Posted on 01/09/2008 11:30:46 PM PST by Arjun
The Tata Rs 1-lakh car is here! And it's called the Nano!
Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata on Thursday unveiled the Tata Nano at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi.
Details of the People's Car:
Ratan Tata, while unveiling the nano, said: "The car will meet all current safety norms and all emission criteria. The pollution it will cause will be lower than 2-wheelers."
The car, Tata said, is smaller than a Maruti [Get Quote], but has 21 per cent more volume or space inside than the 800. He said that the dealer price of the car will be Rs 1 lakh, plus value-added tax (VAT) plus transport charges.
The car will have a 624-cc petrol engine generating 33 bhp of power. It will sport a 30-litre fuel tank and 4-speed manual gearshift. The car will come with air conditioning, but will have no power steering. It will have front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 23 km per litre.
The car's dashboard features just a speedometer, fuel gauge, and oil light. The car does not have reclining seats or radio. The shock absorbers are basic.
Nano, the world's cheapest car, costs almost half of the cheapest car currently available anywhere in the world.
''Since, a promise is a promise the standard dealer version will cost Rs 1 lakh,'' said Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata.
He informed that the car is 8 per cent smaller bumper to bumper, than the Maruti800 but at the same time 21 per cent larger in its interiors and can sit up to four people.
Dispelling myths that the car was not safe enough Tata said, 'The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash''. He also side stepped emission concerns and said the car will meet Euro IV norms.
While critics had been sceptical throughout about the car meeting safety and emission norms, coming as it is at that price, Tata said he was happy to announce that Nano meets all norms as would a modern car.
The car is eight per cent shorter than Maruti 800 on bumper to bumper length, but is 21 per cent more spacious, claimed Tata.
Alluding to fears expressed by environmentalist R K Pachauri and green activist Sunita Narain that the car at that price would add more vehicles on the road leading to higher vehicular pollution, Tata said the 624 cc, 33 HP petrol engine meets Bharat Stage-III emission norms and can also meet the Euro 4 norms.
"Pachauri will not have a nightmare and Sunita Narain can also sleep," he quipped, while recalling that some people had suggested that the car should be called 'Pachauri' and some others said that it should be named 'Mamta' � probably referring to the position TMC leader Mamta Banerjee had taken against the setting up of the small-car project at Singur in West Bengal.
Commenting on the safety standard, he said the car has gone through a full frontal crash test as per norms.
The Nano will come in three variants -- standard and two deluxe models with AC. The standard car would be available for Rs 1 lakh (ex-showroom), while VAT and transportation costs are extra.
The Nano is expected to be commerically launched in the second half of 2008. News reports say that Tata Motors [Get Quote] hopes to sell 500,000 units of the car, almost four times the number of Indicas it sells. Tata plans to focus on a market segment hitherto untapped.
Not since the launch of the Maruti 800 in 1983 has any car gripped the imagination of a nation and indeed car manufacturers the world over so intensely. If commercially successful, the Tata Nano can alter the passenger car market in India, and perhaps the world, beyond description.
the cost of the car is $2,500
but that’s the difference between India and China — historically China was always ruled by a strong ruler with millions of subjects bowing obsequesiously. India on the other hand has always been chaotic — Indians like to have a say in their government. Democracy works in India, a dictatorship wouldn’t last, too many independent thinkers!
Exactly -- more power to you, save gas for when you need it -- I got no problem with a gigantic SUV when you need it, for long trips or off-road or hauling stuff, but to go 10/15 miles to pick up a carton of milk? That's where this little thing would be useful.
Cars are like any other machine. My MP3 player is not a replacement for my living room stereo or car stereo. A pair of hand snips are good for trimming bushes, but won't replace my lawnmower. Because cars are so expensive, we tend to compromise -- but if they could get inexpensive enough I would love to have multiple tools, each tailored to the job at hand.
Right now, I have a '99 Sebring convertible. It' a lot of fun to drive, has comfortable seating for four adults, good trunk space, and not bad economy. I expect to get an '83 VW Vanagon camper in good shape in the near future -- I can use it to go camping, or to carry stuff that won't fit in the trunk of the Chrysler.
Some planned communities have "neighborhood vehicles," basically golf carts, with paths for them. It's not a bad approach. And I live in a moderately dense suburb, so I'm not talking about 10 or 15 miles to get a gallon of milk, I'm talking about 2 or 3 -- a bit much for a walk, not great for a bicycle, scooter or Segway that has you out in the elements on a cold or rainy day.
Any REAL man knows how to use the appropriate tool for the job. He knows how his huevos are hanging and doesn't need to spend a lot of money on a big vehicle to reassure himself and impress others. He doesn't need to bust out an air wrench when a small screwdriver will do the job.
My testicles are part of my body. I grew them. I don't have to buy them from a car dealer. and take out a 60-month loan to pay for them.
It helps a whole part of the world move up their standard of living.
The more INVIDIDUAL SUCCESS in the real world the freer the world becomes.
This is wonderful because it is an avenue for individual families to be individuals with mobility free of government. No mass government planned transit. No busses, no trains.
Urban socialist planners must be excreating bricks at the notion of thousands of people acting like individuals.
It was a joke, relax.
I'm relaxed. My point was that anyone who has a ¿Quien es mas macho? complex over the size of his vehicle seriously needs to get a life.
The Hummer H2 is a minivan with a higher ground clearance. Let's face that fact. For all its butch styling, the H2 is a ferakin' minivan.
Allow me to speak in defense of the minivan. A whole lot of families in the USA are driving SUVs when a minivan would serve the same need, satisfy every requirement, but not fulfill the image. It would cost less up front and cost less to operate, but that isn't how they roll.
For that matter, even minivans are a bit of a rationalization. What the hell happened to station wagons? They used to work just fine. Now, they're described as "crossover vehicles" -- a combination of a passenger car and an SUV. Get real, kid. The Porsche Cayenne is a station wagon. A Porsche station wagon. Nothing wrong with that, but call it what it is. Don't be coy.
Back to the point I made a while ago, it's all about the right tool for the job. Sometimes it's a subcompact, Sometimes it's a bus. Sometimes its a good pair of shoes.
If I rolled up to the Publix, burning three dollars worth of gas to buy two dollars worth of milk, I'd feel like a dipshit.
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