Tata Nano minicar

Worlds cheapest car $2,500 Nano minicar 33bhp 54mpg





so would u buy one, remember there is a deluxe version if u really need power and safety options


India’s Tata Group today announced the world’s cheapest car – the Nano. The compact car is expected to hit the market at a price of just 100,000 Indian rupees (US$2500) plus taxes and is expected to revolutionise car ownership in the 1.1 billion strong market.

The five-seater car has a tiny 33bhp 624cc engine in the rear and is targeted at Indians hoping to trade up to four wheels from a motorcycle. Top speed is around 60mph, however this is plenty for the relatively slow moving Indian traffic.

As you’d expect in a car priced like this, there is little in the way of additional frills. The base model, for example, has no air conditioning, no electric windows or even power steering. Some of these features are available in a deluxe version, however. Safety is another area where costs were cut and the car has no airbags (though to be fair very few cars on the Indian market are equipped with airbags).

With a length of about 10 feet, a width of nearly five feet and a height just over five feet, the Nano lives up to its name by being 20% smaller than the cheapest car on Indian roads, the Maruti Suzuki 800.

Contrary to expectations, the Nano is made using standard sheet metal, not plastic as many analysts had predicted. Also surprising is the news that the car is more efficient per passenger than a motorbike and is expected to use less than 5L/100km. In addition, it meets Euro 4 emissions standards, and a diesel version is planned for the future.

Tata plans to sell around 200,000 units per year beginning from late this year in India only. The company doesn’t plan to export until at least 2011.


http://www.motorauthority.com/news/n...car/#more-4506

You beat me to it!

They only plan to sell 200,000 a year? With India's population it will probably be in very much of a high demand. I wonder if they will offer this in the US with proper modifications.

I also found this vid searching through google from what I think is a Indian new station (yes it is in english).

http://www.ibnlive.com/videos/56046/tata-unveils-rs1-lakh-peoples-car-nano.html

...and in what modern countries will such a device be available for sale when considering "safety" regs and "crash-worthiness"

dieseldorf said:

...and in what modern countries will such a device be available for sale when considering "safety" regs and "crash-worthiness"

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No modern countries will allow such a car to be sold for public use. You can look at the photos and see how flimsy this car is in regards to crash-worthiness.

Such a car is suitable in India, China, and other 3rd world countries. When you have a population > 1,000,000,000, life is cheap enough that it is acceptable to sacrifice individual safety for the sake of making the economy grow by allowing the middle-class to become motorized.

MrMopar said:

When you have a population > 1,000,000,000, life is cheap enough that it is acceptable to sacrifice individual safety for the sake of making the economy grow

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I wonder what people would say if the US had that kind of population and you used the same concept...

VDUBS said:

I wonder what people would say if the US had that kind of population and you used the same concept...

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Probably the same thing would happen.

With a population of 300 million in the USA, we already accept automobiles as the de facto mode of transportation - along with the hazards that come with it. Deaths from automobile accidents run at twice the rate of murders in the USA, yet you don't see a widespread movement to get rid of cars. Heck, there is ZERO movement to get rid of cars. We accept traffic deaths as the cost of doing business.

Now suppose the population of the USA were instantly scaled up to 1 billion overnight. That's an addition of 700 million people, and let's assume that 350 million of them are of age and ability so as to enter the workforce if they can find a job. If those people just appeared instantly, we'd be talking about massive amounts of poverty because the economy just can't scale overnight for that big of a population growth. To start getting these people to be participants in the economy, so they can be upwardly mobile and gain wealth, you'd have to have cars for these people to get around. An extra 700 million people in the USA would have those families practically rioting to be able to drive affordable transportation like what is being sold by Tata. Do you think it would be an acceptable answer to say "No, can't have these cars, some of you might die if you crash in them." We would accept an increase in the rate of traffic deaths because overwhelmingly it would let people climb into middle class - and then money can be spent on things like passenger safety.

from the BBC website:

"Plastic and adhesive replaces welding."

YEAH BABY!!

