the US. So, I am sure that the people would use it sparingly and only when required.
It will be a hit here in India. Door to door paper delivery, milk delivery, laundry collection people can upgrade their two wheelers to four wheelers now. A decent two wheelers price is around INR 50k. So for ~100K it will offer more comfort and much safer alternative.
A bad car which will only increase the already over congested roads in India's major cities, not to mention the additional green house gases that will be released from thousands of these cars sitting in traffic jams. The guy who created this car needs to be stung up and shot for his woeful lack of regard for not just the global environment but also for the health of the Indian people. I for one find this kind of commercial "break through" offensive.
The basic fact of the matter is that this 600cc car will omit much more in the way of greenhouse gases than the majority of the current vehicles on India's roads, especially as it doesn't even have a "costly" catalytic converter and statement from the CEO that he wants to export it to other areas in the world fills me with a deep sense of dread. This guy should take a leaf out of this fellow country man's book and at least run it on ethanol or some other bio fuel, cheaper and less pollutant. This is not progress in any sense of the word. :-(
Hey genius!
Number of Cars in USA = 231 million
Number of Cars in India = 70 million
Population of USA = 291 million
Population of India = 1100 million
And now, when India makes a car, suddenly people start talking about the environment and blaming us for global warming even after creating a 50 mpg car.
The only thing offensive is your "I for one..." blathering.
Concentrate on your own tech, in your own country, atleast SOMEONE has the FUCKIN BALLS to make a car like this.
You only have yourself to blame for what is happening in your own country, if you didn't vote, and if you voted, then you didn't spend enough time researching the person you voted for.
What are Ford GM Chrysler doing? performance hybrids, and layoffs, and the same ol' HP+LB/FT blathering, because that's what makes people spend money, just look at the people talking about trucks and H2's.
There is a place for those vehicles, hauling large payloads, towing large payloads, but they really don't have a purpose beyond that, you need 500 hp for driving yourself around?
Too bad people have been brainwashed into buying those types of vehicles, I know it must be hard to show your individuality without being wrapped up in a ton of metal, otherwise people don't notice you.
This type of vehicle is definitely for all of you that have trucks and "SUV's" etc etc - because when you don't NEED to drive them, you can drive something like this.
Is your ego strong enough?
@DanW: Leaving aside what you drive, how much you add to GHG, RTFM. That is, pls read what Nano is intended for and as: its meant to replace unsafe 2-wheeler family rides!
In comparison to what one 2-wheeler emits, Nano emits much less (not to mention that 4-seater Nano would need comparison with two 2-wheeler emissions)! So you can safely assume that one Nano on the road will pull off atleast one 2-wheeler off the road, meaning *less* pollution, *not* more!
PS: If we were to use your solution more effectively, lets shoot all those responsible for existing huge GHG emissions first, before blabbering about Tata!
Over my buddies Crown Vic which pulls a whopping 12 miles to the gallon, at an average of $3.50 a gallon, the thing would pay for itself in the firs 11300 miles.
WTF? My 88 Grand Marquis V8 still gets 27 mpg.
In 10 years, filling up the gas tank will double the value of your Nano-Nano.
Here is an interview with Ratan Tata, the group chairman
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Im_in_a_lonely_phase_of_my_life_Ratan_Tata/articleshow/2690777.cms
Is the 54 MPG assuming the body weight of one slim Indian driver, or 4 slim Indian drivers? What about with 4 hefty Americans with 54 inch waistlines? Just wondering what sort of MPG it gets with different loads...
Pls. inform Mr. Ratan Tata, that he will be always remembered as equivalent "Gandhiji" for Automobile Industry, world wide, let not buearcratic sentiments of Sunita and Pechuri whose (AIR-CONDITIONED CARS AND OFFICES)/life style, CAUSES MORE DAMAGE TO INDIAN CLIMATE, and some deformed media, represent the whole people, who actually does needs some break through innovations, into the daily living.