Tata may export Nano to US

[OhioChick]

Source: Rediff Business/India

May 13, 2008 12:42 IST

Tata Motors said on Tuesday it will consider exporting the Rs 100,000-car to many promising markets, including the US.

"There is nothing that we can not export Nano to any country. Tata Motors also has plans for exports. But the Tata Nano will be initially marketed in India," Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI.

The announcement comes close on the heels of the US publication Conde Nast Portfolio's report that 'Nano' would not be sold in the US.

"The model (Nano) won't be sold in the US but has the potential to radically alter the market for manufacturers in India. Tata-inspired followers are already revving up their engines," Conde Nast Portfolio said while naming Ratan Tata as one of the 73 biggest brains around the world.

The spokesman, however, said that after positioning firm in the domestic market, the company would consider exporting the car.



Read more: http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/may/13tata.htm

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That vehicle would never pass our safety standards..

[rambler_american]

1. Why would anyone wnat one?

"The company claims mileage of 23 km per litre."
That works out to about 15 mpg. My wife's GMC Envoy does better even pulling a trailer. WTF?

[rambler_american]

2. My bad.

Didn't convert litres to gallons. Pretty good mileage after all.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Perhaps you could enlighten all of us

by demonsrating exactly how 23km / litre equates to 15 mpg...........lol.

23 km / litre is c. 15 miles / litre : not / gallon.

edit - you corrected while I was writing !

[saigon68]

4. Check your Math

The Nano has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine.


4 litres = little more than 1 gallon

http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/kilometers_per_liter

23.00 Kilo meters per Litre = 54.10 Miles per gallon

http://www.teaching-english-in-japan.net/conversion/kilomete

The engine is the size of a Motorcycle engine. A Harley engine is 1200 CC's twice the size of this "beauty"

Its Butt ugly too


http://tatanano.inservices.tatamotors.com/tatamotors/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=164&Itemid=176

[Ian David]

8. I actually saw one of these at the mall. I want one! n/t

[jmowreader]

9. It isn't much uglier than a Smart

and a LOT of people will like the 54mpg.

I'm not crazy about the all-aluminum engine.

Oh, in case you're wondering (I didn't know until I looked it up), PS is short for "pferdestarke" and basically means "horsepower" in German. One PS = about 1HP.

Then again...everyone hates calling India for tech support.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

26. No problem. Tata India will outsource their help desk

to China, or Myanmar, or Tonga.

Labor rates are climbing in India.

:hi:

[comtec]

5. Geo Metro did better AND passed safety standards

AKA the Suzuki swift, they made a 3 cylinder model that got upwards of 65MPG (unofficial, 55 official) on the NON-MTBE crap, freeway miles.


I just wish they still sold that model. Here I think I cna only get the 4Cyl. model and the mileage isnt nearly as good :(

[madrchsod]

7. i had a metro till the front frame rusted away

nice car even on the highway at 55-60 miles a hour with great mpg..i`m rebuilding a honda crx-40 mpg

[girl gone mad]

29. Still have my Geo..

and I've gotten two unsolicited offers on it in the last few weeks. It gets better than 45 on the highway.

[dipsydoodle]

6. I believe they are better suited

to slower moving traffic conditions in towns rather that highway driving.

[pattmarty]

10. Hey, I got a question; if we import the car, do we get our jobs back?

[Buns_of_Fire]

27. No, but the first 500 purchasers would also get a back seat full of yummy, tasty, succulent mangoes.

Yes, We Have Indian Mangos (Almost)

[n2doc]

11. Nano, meet Yugo...

Same crap, different year....

[parkia00]

12. And how do you know it's crap?

Own one? Test drove one? Sat in one?

Or is it "crap" because of some perceived notion about being designed and made in India?

[n2doc]

15. Keep your biases to yourself

I have bothered to read about it. The company admits to cutting as many corners as possible to meet the price point. The engine is a glorified lawn mower engine. The brake system is primitive, as is the steering.

Even the Chinese haven't bothered to build this cheap a car, and their labor costs are less than India's.

[parkia00]

18. You miss the whole point of the Tata Nano.

And economy cars as a whole! Not everyone needs a fancyful car loaded with all the options, a big engine, leather seating and chrome alloy rims. It has a small engine. So what? It's all it needs. Many Japanese micro cars have engines of 1000cc or less. It's about making a car for the people to get around. Mobility for the masses is the main here. Not a Lincoln Towncar. If everyone had such an attitude as yours, Volkswagen would never have been created cause that's another "people's car".

Obviously you haven't seen the three wheeled Chinese version!

[Yavin4]

24. "The brake system is primitive"

[LanternWaste]

13. But yeah... it's the same as the Yugo

Different manufacturers. Different plants. Different countries. Different standards. Different engines. Different composites. Different drive trains. Different prices.

But yeah... it's the same as the Yugo. :eyes:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. i love it!

[L0oniX]

16. Coming to your local Walmart soon.

[Elspeth]

17. The car looks like a suicide trap.

Can you see a collision with an SUV? Or even a Pontiac Vibe?

[nebula]

19. or a light pole.

[Elspeth]

20. LOL!!!

I think even a Big Wheel would dent it.

[nebula]

22. My 10-speed is probably safer.

[Elspeth]

23. And I bet you look better on it than in a big aluminum can.

:D

[OhioChick]

21. That was my first thought...

However, I was wondering about a collision with a semi.

[lithiumbomb]

25. unlikely

First, it's very unlikely we'll see this car in the US in any form, probably just some posturing on the part of the company. However if they did decide to import it, it could come in as an "off-road" vehicle, something to be used on office and school campuses and the like, speed artificially limited to 25mph. Some japanese and now chinese utility vehicles have made it in under that catagory. It could also possibly make it in as a neighborhood electric vehicle (if they make an electric version), which would be road legal, but also restricted to 25-35mph. It would never be road legal in this country as a normal passenger car.

A more car-like car for emerging markets is the Dacia Logan, developed by Renault and sold in many countries, starting at 6000 Euros.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dacia_Logan

[alfredo]

28. Crash test for the Dacia Logan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lku2LjcwWL8