Once upon a time there was a dream-born of the vision of Ratan Tata-to enable millions of Indians to have a safe and affordable means of personal mobility. This went on to become the most awaited anticipated car in the history of Automobiles. Millions of aspiring Indians and the international auto markets watched in awe, the launch of world’s cheapest car – Tata Nano at a mere 1lakh rupee price tag. The car was launched in an auto expo held at Delhi on 10 Jan 2008. Ratan Tata is a 70-year-old kind and tender chairman of the Tata group, drove this world’s cheapest car to the Tata Motors pavilion and unveiled this new car, giving sleepless nights to rival companies. This car has potential to change the existing paradigm of the whole automotive industry!
The Nano is a small car from a big idea. The people’s car attained immortality the moment it was unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, causing a seismic shift in the automotive world. The rest of the world’s automakers drew in their collective breaths when it was announced that Tata was going ahead with producing the car. Then they all scrambled to go into that unknown territory that Tata Motors has already bravely ventured into.
Well, Reams have been written on the Nano: about how it is a proper car and not a four wheeled rickshaw, how it is a fairly pleasant vehicle to drive, how it isn’t the death trap that many feared it would be and so on and so forth.
Since its launch with great fanfare in 2009, the Nano has swerved from one crisis to another. There was opposition to Tata's original plans to site the factory in West Bengal, forcing a last-minute scramble to switch the site to Sanand. It opened last summer, but not enough cars came off the production line to meet a huge surge of early orders. The orders then petered out. To make matters worse, a few cars burst into flames, raising fears about the Nano's safety. Sales, which had been predicted to be 20,000 a month, fell as low. as 509 in November last year. Sales recovered to 10,000 a month in the spring, but have fallen back again this summer: 3,260 in July, amid a slump in the Indian car market caused by rising interest rates and fuel prices.
The Nano was aimed at capturing a lion’s share of the lower middle class market, it ended up sadly capturing a lion’s share of headlines. At the beginning it was for the revolution it was, later on for the illusion it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong, mechanically this car ticks all the boxes, even emotionally it plays the right chords, yet what Indians want above all else is paisa vasool and a status symbol, preferably at the same time. The Nano for the average Joe on the street just couldn’t replace the two-wheeler when affordability showed up at their door.
Burn all the critics. The Nano is the triumph of Indian Automobile industry. It's serving it's purpose. Let’s face it, the Nano drives like a normal car. Though It has its own unique driving signature (which is good and bad in equal measure). The driving characteristics are far removed from a cheap and cheerful 800 but maybe that’s why every drive in the Nano is so entertaining. You won’t tire of squeezing into gaps a car could never fit into. The high seating position offers extraordinary visibility allowing you to drive it like you would ride a bike. The space inside is even more extraordinary. Carry speed round a corner and you feel like you’re about to die – yet she refuses to land on her roof. And you will never tire of cursing the fuel filler lid hidden underneath the bonnet.
I feel this car can be a brilliant 2ndcar and alternative to the Activa in your garage serving your wife or daughter. You don't have to worry about your wife scratching your expensive sedan everytime she decides to go shopping in you car alone. At just the price of 2activa's you are getting a car. Isn't that great?
The Nano is India’s first car to feature a RR (rear engine, rear wheel-drive) car layout, something seen on... Well... Porsches. Of course the Nano is no Porsche but I did manage to get its tail to step out on loose gravel once,Yes. We like rear-engined cars, don't we???
It takes a lot of vision, trust from a lot of people to back that vision and plentiful frugal thinking to come up with an automotive solution to a genuine issue – in this case, cheap and safe personal transportation for a hell of a lot of people. This is legend. This is Nano, second to None!!
The Nano is a small car from a big idea. The people’s car attained immortality the moment it was unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, causing a seismic shift in the automotive world. The rest of the world’s automakers drew in their collective breaths when it was announced that Tata was going ahead with producing the car. Then they all scrambled to go into that unknown territory that Tata Motors has already bravely ventured into.
