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THE world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano, hit the streets today. The first customer was handed the keys to the vehicle its makers hope will transform travel for millions of Indians. The head of Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, delivered the car in person at a central Mumbai dealership. No details were immediately available about the recipient or the type of Nano being delivered. But analysts said the delivery was a positive step. If follows a land dispute which forced the company to produce the cars in eastern India, delaying its production. "I think it's very significant," the associate editor of...

NEW YORK—Former Vice President Al Gore thinks that financial markets are to blame for environmental problems. Gore, speaking at a Cornell University-sponsored roundtable in New York City on Wednesday (June 3), told the audience that the "tyranny of short-term horizons” forced companies to maximize returns on a short-term quarterly basis. This, the panelists said, undermined long-term progress in combating environmental ills, such as global warming. This "tyranny of short-term horizons is not limited to investing but also to politics," said Gore. But the Obama administration has an opportunity to lead the world, he said, especially at the forthcoming United Nations...

The ultra-budget Tata Nano is being hailed by many as the biggest leap forward since the Model T Ford. So, if they're right, it's more important than the Beetle. More important than the Mini. More important than man's conquest of the moon. And amazingly, more important too than the invention of Sky+. I don't think they are right though. Because the only thing that makes it stand out is the low, low price. Brilliant. But I could make a cheap car if I built it in a factory made from wattle and mud, paid the workers in rice and motivated...

LONDON: Criticising the British government for ignoring the manufacturing sector, Indian industrialist Ratan Tata has said he was not asking for a bailout but only a "facilitation of access to credit on commercial terms" for his businesses in the UK. In an interview published in British newspaper Sunday Times, Tata said: "We're responsible for the fortunes of the company but this is a bone-dry situation in terms of access to credit. Nobody can operate on that basis unless you have large cash balances, which we don't. My concern is that the government doesn't appear to care about manufacturing." The comments...

First it launched the Tata Nano – the world’s cheapest car. Now, the company that owns Jaguar Land Rover and Corus Steel is giving India the world’s cheapest home. Dubbed “Nano homes” by the Indian media, Tata’s housing project will sell one-room, 283 sq ft flats, less than half the size of a squash court, for 390,000 rupees (£5,200) on the outskirts of Mumbai – a city where property prices compete with those in London or New York. A more expensive option, for 670,000 rupees (£9,000) is 465 sq ft and has a living room and separate bedroom. The cheaper...

From Times Online March 24, 2009 Jaguar owner warns on survival without bailout Christine Buckley, Industrial Editor Ratan Tata, head of the Tata Indian conglomerate that owns Jaguar Land Rover, gave his starkest warning yet on the future of the British operation, saying that it can’t survive without government assistance. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Tata criticised the UK Government for not providing a £500 million loan to Jaguar Land Rover as the luxury brands battle against the slump in car markets. He said: “If the attitude is to see who blinks first then the damage is going...

Melbourne: An Australian motoring expert has slammed the world's least expensive car Nano, which was launched in Mumbai Monday, claiming it would increase global pollution and push up fuel prices. "When India gets to the level of car ownership that we enjoy in the West, which is about 700 cars for every 1,000 people, it could double the number of cars on earth, presently 900 million, to 1.8 billion," Wheels magazine's features editor John Cadogan told ABC Radio. "That will have profound impact on carbon dioxide production, greenhouse (gases), the environment and health generally," Cadogan added. However, despite slamming Nano...

MUMBAI (AFP) – India's Tata Motors on Monday launched the world's cheapest car, the Nano, hoping to revolutionise travel for millions and buck a slump in auto sales caused by the global economic crisis. Company boss Ratan Tata said the no-frills vehicle, slated to cost just 100,000 rupees (2,000 dollars) for the basic model, will get India's middle-class urban population off motorcycles and into safer, affordable cars. "I think we are at the gates of offering a new form of transport to the people of India and later, I hope, other markets elsewhere in the world," he said, describing the...

Tata Motors said it will launch its ultra-cheap Nano car in Mumbai on Monday — a vehicle meant to herald a revolution by making it possible for the world's poor to purchase their first car. But few predict the snub-nosed Nano will be able to turn around the company, which has been beset by flagging sales and high debt, anytime soon. The Nano, which is priced starting at about 100,000 rupees ($2,050), is a stripped-down car for stripped-down times: It is 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) long, has one windshield wiper, a 623cc rear engine, and a diminutive trunk, according to...

