http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png http://jalopnik.com/tag/nano http://jalopnik.com/tag/nano

Like lots of car guys, I have a very specific weakness for one particular class of automobile. For many, that weakness is for fast, powerful, luxurious, high-end exotics; for me, as a side effect of a condition known medically as "being a bit of a moron," it's cars at the extreme low end of the spectrum. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5872894&view=rss&microfeed=true

Remember when the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest production car, was going to conquer the world like an Indian Model T? Tata's now built a gold-encrusted Nano worth $4.6 million as a publicity stunt. I don't recall Henry Ford needing to do that. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5842091&view=rss&microfeed=true Indian car magnate Rajan Tata says instead of shipping the $2,000 Nano to the United States, he'll design a U.S. model that will likely cost between $7,000 and $8,000. Watch out, sellers of used PT Cruisers. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5782651&view=rss&microfeed=true

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama got a private review of the Tata Nano while in India, with Mrs. Obama reportedly sitting behind the wheel. Checking out the competition? H/T to Yash! (Photo Credit: AP) [Economic Times] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5686318&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Tata Nano's cheap, tiny, slow, has only low-speed crash protection, occasionally bursts into flames, and now they've cut the roof off and made convertibles. Two exactly. Both designed to ferry passengers on plant tours. Terrifying. (H/T to vavon205) [Wheelosphere] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5562791&view=rss&microfeed=true

The $2,500 Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world, but as Avinash Rajagopal of Change Observer tells us, its low price tag may irreparably damage Indian society. — Ed. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5539217&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Tata Nano, the cheapest car in the world, is awash in bad press after four brand-new cars have caught fire in India. Is Tata about to become the Indian Toyota? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5498986&view=rss&microfeed=true

Because the Chevy Aveo RS is moving upscale, cheap Americans will need new crap cars to waste their pointless lives in. Crap cars like the Tata Nano, which may end up here in 2013. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5442836&view=rss&microfeed=true

The race to the bottom of the market continues as Nissan-Renault boss Carlos Ghosn announced plans for an ultra-cheap micro-car to undercut the current low-cost leading Tata Nano. Wonder if they've considered resin-impregnated cotton fiber for the body, duroplast-Trabant-style? [FinancialTimes] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5401296&view=rss&microfeed=true

We're convinced BusinessWeek intentionally created its "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years" list to offend Jalopnik reader sensibilities as much as possible. We've pulled out ten cars that simply have no place on this list. Two-minutes hate ahead. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5396274&view=rss&microfeed=true

Science writer Alexis Madrigal put together an analysis showing we have more power in our garage than in our power plants. The data is interesting but the conclusions are fantastically wrong. Having more power is a good, nay, awesome thing. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5340954&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Tata Nano is only $2,500. Good price, right? Well, now we know the catch: the key is nearly as big as the car itself! More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5324545&view=rss&microfeed=true

The $2,500 Tata Nano has passed European front and side impact crash tests, an important step in expanding sales of the tiny Indian city car to Europe and, possibly, North America. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5315440&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world at under $2,000 — before options. If you want solid paint you'll need to fork over more rupees. Full price list below. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5192084&view=rss&microfeed=true

Since orders for the Tata Nano officially started being taken Monday, independent reviews are also beginning to roll out. The verdict? "Feels just like a car." More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5183706&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Tata Nano, the sub-$2,000 world's cheapest car, is being considered for sale in the United States in 2011 and 2012. Tata believes our economy is so bad we'll buy their cute death traps. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5182270&view=rss&microfeed=true

Pre-orders are officially being taken today for the Tata Nano in India at an MSRP of 100,000 rupees (just under $2,000). That makes the Nano officially the cheapest automobile in the world. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5180290&view=rss&microfeed=true

The tiny and fascinating Tata Nano will supposedly go on sale at the end of this month in India, but this didn't stop CEO Ratan Tata from previewing an "upscale" model for the European market. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5164155&view=rss&microfeed=true

