New Indian Car: $2,500, 50mpg

Androsphinx · Post by **Androsphinx** » 2008-01-10 04:25pm

World's cheapest car goes on show

Tata Motors has unveiled the world's cheapest motor car at India's biggest car show in the capital, Delhi.

The vehicle, called the Tata Nano, will sell for 100,000 rupees or $2,500 (£1,277) and enable those in developing countries to move to four wheels.

The four-door five-seater car, which goes on sale later this year, has a 33bhp, 624cc, engine at the rear.

It has no air conditioning, no electric windows and no power steering, but two deluxe models will be on offer.

See key features that make the Tata Nano so cheap

Tata will initially make about 250,000 Nanos and expects eventual annual demand of one million cars.

The price will be slightly more than the 100,000 once tax and other costs are taken into consideration.

The Nano release comes as India's domestic car market is predicted to soar in the coming years on the back of the country's fast-growing economy and increased consumer wealth.

'People's car'

Indian car sales are predicted to more than quadruple to $145bn by 2016.

Company chairman Ratan Tata said the launch of the Nano was a landmark in the history of transportation.

He said the car was "a safe, affordable and all weather transport - a people's car, designed to meet all safety standards and emissions laws and accessible to all".

Environmental critics have said that the car will lead to mounting air and pollution problems on India's already clogged roads.

But Tata said the car had passed emission standards and would average about 50 miles to the gallon, or five litres per hundred kilometres.

The firm also said it would introduce a diesel version of the Nano at a later date.

'Family transport'

At the unveiling ceremony Mr 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.

TATA'S NANO
3.1m long, 1.5m wide, 1.6m high
Can seat four to five people
Meets European emission standards
Costs 100,000 rupees ($2,500)
Tata hopes to eventually export the car

"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."

Ravi Vangala, of Hyderbad, India, said: "I... congratulate Tata for his dream, and I will definitely buy the Tata Nano car."

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-01-10 05:02pm

You should have included a picture.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2008-01-10 05:08pm

Curious that they didn't include an air-bag standard. How much would that have increased the markup?

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-01-10 05:20pm

These cars should be sold in the USA with the extra options for, oh, $4,000 apiece, while cars shouldn't be sold at all in the third world. they're really the last bloody thing we need. And they should be the only cars you can buy in this country that aren't hybrids or diesels.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-01-10 05:32pm

It would need an air bag and ABS breaks in order to pass UK regulations. The rest, like manual steering and wind-down windows is no different to most older cars on the road today.

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2008-01-10 05:52pm

If everyone drove them, I wouldn't mind, but to be the only thing on the road that small would scare me to death. What's its top speed?

Androsphinx · Post by **Androsphinx** » 2008-01-10 05:55pm

CaptainChewbacca wrote:If everyone drove them, I wouldn't mind, but to be the only thing on the road that small would scare me to death. What's its top speed?

70 kmph (a touch under 45mph).

Post by **weemadando** » 2008-01-10 06:22pm

I'd heard 104km/h as a top.

Jaepheth · Post by **Jaepheth** » 2008-01-10 06:31pm

The Honda CRX has 53 MPG and is 20 years old.

The only drawback is the exceedingly low safety rating.

Jaepheth · Post by **Jaepheth** » 2008-01-10 06:33pm

shit, wrong close tag...

Could a mod fix that please?

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2008-01-10 06:34pm

General Zod wrote:Curious that they didn't include an air-bag standard. How much would that have increased the markup?

Five hundred bucks easily for a western manufacturer, I have no idea what one would cost in India, not that I’d ever trust an Indian air bag to start with. Course for an air bag to be worthwhile at all you need a well built car (which I’m sure this isn’t) that wont have the steering column displaced into the drivers face during an accident.

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2008-01-10 06:46pm

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:These cars should be sold in the USA with the extra options for, oh, $4,000 apiece, while cars shouldn't be sold at all in the third world. they're really the last bloody thing we need. And they should be the only cars you can buy in this country that aren't hybrids or diesels.

You realize that aside from the high mileage rating, that car is an utter piece of junk, right? It wouldn't even be SAFE to drive on the highway, it's engine is that pathetic. Probably the reason it has such mileage is because the thing most likely has a performance and safety record of a Pinto AKA the Rolling Incideniary Bomb.

Or is that your master plan? Make people drive cars that are so crappy that people just give up and invest in bicycles, or take the train.

