Tata Nano: $4,000 New Car Coming To The US in 3 Years!

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Yes, the world's cheapest car, the Tata Nano is planned to be released in the US market in 2012. In India, it starts out at around $2200, but the US version will be around $4,000 due to the safety Nazis, and Green Nazis mucking it up. It has a rear mounted flat twin engine of 620cc's that makes about 33 hp. EVERYTHING is optional on it, and it comes with not so much as a heater in the cheapest Indian market version, but the US version will likely come with some luxuries standard. While we may not think of buying a car that stripped in the US market, it is important to note that in India it is priced to compete with small motorcycles like the Honda Super Cub. Remember that they sometimes put a family of 4 on the back of these 50cc bikes, so the Nano is a real luxury to these people. As for me, yes. I would DEFINITELY buy a Nano for $4,000. I like city cars if they are cheap, and this one certainly qualifies.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/03/24/stories/2009032452000200.htm

Official site (In English, not Sanskrit!)
http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/

Interior:

 

[outsider_27]

Who would have thought they could make a car I would want less than the smart car? :lol:

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Well, considering that this is 1/4 the price of a Smart Fortwo, has a better transmission, and can carry more passengers, I think it is better.

 

[dogsht]

It will carry more passengers as long as its not up hill. :lol: I like the ones you put on here several months ago that had Hyabusa engines in them. Now thats my idea of an around town car. 8)

 

[2000.malibu.ls]

thats a canvas to work with... lol... id like to see what you could do on a budget with that car lol.

 

[outsider_27]

Well, considering that this is 1/4 the price of a Smart Fortwo, has a better transmission, and can carry more passengers, I think it is better.

Just because it has a back seat doesn't mean you can carry passengers. And it is a cheap car, has to be made cheap. I think it will look worse than a smart car after a crash, sorry, not impressed.

 

[1evilregal]

looks like a two-toned coffin to me..... :?

 

[Anonymous]

no chances against ....anycar but the fit

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It has more interior room than a 1985 Chevy Sprint, which is the next cheapest car sold in the Indian market. It is sold there as the Maruti Alto.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I will also say that the Nano is an amazing engineering achievement. Yes, it looks like a misshapen Easter egg, but think about the design parameters that had to be met. It has to be very inexpensive to produce and operate as well as reliable and simple enough that a rural Indian peasant can maintain it themselves. On top of this, it had to seat 4 people. Very few other cars have ever been designed with those things as their main objectives. Among them would be the Ford Model T, VW Beetle, Citroen 2CV, Zaprozhetz 965 and the original Mini. Of them, this is probably closest to the 2CV in terms of design and application. Yes, the 2CV is ugly too, maybe even uglier than the Nano. However, it came with a similar engine configuration and was designed for rural peasants to be able to own a very inexpensive and rugged car. It also represented several technological innovations that had not been seen before, especially in the suspension.

I dunno, maybe I'm nuts, but very cheap cars have always fascinated me. I guess it is seeing how the engineers solved the problems associated with keeping costs down and quality up that I find most interesting. Anyone can build a good car, or a fast car, but not everyone can make a good cheap car. It is, by far, one of the toughest engineering challenges facing an automaker. Then again, I also love very bad cars. It's not that I like garbage, it's that I like to figure out why they are bad and how they could have been good.