Tata Motors' Nano lights up the streets of Mumbai
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted March 22nd 2010 12:09PM
posted March 22nd 2010 12:09PM
Indeed, there is a time in every product's life-cycle when it has its birth announcement, when it steps out into the world for the first time, and when it bursts into flames -- and Tata's Nano is no exception. According to Indian Autos Blog, the manufacturer is particularly well known for its combustible motorcars these days -- back in 2009, three Nanos caught fire, and now we have pictures of the latest to go into flames, courtesy of an insurance agent Satish Sawant. Apparently, the auto dealership was delivering the vehicle to its new owner when a motorcyclist overtook the driver to get his attention -- just like that old episode of CHiPs. Since the engine is behind the driver, he had no idea that it had caught fire at some point on his journey. Who would have thought that a $2,500 vehicle would be plagued with problems? Let's just hope they get 'em sorted before the Nano EV hits the streets.
theres some quality engineering right there
V for vendetta, i see whats going on here...
@spasewalkr
yea, reminds me alot of when i overclocked my athlon x2 on a cheap asrock board =\
@tobsmonster2
Imagine if that had been a gigabyte main board.
.. Or a packard bell! Think of the deveststion
@spasewalkr i would like to see this thing with 20" rims. hahahahahaha
@spasewalkr
To be fair, my car feels similar after I've been for a curry.
@spasewalkr
All that cost cutting had to come from somewhere...
LOL, this doesn't surprise me :)
@spasewalkr A 2,500 USD 2010 car. What do you expect? lol
@spasewalkr
It wasn't the engineering, it's that Lei in the hood that's causing the problem.
@spasewalkr Hey! My uncle (how many times removed?) DESIGNED the Nano.
@TjK
glorious
@spasewalkr I've always said that the Nano looked like it was designed for flamers.
My Bad
$2,500? If I needed a car and these were sold in the US, I'd buy one... even if it did have issues with bursting into flames.
@Brent1700
It won't pass the crash tests. $2500 can still get a decent car here in the US. You just need to know what to look for.
@Brent1700 I don't think any car insurance company would be insane enough to offer comprehensive coverage for this car. So your roadside BBQ payday may never come.
@vanmankline
I drive a '94 Lincoln Town Car I bought 2 years ago that just turned 100k miles. For $2500, it is an excellent car, I'm looking for another one. The best seats in the world. But for $2500, I might invest in one of these little battery burners for fun! it would be great to drive around town and keep the Dreamboat for long trips.
@Brent1700
Pfft, if only 3 of them have burst into flames, that's no big deal. Really, I don't understand why people are so afraid of something that is so statistically improbable. It reminds me of the Toyota thing. 38 deaths in the last ten years from out-of-control accelerating? Yeah, you're 20 times more likely to be killed by lightning. 20 TIMES. I'm not saying it shouldn't be fixed, because it should, but wow, can we say media over-blown?
@Abe EXACTLY I love how ppl blow thing wayyyy out of proportion.
And yea, I know you can get a car for $2500 but, used. And, well, I don't believe in the whole "one man's trash is another man's treasure" thing...
@Abe Of course, if they've only sold 6 of 'em, that's a 50% failure rate. I'm just sayin'.....
@Brent1700 Thats too bad, I was hoping to give you my old lambo, only 3k miles. Since it's used you probably don't want it though.
@Abe
You must have a lot of faith in large corporations, and very little interest in history. (see: Ford Pinto.) The only reason that cars are as safe as they are today is because when product defects cause deaths the media and consumer advocate groups and eventually the government (arms twisted) do make a big deal about it. And if they didn't, then cars today would not have air bags, crumple zones, 'drop out' engines, or even shoulder strap seat belts. And far more of them would end up as roadside BBQs.(see again: Ford Pinto)
@vanmankline
What, you mean like this.
http://www.theonion.com/video/ford-unveils-new-car-for-cashstrapped-buyers-the-1,14381/
It has already passed EU crash tests- videos available online- Now for US market- these won't be $2500 nor a company will not design and produce cars that can't pass the basic tests for which norms are available; by the way did u see the "smart cars" already in US streets?
@jitheshvv I've seen some. But they're over $10,000!
the car's made of plastic.
Ya, any problems with the Nano EV would be quite shocking.
@MarcusMaximus
nice. i see what you did there...
What happens to the worst can also happen to the best.
http://www.blog.automotiveaddicts.com/thats-one-hot-ferrari-ferrari-is-on-fire
@David G
Impressive, yes, but for the price of this one car, you could instead watch about 120 Tatas go up in flames.
@David G
Not to mention, you have an excuse to say "tata" in mixed company.
Oh man and I thought Toyota cars had issues
Well at least its a small fire.
I guess that's what happens when you try to push a Briggs & Straton engine to it's limits.
@LiqwidZero
Don't start the B&S vs Tecumseh flame wars.
That could be a good security system.
@Brent1700 You have a life insurance and you're bored, right?
@KAL326 Well, it's a small car.
I hope that car has air conditioning. It's probably pretty warm in summer.
I've heard of 'Hot Hatches' but this just takes the cake...
@richb93 The car is so cheap that it doesnt even have a hatch. The back is solid. In order to get to the space in the rear you have to go over the back seats.
@Lord Vader
And let that be a lesson to you. DO NOT park here again!
I suppose they were trying too hard to avoid the reputation that rear-engine cars (like the VW Bug) have poor heaters.
Their consulting group is outsourcing a portion of the company I work for. Overall, the whole experience is being received about the same. But one difference is that the failure of the consulting group wont result in melted plastic.
@Thiels851 ...and which company is it that you work for?
@bazookafx3 One who's future doesn't bode well if they continue along this path of outsourcing with lesser talent. There are 9 of them who are replacing 2 of us, and yet they are having problems keeping up with the workload we did. It would seem that undercutting the competition and delivering an inferior product is Tata's mission statement.
@Thiels851 Wait - where is this Indian company outsourcing to?
@Valicore
To Engadget commenters! The most populous nation in the world.
@Valicore: my US based company has hired TCS (Tata Consulting Services) to replace my colleague and myself with 9 people overseas in India. The most fun part is that we have been training them for 9 months now on how to do our jobs (yes, I have to train someone to take my job) and you would think that we were only in the 3rd week of training by this point.