Just more than a year ago the Tata Nano was unveiled to the world and following farmer revolts, wildly fluctuating material prices and the Carpocalypse, Tata is claiming the car will finally launch March 23rd. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5160827&view=rss&microfeed=true

Tata Motors parent company, Tata Group, owns the Taj Mahal Hotel at the center of the deadly attacks in Mumbai ending this morning. News the same company producing 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 was not enough to stop given what he claims were a series of well-planned, well-organized attacks. Ratan Tata, in the same interview with Fareed Zakeria, went on to criticize the preparedness of the Indian officials. Which is interesting seeing as the hotel had returned to a normal level of security shortly before this week's terror attacks. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5100036&view=rss&microfeed=true

Amateur spy shooters in the right place at the right time snagged these great photos of the Tata Nano undergoing testing — revealing the interior for the first time since the Geneva show. The micro-sized $2,500 "people's car" being championed by Indian industrial giant Ratan Tata faces an uphill battle after its nearly completed West Bengal factory was shuttered as a result of farmer protests stemming from disagreements surrounding compensation for land the factory was built on. Despite the temporary setback, work continues and rumor has it the company is set to launch base models coming from the automaker's existing Pune and Pantnagar plants on Ratan Tata's 71st birthday — December 28th. So far these rumors remain unconfirmed, however company officials state they are exploring the possibility of production at other facilities. We'll just have to keep an ear to the ground. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5069179&view=rss&microfeed=true

Recent developments have put into serious jeopardy Indian automaker Tata's attempt to build the world's cheapest production car, the Tata Nano. Reuters reports today the most serious roadblock to building the car since the Nano was first unveiled back in January. According to the wire service, Tata has now abandoned their attempt to build the Nano factory in the West Bengal state of India. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5059096&view=rss&microfeed=true

Escalating material costs aren't the only thing standing in the way of the $2,500 Tata Nano. Increasingly violent protests from farmers surrounding the rising Nano factory have forced Tata to put an indefinite hold on the progress. The farmers' beef comes from their assertion they were unfairly compensated for their land when Tata moved into the area of West Bengal. At this point, Tata is considering all options, including picking everything up and moving. This, of course, would be an expensive prospect, driving costs up on the microcar. At this point, we don't care what it takes, but we need a Nano stat, complete with mid-mounted Hayabusa mill. [CTVNews] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5044952&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Indian Transport Ministry estimates that the number of fatalities from road accidents could climb 50% to 150,000 a year by 2015 due to the rapid growth of vehicle ownership in the country. The World Bank estimates that at current levels (100,000 per year), India’s mortality rate is 14 for every 10,000 vehicles — seven times that of the developed world. Annual passenger vehicle sales in India are expected to reach two million units by 2010, double the current number, largely thanks to the massive increase in the number of affordable vehicles. The Tata Nano — at $2,500, the world’s cheapest new car — will make up a quarter of that increase alone; 250,000 of them will be built per year. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5043189&view=rss&microfeed=true

The Economic Times of India is reporting Tata has teamed up with German engineering firm FEV (who's also developing the hybrid system on the Mahindra Scorpio) to bring an 800 cc, turbocharged, two-cylinder diesel to the engine bay of the Tata Nano. Already blessed with a $2500 price tag and rumored to have a compressed air engine on the way, the story of the Nano just keeps getting more and more interesting. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=399194&view=rss&microfeed=true

Buried in a New York Times article on "Low-Carbon Chic" (vomit) comes confirmation the Tata Nano, the $2500 (or maybe a bit more) mini-car will offer a MDI compressed air engine as an option. Tata has been backing MDI for a while now, and off-the-cuff we mused at the idea of the compressed air engine option in a Nano months ago. Given the novelty of the engine, it was more a dismissal than speculation. Well, we guess it turns out we were right. Remember after the Tata Nano was unveiled, how all the enviro-dweebs whined incessantly about how the huge swath of new little cars on India's streets would contribute bajillions of tons of carbon dioxide to the environment? Well, maybe they'll be eating some crow because $3 worth of electricity will probably fill a tank for a 125 mile trip. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=398180&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ratan Tata wowed the world when he revealed his company's Tata Nano, the miniscule two-cylinder, four-door runabout designed to go to market with an equally tiny $2,500 price tag. Now, due to pressures from rising commodity prices, Tata may be in jeopardy of missing that now famous 1-lakh goal. Steel prices have jumped 30% since the car's initial unveil in January, while the cost of plastics, silicon and fuel oil have risen as well. So what's next for the bottom line? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=398080&view=rss&microfeed=true

