The Little Nano That Shouldn't?
“Nano” was the greeting from the beloved TV alien Mork from planet Ork. It’s also the name of the $2,050 car just introduced into the market by Tata Motors of India – a vehicle said to make the concept of owning a car less alien to the poor people on our own planet. Guess the poor are expected to drive as they eat with a premium on fast and cheap and a disregard for health and safety.
According to the Times of India, the Chairman of Tata Group, Ratan Tata, is hoping his Nano will be heralded as the “People’s Car”. But let’s evaluate if it has what the people really need. The Nano 623cc comes with a 33HP petrol engine but the company promises a diesel alternative will follow soon.
I think it’s pretty clear the people need to get off of the fuel habit all together. The Times says critics have been skeptical about the car meeting emission norms, but Tato insists it passes the test in India as well as meeting the stringent Euro 4 norms.
Still, doesn’t it make more sense for India to follow the carbon footsteps of Israel and embrace the electric car? Israel will offer tax incentives to people who buy Shai Agassi’s vision of utilizing a vehicle much like the cell phone, consumers receiving the car and subsidized hardware and paying a monthly fee for expected mileage. This is more of a progressive direction – one the planet can better afford.
Safety of the Nano also has been questioned. It lacks air bags and antilock brakes (apparently the people don’t need safety) and air conditioning, a radio and power steering are extra options in the more deluxe models.
The 10.2 feet length is good for parking in tight spaces but not so beneficial when up against an aggressive SUV or truck. The Nano also features one 623cc rear engine, a wiper and a tiny trunk. Its makers say the Nano has scored normally in all full frontal crash tests.
The little Nano that could arrived six months later than expected because of plenty of controversy. An eruption of violent protests over land by farmers and opposition political party leaders in West Bengal caused Tato to relocate its factory to the state of Gujarat. It’s expected to take up to a year to complete the new factory so the company can roll out a limited number of the cars from its other plants in India.
According to AP News, Tato is recovering from the down-turned economy and reduced consumer spending, declaring a loss of $54 million and trying to refinance the remaining $2 billion of a $3 billion loan it borrowed to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. in June.
So who is the market for this ultra-cheap car? The Nano was designed with struggling farmers and thrifty businessmen across India in mind. Earlier this month, Nano Europoa was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show with a planned launch of 2011. There are no plans yet to bring the car to America. And although Tato is seriously in debt, this baby will hardly make a dent.
(No Ratings Yet)
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6 Comments
March 24th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Put on your red noses folks and wigs! Time for the circus!
I recall a 1990 Geo Metro I drove for years, a little bigger than this but with a motorcycle engine. Traveling cross-country from Cape Cod to Colorado I barely made it up to Mount Rushmore.
And thank goodness I never got in a crash.
These car ideas are great but they need the whole package-fuel efficiency, safety features and an engine that works.
Maybe the Nano needs to spend a little more time on the design floor?
Nanoo, nanooo
March 24th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I hear you! In high school, my Dad bought me a tiny Mazda that was about to be demolished… and I have scary memories of trying to get it back up Malibu Canyon. Also, my brother was killed in a VW bug in Canada—-he and two friends hit by a truck and had no chance. Cars are death traps, anyway, so we should only drive ones that offer some kind of chance against the larger death traps…and terrible drivers.
March 24th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Oh, the economy cars. I drove a Suzuki Swift (same as a Geo) in high school. It was so light and thin – I guess you could say I always felt very connected to the outdoors in it.
Great gas mileage though. I was always impressed that the it lasted long enough to be passed on to my brother five years later. I think it ended up having something like a quarter million miles in the end.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:40 am
I’m bothered by the fact that so many people drive huge SUV’s in America and so the rest of us in normal regular small sedan cars have to feel threatened by them! If, as in Europe, most people drove small and regular-sized cars — well, we wouldn’t have to worry about it so much.
I refuse to buy my safety by driving a tank.
March 24th, 2009 at 10:50 am
This car isn’t the safest thing in the world but it is competing against the ghastly mopeds that people in India own right now and I can assure you that these cars, while lacking some safety features, are still much safer than the mopeds. More info about the story here, http://www.newsy.com/videos/wo.....ts_market/
March 24th, 2009 at 11:45 am
I have to agree that they are safer than mopeds and probably not as dangerous in other parts of the world. I just don’t want to see this trend in the U.S. And also, safety can be more than size…it can include airbags, which have saved lives. If everyone here drove smaller cars (and I don’t mean low performance drivers using high performance engines) then we all would be better off. The truth is, there will be a time when we will see fewer SUV’s and delivery trucks on the road if the forecasters are right about where we are headed with fuel.
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