RE: Also -- how long do we think it'll take before Apple files a lawsuit over the name?

You're kidding right? I didn't know Apple was in the Automotive business? You idiot.

@aussie: They're not? Really? [gizmodo.com]

That isn't a bra - it's heat shrink tubing.

@aussie: in fact, they are in the Automotive Bussines... ask Jaguar... or VW...
But that's a different story.

This car looks quite decent for it's price!!!

Apple was sued by Nabisco over the "Newton" name and argued that people wouldn't be confused as there was little similarity between a $1000+ handheld computer and a box of cookies. Will the new and improved litigious Apple see a similarity between a handheld media player and a 3rd World deathtrap?

I love it. Seriously, it's great.

Especially the air intake on the rear door.... that needs Testarossa strakes on it, stat.

First person to import it to the UK and sell it for £3000 will make an absolute killing.

(which isn't necessarily an NCAP crash-test reference)

YAY!!
Affordable. (sole feature)
Finally something that moves BACK to the affordable range and away from all the momentum towards green&overly-stuffed-with-safety-features.

How fast does one need or can one go in very congested areas? Not very fast. So, you don't need more than basic motivation. This will be great for all those folks that CAN'T walk a block, etc. (though YOU might be healthy, cocky, and overly proud, not everyone is).

The car for the rest of us that see it as just basic A-to-B, no need for one-upping the Kumars, and can't afford to tow the green line.

so, now Dell's CSR's can carpool...

Tiny Tit. Anyone?

I think this is a lot better way to solve the problem of big cities, tahn the overprized Smart.
and Hi to everyone out there!

This is several kinds of awesome. What excites me most is awakening the Indian nation of pistonheads with the chance to reveal themselves through engine tuning, body alterations, and hoonage. How great were the million variations of the Bug in the 50s and 60s (and 70s)?

Concerning lawsuits, I think Volkswagen, "The People's Car", would be a more likely candidate than silly ol' Apple.

Hmmm. At that size, it's not so much a Tata Nano, more a Ta Na. Short name because there's no place to write it on the car.
Interesting development, though.

How long until Los Jalops hop on a plane to Banglapur to hoon one?

"Tubeless tyres further enhance safety"
You betcha!
I noticed that no mention of emissions was made - does this world polluter run on leaded gas?

I bet once you remove the bra, the front air dam drags on the ground.

That's not a bra, I think that is the "Economy Nano" or the actual $2500 car. Notice the white car has nicer wheels. I believe the white one costs more and has painted bumpers, where the red one has non-painted bumpers.

Just noticed, the white one also has a different colored roof and fog lights.

Wow, it's 1932 again, and Zundapp has created the 'Peoples'Car' also known as the 'Volkswagen'. Engine in the back.. check. Room for 4... check. Inexpensive enough for subsistence farmers... check again.

It's amazing how long lasting some basic Porsche automobile configurations really are. And they are coming back with the 'UP!' too.

Tata will not have succeeded, however, until we see a Nanomino.

*vomits*

I'm sorry, I love the idea of a People's Car for India but this thing is hideous and with Tata's legendary emphasis on safety and build quality (comparable to Britney's emphasis on childcare and sobriety), this shouldn't be the answer to getting the people of India of scooters.

It shouldn't be the answer, but I think it will be.

@goatrope: how was the flight back from sleepland? India banned leaded petrol ages ago...and i believe the Tata dude did mention NCAP certification for the car.
Its ugly yeah....but try producing better for $2500!

Huh ah huh, Boob

Could this be a 21st century Yugo? Buy a little freedom. Terminal ugly, but then for $2,500 you can't be too picky.

I wonder if it could blow off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge the way a Yugo did many years ago.

You have to ask yourself, Is this the kinda of car I could get killed in? Would you want it in the paper you were squished in on of those things? "It does appear the driver was wearing a seatbelt, but emergency workers did find the drivers head in the glove box, back to you Jane"

Hooray for black plastic bumpers! This is basically the Indian edition of the Citroen 2CV.

"Tata Motors also has an agreement with Fiat Auto to build a pick-up vehicle at Córdoba, Argentina."

Tata-amino?

I'd buy one if it came with a belly mower option and a PTO.

I love it and I want one. I will import a Tata to the US and apply a pastie to the top.

I seriously want one. It would be like a street legal go-kart.

Well at least it's got side scoops. I hope they take after their new aquisiton Astin Martin and release an S version. With NACA ducts.

I wonder if Tata's customer service will be based in the US. "Yo, thanks for callin' the Tatas support, my name is Mohinder, what do you want?"

"Your name isn't really Mohinder, it's probably Bob or Jim or something"

@ash78: You sir, owe me a new unburnt nose... That made my morning.

@ash78: I think it's cool. These would be great grocery getters in the city. I mean, whadya want for $2500? It's ugly? c'mon!

