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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 »
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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 »
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Try this on for size: Between the wars, at its pinnacle in the 20th century, Britain exerted dominion over almost half a billion people. Yes, yes, it would all go completely to crap in less than 50 years and leave us associating the UK with the likes of the Spice Girls, Simon Cowell and Amy Winehouse. Imperialists all, in their own ways, but not exactly the same thing. Anyway, the sheer global vastness of the Pax Britannica is not something that exits collectively memory all that quickly, even as the land of King Arthur and Winston Churchill sheds assets like they were going out of style. We hinted at this development in our Question Of The Day, which focused on increasingly mighty Tata Motors and the matter of whom they should next acquire, after Jaguar and Land Rover. Which of course brings us to the realignment of power and influence that's currently afoot, and to our COTD. More »
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While many decided yesterday to report "officially" that Ford was shaking Jaguar and Land Rover free to the Indian subcontinent for $2.6 billion we knew it was prudent to wait and report it as merely rumor because that number just didn't sound right. That's because here at Jalopnik, we "get" the US auto industry and we knew that when an 'merican automaker (German automakers too — that's right Daimler, we're looking straight at you) spends billions of dollars to bring a brand back to solvency, you expect a sale price to in no way reflect that. Ford didn't disappoint. You see, the sale's actually for $2.3 billion — $300-some-odd million less than yesterday's "whisper number." But wait, there's more. In addition to the cash transaction with Tata Motors, they'll also inject a hot $600 million capital infusion into the pension plans of the two brands. You know, because they haven't already sent enough money into the black hole that was Ford's PAG. Full press release after the jump. More »
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The version of "America's Business Channel" spiced with a taste of Asia is reporting Tata's close to finalizing a deal with Ford for Jaguar and Land Rover we've been reporting on for what seems like forever. A Tata Group spokesman said discussions were still going on and the company had no guidance to give reporters on the deal, but a variety of sources are now claiming signatures could be put on paper as early as tomorrow on a deal we're hearing to be less than $2.65 billion. Ratan Tata, the founder and CEO of Tata Motors, is reportedly so excited, he's tried to shake a set of Jaguars. Hmm, that isn't quite as funny. More »
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Despite the ongoing shenanigans between Ford and TATA over the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, there are whispers emerging about the possible revival of the venerable Jaguar E-Type. Australia's Courier Mail is reporting Jag honchos are considering the revival of what many consider the most beautiful production car to have ever been built. This news has us torn. While we absolutely love the E-Type, so much so that it holds a position in the Jalopnik Fantasy Garage, we think on Jags history of reviving legendary marques and wonder if this is this a good idea. More »
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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]

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After 14 years worth of research, design and testing, former Formula 1 driver Guy Negre has done what I did back in 7th grade — make an air-powered car. Okay, my air car was a little less complex than this design, but it got third place in the shop class race off and had flames on its tiny, 8-inch long chassis. Now, Indian manufacturer, Tata Motors, yes, the same company that just brought you the cheap-ass Nano a few hours ago, is backing a car powered by compressed air. More »
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After months of rumors and tantalizing leaks — and as we first told you earlier this week — Indian automaker Tata Motors has finally unveiled the Tata Nano — its already legendary $2,500 (1-lakh)car. As expected, the car that Tata claims will change the face of not only the Indian car market, but the global auto industry will be a four door, five seat hatch, powered by a 30 HP Bosch 624 cc four stroke engine mounted out back and mated to a CVT. That makes the Nano the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft. The Nano's also expected to get 54 US miles per gallon. Yes, but will it blend? Full press release after the jump with all the details. By the way — are we the only ones happy to see a Tata Nano sporting what looks like a bra above? Also — how long do we think it'll take before Apple files a lawsuit over the name? Update: We've got video of the unveil posted HERE
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Tata Motors will finally be showing off the long awaited $2500 automobile on Thursday. We've been throwing digital column space at it since August and now we'll get to see the new people's car. So what can we expect from a car that would make Henry Ford proud? Well, to borrow a phrase, everything you need, nothing you don't. The ass-engined Indian slot car is rumored to be a four door hatch with seating for five and a rounded jellybean shape. Expect power nothing and maybe a Bosch supplied 600-ish cc motor attached to a CVT. Also to be expected - YouTube videos of Indians doing choreographed auto fighting with them as soon as they hit the market.[Internation Herald Tribune] More »
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Confirming what we already knew about the Ford Jaguar Tata Land Rover Deal, Ford announced that it was in talks with Tata considering the sale of those brands. The statement came from Lewis Booth, Chairman of Ford of Europe and the Premier Automotive Group (Land Rover/Jaguar/Volvo), which will soon only include Volvo. So is that like negotiating your own demotion? Full statement below the jump. More »
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Though there are reports that Tata will announce winning the bid for Jaguar and Land Rover today, we tend to believe those that say the company is merely going to get "preferred-bidder status," meaning that Tata will get the bid unless negotiations falter. Also, it's kind of a big story so unless Ford is trying to bury the news we'd think they'd announce the deal in the new year. More »
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As if we couldn't get more excited about the Delhi Auto Show, the $2,500 Tata will be on display for the first time. The car will have four doors, a rear-mounted engine and probably not much in the way of safety features (they'll save all of those for Jaguar). The automaker will also offer a version with more features, such as a roof and steering wheel. More »
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It looks like Ford's premium brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, will end up in the hands of a company rabidly trying to both seal a deal to boost national pride as well as to develop and promote a $2,500 car. Ford Motor Co. is expected to announce this week that Tata Motors is the preferred bidder for the two companies. A final deal is anticipated in early 2008, with Tata expected to pay around $2 billion to acquire both companies. Now there's just one final question: should the $2,500 car be a Rover or a Jag? [Reuters] More »
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In a move likely to send jillions of Hindustan Ambassadors edging that much closer to the cruel jaws of The Crusher, Tata Motors of India has announced its plans to build a "1-Lakh Car" for the masses (a Lakh is 100,000 rupees, roughly equivalent to 2,500 US dollars). Other than announcing the price, Tata is playing its cards close to its chest about the details, but we can assume that such features as air conditioning, airbags, and maybe even brakes, will not be available. We'd still rather have a 700,000-mile Amby, thank you.[Washington Post] More »
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