Okay, sooner or later Tata is going to have to stop making headlines, 'cause we're really, really trying to cut back on the innuendo. But today we get news that Tata is considering purchasing the brand GM may be trying to shed, Hummer. And even with our newfound restraint, we have to admit we had a mild aneurysm at the innuendo potential. Nobody from either the GM or Tata side is willing to make a comment on the possible sale, but word is that GM is shopping the brand around to the Indian mega-conglomerate. This makes us wonder, how does Tata greenwash itself when it builds a tiiiiiiny car, and a giant, gas-guzzling SUV? Well, we're sure they'll figure it out — Hummer tatas! [India Times] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=395335&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ever since the Tata Nano set the world ablaze with the promise of the $2,500 car, we've been anxious to see one actually driving around. Alas, courtesy of a couple of dudes with a camera we now have the video of the half-pint people mover actually moving people. And unlike those fancy American cars, there's no need for serious camo on the Tata Nano when testing, as that would drive the price of the car up to $2,501. Check out the jumpy, blotchy video above. [YouTube via TopSpeed] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=395206&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ratan Tata and his eponymous company sent the automotive world buzzing with news of their $2,500 car, the lilliputian Nano. At the time, we reported that Bajaj Auto, which is partnered with Renault-Nissan, was going to announce a $3,000 car. Turns out the companies have found a way to cut $500 off the price to create a $2,500 competitor. To make this car the three companies are creating a new company with ownership split between Renault (25%), Nissan (25%) and Bajaj Auto (50%). No name on the car other than the codename "ULC" which we can only guess stands for "Uncomfortable, Little and Cheap." The car is to be sold in India in early 2011 as the primary market. Press release below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=389452&view=rss&microfeed=true

The race to the bottom continues as Bengal Enamel's Tara International will be teaming with Chinese company Aucma to produce a sub-sub-1-lakh car called the Tara Tiny. Yes, the little-known company seeks to lakh-block the Tata Nano by building a range of electric powered two- and four-seat cars starting at a rock bottom price of 99,000 Indian Rupees, 999 Rupees less than the price media outlets originally reported. With a grand total of 35 moving parts and a range of 100 km, the Tiny should be an urban drivers dream come true — low maintenance costs, eight hour recharge time via a 250 V outlet, and no need for costly speeding tickets (it only goes about 30 mph). More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=368582&view=rss&microfeed=true

"Technology, the new life-force." That's what Tata Motors says. We had no idea. We kinda miss the old life-force — you know — life? Whatever. One thing this video played this morning at the Nano reveal can give you, is a feel for just how important the automaker from India sees themselves. But who can blame them, what with all the magazine cover stories and the comparisons of the Tata Nano to the Ford Model T. Of course, the Model T was a replacement for horses, while the Nano is a replacement for the iPod Mini toy cars scooters. We're not sure if we'd actually want to own one, but from a product standpoint, it's hard not to admire the little $2500 wonder. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=363548&view=rss&microfeed=true

Ratan Tata, the Henry Ford of Mumbai, just revealed his dreamwork here, the Tata Nano, to a European audience here at the Geneva Auto Show that may never get to drive one. The micromini — which, in person, appears to be two scooters sheathed inside an extra-large Maytag dryer — is for now just for emerging markets where safety regulations are far less stringent. The price is 100,000 rupees, which is a mere $2,500. That's cheaper than some scooters, and you only get one! Nonetheless, Tata says he's repaying Geneva for its hospitality 11 years ago when he was a paltry millionaire and his car company was just a fledgling. Now there are four million Tatas on the road, and soon to be many millions more of this microbox. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=363463&view=rss&microfeed=true

Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina fame has dreamed up a new type of windshield that implements some damn hi-tech solutions to the problem of rain automotive glass. Fioravanti must not be familiar with the adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," because he definitely has tried to do away with windshield wipers. This rad new design, perhaps dreamed up while high, use aerodynamics and four fancy layers to keep rain, dirt and other elements from obstructing your view. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=360561&view=rss&microfeed=true

We heard about the Tata backed and French developed Air Car back in January and are intrigued by the brilliantly simple concept. It seems the Beeb has caught wind of it too and recently ran the coverage you see above. The numbers on it are pretty exciting for something running like an air compressor with its valves reversed. A top speed of 110 km/h and a range of 200 km makes it seem almost useful. Predictions on production dates are to be taken with a grain of salt, but claims of the end of the year are bandied about. Wonder if it will be an available option on the Tata Nano? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=356080&view=rss&microfeed=true

Tata recently came out with its latest light truck offering for the South African Market, the Xenon. Compact pickups in South Africa are called bakkies, a term we think is the bees knees, and this one is Tata's second bakkie for that market. The Xenon rides on a double wishbone front suspension with a solid axle and leaf spring setup in the back. Shift-on-the-fly all wheel wheel drive can be accomplished up to 65 kph by way of a knob on the dash - four wheel low has to be engaged at a stand still. The truck has only one power option, a 3 liter four cylinder turbo diesel with direct injection good for 114 hp and 220 lb.ft. of torque routed through a 5 speed manual. All that is well and good, but the tubular bumpers and roll over bars are the real winners here. When and why did that go out of style?
More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=348822&view=rss&microfeed=true

That $2,500 Tata Nano jobber has been all over the news as of late. There was no word if this marvel of engineering would ever make it to the good old United States. Rest assured, Tata is one step closer to getting something over here, following a recent announcement of a partnership with Chrysler. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=348689&view=rss&microfeed=true

For some strange reason, Belema West, apparent President of the GrassRoots Peace Ambassadors Forum, sent us a request for 300 of the budget-friendly Tata Nano mini-cars revealed mere weeks ago. You read that right, 300. That's $750,000 worth of Tatas. The substantial fleet of small cars would be used to shuttle Nigerian civil servants around the Niger Delta region doing whatever it is that peace ambassadors in that dangerous area do these days. Unfortunately, because of production restrictions, we will require some funding to start the process. A total of $75,000, or only 10 percent, will be needed to help transfer material to the production line. If this is done, we will provide a substantial discount and expedite the order. A copy of the email has been provided below as record. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=348453&view=rss&microfeed=true In today's Fast lane Daily, Derek D recaps the unveil of the Tata Nano, Nissan's new GT-R GT500, and dishes some gossip about Cerberus possibly forcing the demise of the Dodge Viper. Then we switch over to some nice video footage from Garage419.com showing off the baddest M6 we've ever seen. A full tube frame, all carbon fiber body, and a Daytona series E39 M5 engine combine to form Voltron a really kick ass track star. We apologize for the woeful lack of cowbell. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=343980&view=rss&microfeed=true

As Jalopnik's Tata Nano day draws to a close, it's worth noting the lag on the Nano mini-site has dropped and you can go right to the corporate site to check out the content there. Even though the site is as lean and mean as the car it's promoting, it has a fair amount of interesting content (US, German, Japanese Automakers take note). The site has everything; a pimp build your own Nano feature, a blog, notes about the development, wallpapers, forums... heck, it's very possible that Tata understands the whims of the web far better than the global automakers do. We've taken the liberty of prepimping some Nano's for you, and the snazzy wallpapers are down in the gallery. [Tatapeoplescar.com]

More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=343483&view=rss&microfeed=true