The Tata Motors Nano

Richard Andrew x64

To be launched in Mumbai on Monday!! http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/22/financial/f033144D03.DTL[^] I think it's terrific that someone can make an automobile sooo inexpensive that anyone can afford it. I want to hear from people there what they think about this car, and its future. Do people talk about getting one?

Dalek Dave

The safety rating is non existant, the brakes are made from old lino tiles and there are no extras. would you drive it? would you put your kids in it? would you rather spend £1000 on a better, safer second hand car?

------------------------------------ "Go get a cold beer!" Dalek Dave (at very frequent intervals)

Maximilien

more cars = more traffic, more accidents, more pollution (even if the engine is "clean" now, in a year or two, when people do not maintain their car, it will become a problem), ... people will buy the sardine-can in numbers, they will ask for better roads, better driving conditions, cities will spend money on new individual transportation infra-structures instead of upgrading and improving the current public transport systems. In a lot of places around the world, we're trying to shift the use of cars toward public transport systems; and try to change the habits of inter-modal transportation (short vs. medium vs long distance systems). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to drive, but 90% of the time I think I need a car, I actually don't need it; I have my driver's license; and if I really need a car, I rent one.

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Richard Andrew x64

Totally agreed that the car is extremely basic and therefore unappealing to western tastes. However, when you consider that most of its target market currently rides motorcycles because they can't afford anything more, then it suddenly makes more sense.

Pualee

;P This car isn't even street legal in the U.S. and if it was, I'm not sure I could tolerate sitting in it for anything longer than a trip to the grocery store due to my height. I do think it is nice that someone is making a new car that is cheap. All the features cars have these days do little to make it drivable for the extra cost. My wife and I drive cars over 10 years old because $20k - $30k is rediculous for a new car when the only thing it does better than our old cars is give directions. Besides, unlike every other American, we like putting money in the bank instead of buying a shiny new toy ;P

Richard Andrew x64

Hey, I agree. Once people begin to taste personal freedom, and feel empowered over their own lives, there's no turning back.

Lost User

I think that's the biggest point and they won't be as overloaded as some motorbikes!

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Rama Krishna Vavilala

I think it will be good for small journeys and probably it will replace autorickshaws[^].

pg az

Maximilien wrote:

shift the use of cars toward public transport systems

For public transport one would like a police-density exceeding that of Japan, because at least up to now Japan has avoided the no-sense-of-affiliation-predatory-underclass issues nicely described in Sanford Strong's "Strong on Defense".
Think "bus stop", think "Crutchfield" .. "survived 14 months of gunfire in Iraq. But the 21-year-old lance corporal returned home for Christmas and was shot in the neck by two robbers on Jan. 5 2008 at a bus stop on East 72nd Street and Superior Avenue". At a bus stop you're sitting-duck-on-display.

pg--az

Bassam Abdul Baki

I'm a big fan of the ZipCar. Why own a car a worry about its upkeep and all. Too bad it's not everywhere.

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i j russell

Having worked in New Delhi for a few months in 2005 and seen the chaos of daily traffic I think that the safety/quality issues you raise are moot. The traffic travels that slowly that collisions are very low speed and generally with a bike, auto rickshaw or the lunatic, his wife and two kids on a motorbike. When compared to the alternatives available to the average working family, the Nano is an improvement. I had the pleasure of being taxied around in the 'luxury' of a Tata IndyCar which we got for a while in the UK as the City Rover. I think that we will never see the Nano in the west because it would never pass the safety tests.

Douglas Troy

This has your name written all over it ... ok, not actually, but you might like it: http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1846/tigrish.html[^]

Lost User

Hehe, thanks :)

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Nish Nishant

The target audience is people who currently own motor cycles and powered scooters. It's not uncommon in Indian cities to see a 5 member family (dad, mom, 3 kids) all riding a single 2-wheeled motor vehicle. A Nano would definitely be a safer option for them.

Regards, Nish

Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
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Richard Andrew x64

Agreed. I, for one, am definitely happy to read about its introduction. I also have a soft spot for any of these low-cost vehicles because I had purchased a Hyundai when they were first introduced to North America, and I loved that car.

Indivara

In India (and neighboring countries), this is what most people travel in - http://www.bajajauto.com/vehicle/threewheelerindex.asp[^] Safety devices are non-existant, they overturn with very little encouragement, pollute horribly (due to 2-stroke engines), are a #%!@ nuisance because they are small enough to crawl into the narrowest spaces, and there a billions of them... so I think this car is a great improvement

a mulay

It can't replace the rickshaws as the car is some 600 CC vehicle. Vehicles below 1000 CC cannot be used as Taxi in India.