Autocar India has snagged the first drive and despite several backhanded compliments, the verdict is quite positive — for the price. The reviewers seem amazed the car is able to drive down the road and not feel like it's going to roll over at any moment. Sort of like Sarah Palin in Vice Presidential debates, if you set the bar so low you're only expecting to see a human being able to put a three-word sentence together, you can't not clear it. Thus, the reviews are filled with notes galore on the tiny wheels, flat seats, and comparisons to the Model T.

We're working to get Tata to agree to ship us one for a battery of tests including, but not limited to LeMons pit car duty, a RallyAmerica stage or three, clocking quarter mile times at Milan Dragway and reenacting our favorite Bollywood chase sequences. [AutoCar India, Youtube]

The on-road price will be a little bit higher, probably around $2,400, once you factor in excise duty, education fees and road tax, along with transportation cost, local taxes, insurance and registration fees and "a lifetime parking fee" (applicable in some locations).

The five seat basic model will be powered by a 624cc gasoline engine and does away with superfluous items like airbags but can be be optioned up, it will also launch in Europe with a slightly larger, more luxurious model in 2011. The car is launching into one of the strangest sales markets ever faced, with pent up demand for the car at a fevered pitch in India, but an overall depressed auto industry. Tata is not expected to be able to meet demand for the "1 lakh car" after being forced to used an alternate production site when its West Bengal factory faced violent protests from rural farmers.

Tata is not expected to start making a profit on the car for at least three years, depending on sales rates, but they have certainly redefined the meaning of basic transportation. Further innovation is still a possibility, with a diesel engine in the works and a hugely interesting compressed air engine licensed from MDI. We're doing our best to get one to fit a couple big pulse-jet engines. [BBC]

According to Tata, production will launch from two existing plants and deliver about 3,000 cars a month to dealerships throughout India. The alternate production facilities were necessary following at-times violent protests from rural West Bengal farmers who believed they're been unfairly compensated for their land. The volume for the cars is low considering the outrageous demand for the little cars, but production will ramp up by the end of the year, when the new permanent Nano plant in Gujarat is completed and opened for business.

In additional news, because of the nonsensical strengthening of the US dollar, the previously $2,500 Nano has dropped in price below $2,000, though in India it will still start at 1 lakh, or 100,000 rupees. Now you can buy one for each day of the work week for about the same money as the Hyundai Accent. [AN Sub. Req.]

Early last month we'd heard Tata put to halt construction on the Nano factory in West Bengal due to increasingly violent protests from farmers surrounding the site. Now, today's news that the company will abandon said site brings into question whether they'll be able to find a suitable location to build the micro-car. The company's chairman, Ratan Tata, said Friday the company had not yet decided where it would build the car but that offers of sites from three or four other states were being evaluated.

While that's troubling in and of itself, there also appears to be some confusion on the price tag of the little car. In today's report, Reuters claims the car will now only cost $2,130 — contradicting the price of $2,500 (or higher, thanks to rising material costs) we've been hearing since it was first unveiled in January. We're not quite sure where they're coming from with this price tag, but if it's something Ratan Tata is tossing out as the price, we can't help but think it's an attempt by the automaker to continue to increase buzz around the product to drive up desire on the part of other states to buy into locating his factory there. More likely it's just Reuters getting the number slightly wrong.

But, all of this is drawing into question whether we'll ever see the car, already announced to have hit the streets before the end of the year. We're thinking more than likely they will, but we're interested in knowing what you think. So, will Tata ever build the Nano?

News of a diesel option isn't really that earth shattering, as Ratan Tata, the man himself, has been quoted saying, "By and large we've always been a diesel company, so we will have a diesel version that will follow." This new diesel variant would be the smallest and most fuel-efficient offering in the Indian marketplace. Not only that, but the 0.8-liter mill dwarfs the standard 623 cc gas engine, and would probably make the Nano D the standout performance leader in the range — though more than likely the priciest offering as well. Is there something wrong with us if we really, really want three Nanos with different powerplants so we can race down the main drag, Shriner-style? [Economic Time]

It's not only a problem for Tata; across the board, material prices are gutting once-profitable programs. Imagine drawing up designs three years ago and projecting material parts budgets (which can often be up to 70% of the part price), only to have the most expensive element of the part jump in price by 40%. That's the kind of thing which blows engineering budgets. Tata is working with its suppliers and partners to determine what the pricing adjustments will look like (when an automaker says that, they mean lower price for them to buy supplies from suppliers, which also means less profit for the supplier), but it's clear they are trying to remain as close as possible to that original $2,500 target.

Jalopnik Snap Judgement: We'll still take three, with the racing stripes, as long as matte-black paint and rear-window shotgun holders are available options. [Automotive News Submission Req.]