@ash78: haha good one.

i cant wait for the bollywood verion of the fast and the furious. loads of modded Nanos hoofing it about bombay and then Sinjg Diesel breaks into song and dance after winning the race and/or crashing and his Tata folding like a map.

@smokeydog001:Briliant

$2500? Sure, I'd buy it...would be a nice commuter car to work. Hell, you can't even buy a 250cc motorcycle for 2500 these days.

@Rust-MyEnemy: From everything I've read about this car, that rear air intake is probably functional somehow. There's a reason they are able to make it for only $2500-- absolutely everything that didn't need to be there is gone and anything that could be reworked has been.

that thing wants you DEAD.
if you hit a deer in tha Tata Nano, you'll have to ride the deer to work.

I read quite a while back that many prospective buyers for this are actually replacing 3-wheeled deathtraps (quite common in India). Based on that, the Tata is probably a big step up in cleanliness, efficiency, AND safety.

Bonus: The article focused on young, newly-professional Indian men who talked all about how women wouldn't talk to guys who drive 3-wheeled cars...but a 4-wheeler was different. It meant you had arrived.

Glad to see that trying to impress women with cars crosses all cultural boundaries.

I'm going to get one and put it in the back of my Suburban instead of the spare tire. Might keep a couple of cool ones in the fridge for summer time use.

Having spent some time in Mumbai, India, I can honestly say that this car will get absolutely decimated on the streets over there. They have, hands down, the most INSANE drivers on earth in that country. The lines on the road aren't even suggestions. I remember opening the door of one of those crazy cabs to projectile vomit on the streets after having about 10 too many Kingfisher beers there, and immediately being yanked back by my friend so as not to be decapitated.

It will, however, be interesting to see this car on Top Gear playing car soccer (I know, I know, "football").

The Good: Dang cheap to buy, and run.
The Bad: While the car has a top end of around 75mph, the wheel bearings take a real beating at anything over 45mph.

Of course, if you drive in India, going more then 45mph might just be a dream.

Personally, I'd love to see them for sale in the US. Currently shoping around for a car that gets good milage, and the cheapest new cars are over $13k. $2.5k will get me something 10 years old, and I think that the Nano will last just as long.

Better yet, What engine swap will be the first to be done to this? I'm betting a Hayabusa or GSXR swap is in order.

The Tata Nano may be tiny, ugly, and plastic; but at least it's a rear-driver.

SUV driver to passenger: Did you feel something ?
Passenger: Ya, I think it was a pothole
Driver: oh well..

@HoserDave: I bet the first engine swap will involve a three year old ox.

Why do I have a bad feeling that my dad's Dixie Chopper will smoke this thing in the quarter mile?

At least this will, when rebadged, make a better entry level Jaguar than the X-type.

Nanobusa! Hell yeah!

Come on, the Metro XFI would get 58MPG (US) with 49HP. And high 40's with the two more powerful engines (70HP and 55HP).

30HP won't sell in the US. The reason the 70HP metro was introduced was because consumers felt that 55HP was too low and were willing to forgo a couple of MPG for the 70HP.

I'd buy it. I just like more mileage, and the price is right.

Model T Ford, 2CV, Volkswagen, Fiat 2 cylinder, Honda 50, Datsun Pickup....Scoff away, Tata will make a bundle of cash on this, if it makes economic sense to the average guy on the street in India, Africa, South East Asia, Latin America, where ever. This is a huge market, and America is ignoring it, because we would rather sell a $2,500 stereo in a $30,000 car than actually fulfill a market need for people in the emerging world.

We have forgotten that cars are tools.

Keep on loving those SUV's guys, we'll be living in them soon enough.

Excellent pics!
There's nothing I like more than looking at a nice, perky set of Tatas.

I like the looks of them to be honest. They're good looking in an Aveo hatchback sort of way, except they have that cool scoop on the side. I'd love to see them do the total 2CV treatment to one: Fabric stretched over tube seats and a canvas roll-top. Yeah, we'll never see them here in the states, since they'd fold up like a cheap garment bag if given a love tap from an SUV. But kudos all the same. Yep, I'm gonna say it... Nice Tata's. (winces)

How do like it now?

I got a bad feeling about this......

The only use I see for one of these in the States is as a replacement to the golf carts used in retirement villages. All they need to do is add a golfbag adapter to the rear, and they have found their market. Cheaper than a tarted-up golf cart to boot!!!!

I feel a disturbance in the force...

People who take out microloans still have their dignity, for chrissake. I've built prettier minicars out of PipeWorks.

That aside, I hear they used instant mashed potato models instead of clay to save cash.

So lets say a nice lady has two Tata's (his and hers er whatever) and you pass by and tell her you like her Tata's...will you get slapped or thanked?

@wishnevsky: nicely put, sir.