LONDON: With no signs of financial aid coming from the UK government, Indian conglomerate Tatas have agreed to inject "tens of millions of pounds" into its British car company Jaguar Land Rover, says a media report. "Tata, the Indian owner of Jaguar Land Rover, has agreed to inject 'tens of millions' of pounds into the British car company to prevent an immediate cash flow crisis, while the government continues to consider the case for a taxpayer- funded bail out," the Financial Times has reported. Jaguar Land Rover has been reportedly seeking financial assistance from the government to the tune of...

Tata Motors parent company, Tata Group, owns the Taj Mahal Hotel at the center of the deadly attacks in Mumbai ending this morning. The same company that produces the Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, also owns one of the largest and nicest hotels in India shouldn't come as a surprise given the Tata Group owns almost 100 companies with operations in 85 countries. Ratan Tata, chairman of both Tata Group as well as Tata Motors, said the hotel had been warned of a possible attack and had increased security over the past few weeks but claimed it...

Doutzen Kroes and other models posed for US underwear giant Victoria’s Secret new holiday ad campaign and Santa should be very happy.

After the acquisition of upscale British brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motors and the launch of its Rs1 lakh small car Nano, Tata Motors are making a giant stride towards history – making a car that runs on compressed air. Tata Motors has signed an agreement with Moteur Development International (MDI) of France to develop a car that runs on compressed air, thus making travel very economical and totally pollution free. Although there is no official word yet on the roll-out of the car, it is expected to be for commercially will be commercially manufactured for India,...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler is in talks to lease U.S. production capacity and share retail distribution with Fiat SpA (FIA.MI), allowing the Italian automaker to return the U.S. market for the first time in 25 years, people briefed on the talks said on Wednesday. Chrysler, the No. 3 U.S. automaker, has also been in discussions with India's Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO) about selling its Jeep Wrangler SUV in India and possibly other Asian markets, said the sources, who were not authorized to discuss the negotiations.

The low-cost Indian "peoples car" has finally been shown in public for the first time at the New Delhi Auto Expo. Developed by Tata Motors to a target price of $2,500, the four seater has a 624cc gasoline engine mounted under the rear seat and is called the Nano. There has been a lot concern that meeting the price target would require Tata to skimp on emission controls and safety. The manufacturer claims that the 33hp engine meets current Euro IV emissions standards and is cleaner than most of the scooters running around on Indian streets right now. They...

Yesterday Ford Motor Company announced it will sell its Jaguar and Land Rover divisions to India's Tata Group. Upon the closing of this transaction, the many Ford associates currently working in these divisions in the United States will join the ranks of Americans who work at insourcing companies -- i.e., at U.S. affiliates of foreign multinational firms. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has long been a source of strength for the American economy. In 2005, insourcing companies employed nearly 5.1 million Americans, 4.4% of the private-sector labor force. Beyond their employment, insourcing companies perform large amounts of the crucial activities that...

Foreign companies and governments sometimes spend millions of pounds on research trying to "get inside the British mind", but there is a simpler way to work out what makes the traditional Englishman tick. Just find an old Land Rover, fire up its engine, and take it for a short drive down a country lane. The noise! The discomfort! Most of all the smell! The aroma is an odd mixture of Castrol oil, barn dust and chicken droppings. For some inexplicable reason, this is true of Land Rovers around the world, from Kettering to Kinshasa. They all have that smell, even...

LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to sell its luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors (TAMO.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) for more than $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter. Ford, which signed the deal on Tuesday, plans to publicly announce the transaction in New York at 0800 EST on Wednesday, said another source. The deal will also see Ford pay about 300 million pounds ($598 million) into Jaguar and Land Rovers' pension funds, according to unions. Ford declined to comment, adding "our first responsibility is...

Given the gas-guzzling behemoths that so many of us in the West feel entitled to, it would seem hypocritical to begrudge people in poor countries an affordable car. Much like the hypocrisy of the dealers who have resisted Tata’s bid for Jaguar on the grounds that Indian ownership would erode the brand’s prestige. The sad fact is that the world has changed since Americans celebrated the egalitarian breakthrough of the Ford Model T. We know now that gas-driven automobiles do terrible damage to the environment, and the notion of loosing millions upon millions of new carbon emitters on our planet...

The automotive world is abuzz about what might be the next Model T Ford or Volkswagen Beetle—an entry-level sedan to be built in India by Tata Motors Ltd. for about $2,500. That would be about half the cost of the low­est-priced car now available in India—the bare-bones Maruti 800, which is essentially unchanged from its introduction in 1983. If Tata pulls this off, it would be one of the cheapest cars ever built, and it could have a huge impact not only on India’s growing car market but also all over the semideveloped world. Tata hopes to begin selling the...