The Worlds Cheapest Car: Tata Nano

February 25, 2008 by Nicholas | 4 Comments
In Automotive

The best strategy isn’t always selling the most expensive car, but why not aim for the cheapest? The Tata Nano strives to become the world’s cheapest car.

Wheels:

Over the past year, Tata has been building hype for a car that would cost a mere 100,000 rupees (roughly $2,500) and bring automotive transportation to the mainstream Indian population. It has been nicknamed the “People’s Car.” Over the course of the New Delhi Auto Expo, which began this week, anticipation had grown to fever pitch.

With the theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” playing, Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors drove the small white bubble car onto Tata’s show stage, where it joined two others.

The four-door Nano is a little over 10 feet long and nearly 5 feet wide. It is powered by a 623cc two-cylinder engine at the back of the car. With 33 horsepower, the Nano is capable of 65 miles an hour. Its four small wheels are at the absolute corners of the car to improve handling. There is a small trunk, big enough for a duffel bag.

Photo by Telegraph.co.uk

Comments

IdeaLog on February 25th, 2008 at 11:05 am

And what about safety?
John on February 25th, 2008 at 3:35 pm

Yeah but cheap leaves out some stuff most of us might deem necessary. Check out the downside:
http://www.eyesonliving.com/2008/01/10/tata-motors-nano-worlds-cheapest-car/
Dane on February 25th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

These aren’t really downsides:

But here are some more specifics before you decide… It has one windshield wiper, and for instruments there is a speedometer, odometer, and fuel gauge.

To further save costs, it makes extensive use of plastic, with no safety-beam reinforcements, no antilock brakes, and no airbags. It also has no radio, power steering, AC, or emissions control.

I know plenty of people who drive cars without these features.
John on February 27th, 2008 at 8:26 am

@Dane

True, but if you read on, things like “wheel bearings wearing out at speeds over 45mph” might not be desirable.

Also, I’ve driven cars without many of these features, in fact some of them didn’t used to be available.

However, these days people are used to things like anti-lock brakes, and discovering the difference in not having them while in a slide on a wet road might create the makings of a accident.

In the end I note that at its price, the Nano may offer cheap, even almost disposable transportation.

The real issue is folks need to understand the good and bad of what their buying.

The Nano isn’t just a cheap version of what most people drive, it’s a very different car. In fact its not all that easy anymore to find a good motorcycle at that price.