Zor · Post by **Zor** » 2008-01-10 07:04pm

Androsphinx wrote:
CaptainChewbacca wrote:If everyone drove them, I wouldn't mind, but to be the only thing on the road that small would scare me to death. What's its top speed?
70 kmph (a touch under 45mph).

What is the speed limit on Indian Highways, because i see, if they ever get released in Canada (even Ontario with a 90km/h limit), people bitching about them jamming them up, even if it is just an obviously urban car.

Zor

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-01-10 10:16pm

That car would make a nice soccer ball, to be booted around the highway by SUVs and other larger cars.

Seggybop · Post by **Seggybop** » 2008-01-11 12:49am

Wasn't there a study indicating that smaller, lighter vehicles were actually safer overall than the increasingly massive vehicles people buy to give themselves some extra sense of safety? I recall reading it a little while ago, but I can't find it now.

Not to say that this small car is somehow safer, but the car mass arms race attitude is not something that should exist.

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2008-01-11 12:53am

Seggybop wrote:Wasn't there a study indicating that smaller, lighter vehicles were actually safer overall than the increasingly massive vehicles people buy to give themselves some extra sense of safety? I recall reading it a little while ago, but I can't find it now.

I seem to recall reading on this board (repeatedly) that small cars do better in the crash tests done by the manufactures against a brick wall but absolutely suck when they hit another vehicle.

MJ12 Commando · Post by **MJ12 Commando** » 2008-01-11 12:58am

Well, I don't think this car would do terribly well either way. I bet someone with fair strength and some time could beat it into a pile of scrap within a day. :p

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2008-01-11 09:51am

Would it be any more dangerous driving this car around town than riding a motorcycle or scooter?

tim31 · Post by **tim31** » 2008-01-11 12:59pm

You've got a better chance of actually being seen by other motorists in the Tata, so no.

The Duchess of Zeon · Post by **The Duchess of Zeon** » 2008-01-11 01:10pm

Gil Hamilton wrote:
Or is that your master plan? Make people drive cars that are so crappy that people just give up and invest in bicycles, or take the train. :lol:

Give the man a cigar!

NoXion · Post by **NoXion** » 2008-01-11 01:27pm

What really bothers me are those wheels. They look freakishly tiny, even by small car standards. Is there such a thing as having too small a wheel?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2008-01-11 01:44pm

NoXion wrote:What really bothers me are those wheels. They look freakishly tiny, even by small car standards. Is there such a thing as having too small a wheel?

Yes. You don't want to have shopping trolley sized wheels, unless you want them to overheat and melt when you pass 40 MPH. They do look exceedingly small, but at the speed this thing does with what can only be described as a fancy 2-stroke lawnmower engine, I doubt you have to worry about excessive wear.

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2008-01-11 01:48pm

It will be an eminently safe family car, because once that thing is fully loaded, I doubt it'll be able to move, and if it can then its claimed speed and mileage will be a pipedream.

tim31 wrote:You've got a better chance of actually being seen by other motorists in the Tata, so no.

Unfortunately it will increase crashes as the other drivers will be too busy laughing to see in front of them

Post by **Broomstick** » 2008-01-11 02:09pm

The Duchess of Zeon wrote:...while cars shouldn't be sold at all in the third world.

Pretty damn selfish statement, really - why should accident of location of birth bar people from owning a car? Yes, there are road vehicles that are ridiculous, but having reliable transportation could mean a great deal to, say, a small entrepreneur supporting a family. What about taxi drivers? Doesn't their profession demand some sort of road vehicle? Well, maybe India should stick to rickshaws, right? Why should they get uppity and demand the same technology you enjoy?

Either it's proper for everyone to be able to own a car or for no one to own a car.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-01-11 02:16pm

Broomstick wrote:
The Duchess of Zeon wrote:...while cars shouldn't be sold at all in the third world.
Pretty damn selfish statement, really - why should accident of location of birth bar people from owning a car? Yes, there are road vehicles that are ridiculous, but having reliable transportation could mean a great deal to, say, a small entrepreneur supporting a family. What about taxi drivers? Doesn't their profession demand some sort of road vehicle? Well, maybe India should stick to rickshaws, right? Why should they get uppity and demand the same technology you enjoy?

Either it's proper for everyone to be able to own a car or for no one to own a car.

The Duchess believes that we in the first world should wean ourselves off the car and our oil addiction. It is quite consistent for her to say that people in the third world should not exacerbate the problem, particularly given their huge numbers.