Tata Nano stats:

• Alumimium two-cylinder 624cc engine
• Vertically aligned, rear mounted parallel twin
• Power: 33bhp@5500rpm
• Torque: 35lb-ft@2500rpm (48Nm)
• 0-70: 14 seconds
• Max Speed: 45mph (68kph)
• Fuel Economy combined: 50mpg
• Boot capacity: 150 litres
• Length: 3100mm
• Width: 1500mm
• Height: 1600mm

That little car is a winner, for the size it appears to be very roomy and provides cheap personal transport without having lots of pointless gadgets and gizmos which constantly need repair... Remember in India cars tend to be fixed with basic tools on the roadside.. Well done Tata

If it could be sold as something other than a car, like, say, a motorcycle, it could certainly be sold in the US. Maybe they can take one wheel off.

On a more serious note, a vehicle like it might be suitable for strictly urban and near-urban use. Unfortunately, vehicle travel in most US cities includes high-speed (one hopes) driving and commutes of a fair distance.

If it gets the big 3 to start thinking/designing smaller and more efficient vehicles then it is a good thing.

Looks like a dead ringer for a Prius on the front end.

mavapa said:

If it could be sold as something other than a car, like, say, a motorcycle, it could certainly be sold in the US. Maybe they can take one wheel off.

On a more serious note, a vehicle like it might be suitable for strictly urban and near-urban use. Unfortunately, vehicle travel in most US cities includes high-speed (one hopes) driving and commutes of a fair distance.

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I'm far from an expert on these things but there has to be a price point on fuel that will get people to slow down.

Bosley, my point really was that most people living in most big cities in the US don't live close to where they work, so they end up commuting fairly long distances. I think of Atlanta, for example, where great hordes of people drive 20 miles on the "expressways" to get to work every day. The Nano doesn't look like it's designed for that kind of driving. It looks more suitable small towns with less traffic congestion and shorter drives to work or shopping. But right now the only advantage over my 2001 tdi is price, and in the US, I doubt the price could be anywhere close to $2500.

__. I'm glad it's so cheap. I wanna buy two of them so I can tell people that I have a pair of bodacious tatas at home!

Supposedly it weighs "around 1/2 tonne" which is 1100 lbs, and would qualify as a motorcycle in many states because of a 1500 lbs lower limit on automobiles.

jesus people see it for what it is.

It goes a little faster than a 50 cc scooter, it costs about the same as a "quality" 50 cc scooter (including India made Bajaj), and gets similar economy.

hmmm.

I guess you guys have never seen the 1 person scooter cars? Basically they are 250+ CC bikes with a canopy. And they also start at 2500$.

Good job Tata!

Too bad we can't buy it here. My guess is it would be safer than the motorcycles that are legal here.

pogo said:

Supposedly it weighs "around 1/2 tonne" which is 1100 lbs, and would qualify as a motorcycle in many states because of a 1500 lbs lower limit on automobiles.

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__. Which doesn't matter a fart in a tornado because first you'd have to get it past US Customs which enforces DOT (NHTSA) and EPA standards. And they're not going to let it in unless the manufacturer certifies it and the manufacturer is not going to certify it because the manufacturer can't certify it.

TaTa Nano Minicar

Safety: GOT TO BE SAFER IN THEIR TRAFFIC THAN LOADING THE WHOLE FAMDAMNLY ONTO THE 49 CC
SCOOTER! In our traffic----FUGGEDABOUDIT!!!!!!!!!!!
Might compete with the scooters and untuned motorbikes
in the emmissions department. The interesting thing will be what effect it will have on the world autmotive market---what innovators call a "disruptive innovation"!!!!!

2004Nick said:

Might compete with the scooters and untuned motorbikes
in the emmissions department.

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Which is a very good thing - I don't know why the environmentalists in India are whining about this car. Since the car meets Euro 4 standards, you could replace motorbike and scooter in India with one of these cars, and air quality would VASTLY improve. Not to hard to see, since those scooters are probably all 2-stroke engines, and probably have a nice blue cloud behind some of them because I doubt the peasants keep them in tune.