Bajaj Auto and the Renault-Nissan Alliance to build the car code- named ULC with wholesale price range starting from 2500 USD

PARIS/PUNE/TOKYO (May 12, 2008) - Mr. Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj and Mr.
Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO of Renault and President and CEO of Nissan, today
announced they will form a joint-venture company to develop, produce and market the car
code-named ULC with a wholesale price range starting from 2500 USD . The new joint-venture
company will be 50% owned by Bajaj Auto, 25% by Renault and 25% by Nissan.

Targeting the growing Indian new vehicle market, this ULC will be made at an all-new plant to be
constructed in Chakan (Maharashtra state) in India. Initial planned capacity will be 400,000 units
per year. Sales will start in early 2011 in India, as a primary market, with growth potential in other
emerging markets around the world.

The feasibility has already extended into Joint Product Development and the project is on line to
meet targeted performance & cost.

[Source: Renault]

The best — or worst — part of this story is the Tara Tiny is being considered for export to the US. You know, cause we need even slower cars in the fast lane clogging up the works. Judging from these images of the car which makes the jokes come both small and easy, the Tiny will corner the market for families looking to haul their tired kids around (har har har). (Hat tip to Dhiram!) [NewLaunches]

Tata Motors unveils the People's Car

A comfortable, safe, all-weather car, high on fuel efficiency & low on emissions

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata 'NANO', the People's Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People's Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People's Car will be launched in India later in 2008.

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility."

Stylish, comfortable
The People's Car, designed with a family in mind, has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. It can comfortably seat four persons. Four doors with high seating position make ingress and egress easy.

Yet with a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres, with adequate ground clearance, it can effortlessly manoeuvre on busy roads in cities as well as in rural areas. Its mono-volume design, with wheels at the corners and the powertrain at the rear, enables it to uniquely combine both space and manoeuvrability, which will set a new benchmark among small cars.

When launched, the car will be available in both standard and deluxe versions. Both versions will offer a wide range of body colours, and other accessories so that the car can be customised to an individual's preferences.

Fuel-efficient engine
The People's Car has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft. The lean design strategy has helped minimise weight, which helps maximise performance per unit of energy consumed and delivers high fuel efficiency. Performance is controlled by a specially designed electronic engine management system.

Meets all safety requirements
The People's Car's safety performance exceeds current regulatory requirements. With an all sheet-metal body, it has a strong passenger compartment, with safety features such as crumple zones, intrusion-resistant doors, seat belts, strong seats and anchorages, and the rear tailgate glass bonded to the body. Tubeless tyres further enhance safety.

Environment-friendly
The People's Car's tailpipe emission performance exceeds regulatory requirements. In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-wheelers being manufactured in India today. The high fuel efficiency also ensures that the car has low carbon dioxide emissions, thereby providing the twin benefits of an affordable transportation solution with a low carbon footprint.
(For more information: www.tatapeoplescar.com )

About Tata Motors
Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of US $ 7.2 billion in 2006-2007. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles. It is also the world's fifth largest medium and heavy truck manufacturer and the second largest heavy bus manufacturer. Tata cars, buses and trucks are being marketed in several countries in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South East Asia and South America. Tata Motors and Fiat Auto have formed an industrial joint venture in India to manufacture passenger cars, engines and transmissions for the Indian and overseas markets; Tata Motors also has an agreement with Fiat Auto to build a pick-up vehicle at Córdoba, Argentina. The company already distributes Fiat branded cars in India. Tata Motors' international footprint includes Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co. Ltd. in South Korea; Hispano Carrocera, a bus and coach manufacturer of Spain in which the company has a 21% stake; a joint venture with Marcopolo, the Brazil-based body-builder of buses and coaches; and a joint venture with Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Company of Thailand to manufacture and market pick-up vehicles in Thailand. Tata Motors has research centres in India, the U.K., and in its subsidiary and associate companies in South Korea and Spain.

(For free broadcast-standard and streaming quality video content about Tata Motors, please log onto www.thenewsmarket.com/tatamotors. You can preview and request broadcast-standard video which will be delivered digitally or by tape. Registration and video is free to the media.)

- Ends -

Mohanty counters critics by saying that, though the country needs to invest in green solutions and mass transit, destroying a cheap car by taxing it to death will only rob the country of the mobility it needs until a larger solution can be met. He also makes the point that there's a large part of the car market that might move up to larger, more polluting cars if they can afford them. What do you think? Is the $2,500 car for India a good idea? Do you want to wait to actually see the car?

Responding to criticism from some that the 250,000 to 500,000 cars they plan to sell each year will clog up roads and pollute the environment, CEO Ratan Tata has said the car will be the least polluting vehicle on the road (less polluting than a bike?). There are many questions still unanswered, including how long it'll take to stick a Hayabusa mill in one.