$2500 Car

Diabeetus · Dec 15, 2014

For millions of people in the developing world, Tata Motor's new $2,500 four-door subcompact - the world's cheapest car - may yield a transportation revolution with as great an impact as Henry Ford's Model T, which rolled off an assembly line one century ago.

The potential impact of Tata's Nano has given environmentalists nightmares, with visions of the tiny cars clogging India's already-choked roads and collectively spewing millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the air.

Industry analysts, however, say the car may soon deliver to India and the rest of the developing world unprecedented mobility.

"It is a potentially gigantic development if it delivers what has been promised," said John Casesa, managing partner for the Casesa Shapiro Group, a New York-based auto industry financial advisory firm.

"I think there is immense unmet demand for a vehicle of this type, because it effectively eliminates the great leap currently required to go from a two-wheel to a four-wheel vehicle," Casesa said. "They are creating something that has never existed before, the utility of a car with the affordability of a motorcycle."

The basic model, expected to roll of assembly lines later this year, will sell for 100,000 rupees, or about $2,500, but analysts estimate customers could pay 20 percent to 30 percent more to cover taxes, delivery and other charges.

Company chairman Ratan Tata, who introduced the new car at India's main auto show, has long promised a $2,500 "People's Car" for India - a country of some 1.1 billion where only seven of every 1,000 people own a car. That vow has been much-derided by the global industry which said it would be impossible without sacrificing safety and quality.

The company will not say how the price was kept so low on the basic version and won't say how much the luxury Nano will cost until it hits showrooms toward the end of this year. The company also refused to let reporters sit in the car, let alone drive it.

But the basic version is austere: there's no radio, passenger-side mirror, central locking or power steering and only one windshield wiper. Air conditioning that would spare motorists the brutal Indian summer is available only in deluxe models.

The little car, with its snub nose, sloping roof, and slightly bulbous rear, makes it look like another Indian icon - the mango.

The Nano's appeal, though, is not its pedigree but its price - targeting people moving up from the lower ends of India's transportation spectrum, where two-wheeled scooters selling for as little as $900 are often crammed with entire families.

The Nano's closest competitor is the Maruti 800, a four-door selling for nearly twice as much.

In terms of performance it doesn't offer much more than the Model T. The Nano has a two-cylinder 0.6 liter gasoline engine with 33 horsepower, giving it a top speed of about 60 mph, according to Tata. It gets 50 miles per gallon.
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So, would you get one?

GB-Hack · Jan 10, 2008

Maybe, if I didn't have to take a highway to get to work or close to most everything else. Top speed of 60 mph isn't going to work.

Ace · Jan 10, 2008

Big deal. I've bought three cars in my life for less than $350.

BYH · Jan 10, 2008

OK, but only if it has a super-sized cup holder. And a soundproof bubble dome for the kids. And several horns, all of which play "La Cucaracha."

jgmacg · Jan 10, 2008

Bodacious.

Football_Bat · Jan 10, 2008

I doubt it would even meet U.S. safety specs. An American SUV would crush it like a soda can.

mike311gd · Dec 15, 2014

BYH said:

OK, but only if it has a super-sized cup holder. And a soundproof bubble dome for the kids. And several horns, all of which play "La Cucaracha."
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And no.

BYH · Jan 10, 2008

Holy shit. Does that model car actually exist?

I'm going to ask my wife for it for my 30,000th post.

mike311gd · Jan 10, 2008

BYH said:

Holy shit. Does that model car actually exist?

I'm going to ask my wife for it for my 30,000th post.
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Yeah. Type "Simpsons car" into eBay and see what pops up.

mike311gd · Jan 10, 2008

mike311gd said:

BYH said:

Holy shit. Does that model car actually exist?

I'm going to ask my wife for it for my 30,000th post.
Click to expand...

Yeah. Type "Simpsons car" into eBay and see what pops up.
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And if your wife gives you a gift for your 30,000th post ... well, you're a lucky guy.

Mystery_Meat · Jan 10, 2008

I do look forward to the day I can walk into a dealership and exclaim "show me your Tatas!"

Rosie · Dec 15, 2014

I drive this...

There is no way in hell I'd willingly drive that.

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