The World’s Cheapest car, ‘Nano’ was launched in India by Tata Motors. The ex-showroom price is a little over USD 2500. Putting to rest all the doubts raised by officials of other car manufacturing companies operating in the Indian market when TATA Motors MD Ratan Tata had announced that his company is going to produce the common man’s car for Rupees One Lac, the car was recently unveiled to the public in an extravagant event in the Indian capital. He claims the car meets all safety standards and emission norms (emissions lower than a standard two-wheeler). Here are some of its highlights:
- Seats 4.
- Meets the International frontal and side impact crash tests.
- A little over 3 meters long and 1.5 meters wide (aptly named Nano I’d say).
- 623 cc twin-cylinder engine.
- Multi point fuel injection with 34 bhp on tap.
- Light weight to improve fuel efficiency.
- The base version (non-AC) will cost close to USD 2500. Higher air conditioned versions to cost more.
- The team has filed for 34 patents during the making of the car for the new technologies and ideas developed by it.
It all sounds good. But government officials have already begun contemplating the increase in traffic congestion in an already bursting on its seams Mumbai. With the low price tag bringing the car into the budgets of most middle and lower middle class families, the already crawling traffic could well come to a standstill. This should however not be an excuse to undermine the new car. It is up to the government to their job and improve the infrastructure of the financial capital of India and other metropolitan cities.
Another factor to be taken into consideration is the immense media hype around the launch. It is being touted as a hit even before it hits the roads. No one has driven it yet, no one knows how well it will perform on the roads, whether its suspension will be good enough to handle the pot-hole ridden roads, whether it will be comfortable enough to seat 4 etc etc. The frenzy reminds me of the excitement over an impending Harry Potter release, with people booking it long in advance or the way the iPhone was touted as the gadget of the century before it hit the markets. How the car actually performs on the road under harsh conditions is yet to be seen.
For the sake of the common man and the earnest effort put in by Ratan Tata and his team, I hope it does live up to its expectations and creates enough competition to force other car makers to slash prices. So while it is great news for Indians, I do hope the car makes its way into foreign markets as well.
Tags: Automobiles, Best Deals, General //
[...] mbjesq wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt The World’s Cheapest car, ‘Nano’ was launched in India by Tata Motors. The ex-showroom price is a little over USD 2500. Putting to rest all the doubts raised by officials of other car manufacturing companies operating in the Indian market when TATA Motors MD Ratan Tata had announced that his company is going to produce the common man’s car for Rupees One Lac, the car was recently unveiled to the public in an extravagant event in the Indian capital. He claims the car meets all safety standards a [...]
4 seats? In that tiny “car”? I don’t want a car like that. It’s like saying Chihuahua it’s a dog.
Those cars are for girls. Actually, Japanese girls.
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Chip » LOL. People with a small budget would have to be happy with a small car.
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