Well, Reams have been written on the Nano: about how it is a proper car and not a four wheeled rickshaw, how it is a fairly pleasant vehicle to drive, how it isn’t the death trap that many feared it would be and so on and so forth.
The Nano doesn't look cheap It looks like a thoroughly modern small car that looks ike a compressed Gallardo. It couldn't have come from anywhere but India, where the need for a small car that does not cost the moon is really felt. On closer look, lots of details grab your attention.The single large wiper blade, the three nuts that hold each wheel, beautifully crafted air-intakes on the flanks, the excellent fit and finish of body panels, quality of paint, plastic-to-metal integration and so on.
utilitarian beginnings and cost-saving development process, this mono-volume car manages to look sporty – a word that couldn't have been in the design brief. The drooping roof line, the little spoiler and the Gallardo-inspired air intakes are responsible for this.
Creative cost-saving is evident throughout the Nano. Flat side glass, a single wiper and no tailgate, three wheel-nuts instead of four and a single door lock, no glove box all help to keep the price low. But although the entry-level model is spartan, the CX and LX models have air-con. Incredibly for such a cheap car, a huge range of accessories and customization options are offered, from decal sets to body kits and dashboard trims.
The engine that displaces just 624cc,35bhp. the four-speed gearbox is light and easy to use it’s quick. I truly admire about this car it’s how this engine is tuned. It responds quickly, delivers power almost instantly and for all the vrooom and yet it still gives decent mileage. Low weight means f 600kg means all-round drum brakes are all that's required. Despite the cheaper technology, the Nano has independent suspension front and rear, but is designed without anti-roll bars. Could I ask for more?
Since its launch with great fanfare in 2009, the Nano has swerved from one crisis to another. There was opposition to Tata's original plans to site the factory in West Bengal, forcing a last-minute scramble to switch the site to Sanand. It opened last summer, but not enough cars came off the production line to meet a huge surge of early orders. The orders then petered out. To make matters worse, a few cars burst into flames, raising fears about the Nano's safety. Sales, which had been predicted to be 20,000 a month, fell as low. as 509 in November last year. Sales recovered to 10,000 a month in the spring, but have fallen back again this summer: 3,260 in July, amid a slump in the Indian car market caused by rising interest rates and fuel prices.
Burn all the critics. The Nano is the triumph of Indian Automobile industry. It's serving it's purpose. Let’s face it, the Nano drives like a normal car. Though It has its own unique driving signature (which is good and bad in equal measure). The driving characteristics are far removed from a cheap and cheerful 800 but maybe that’s why every drive in the Nano is so entertaining. You won’t tire of squeezing into gaps a car could never fit into. The high seating position offers extraordinary visibility allowing you to drive it like you would ride a bike. The space inside is even more extraordinary. Carry speed round a corner and you feel like you’re about to die – yet she refuses to land on her roof. And you will never tire of cursing the fuel filler lid hidden underneath the bonnet.
I feel this car can be a brilliant 2ndcar and alternative to the Activa in your garage serving your wife or daughter. You don't have to worry about your wife scratching your expensive sedan everytime she decides to go shopping in you car alone. At just the price of 2activa's you are getting a car. Isn't that great?
This is the cutest car I have seen, whenever I see it roads I simply feel like pulling it's cheeks! It still manages to turn heads. Girls feel like adding it to their make-up kit! It's our Beetle and Mini Cooper, actually par. Many upgrades and variants have and now it even come-in CNG forms and. But it still hasn't lost any charm.
Very soon a diesel engine will find it's place in the tiny bonnet of Nano and am sure the true potential of it will be realised and will set the charts on fire. 25kmpl with dirty cheap fuel is really irresistible.
Very soon a diesel engine will find it's place in the tiny bonnet of Nano and am sure the true potential of it will be realised and will set the charts on fire. 25kmpl with dirty cheap fuel is really irresistible.
It takes a lot of vision, trust from a lot of people to back that vision and plentiful frugal thinking to come up with an automotive solution to a genuine issue – in this case, cheap and safe personal transportation for a hell of a lot of people. This is legend. This is Nano, second to None!!
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