Tata Nano coming to USA (Supposedly)

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by niky

The ones you get.

The ones we get here are well capable of 60 mpg with no hypermiling...

Us too

Qute an in depth hands on review of a Nano here in English too. I've been a member on there and they police posts with a rod of iron especially for any mistakes in spilling and anything which is badly grammared.

One key factor which could kill it off outside India is the 110 kp/h speed limit (about 68 MPH). This is due to the low gearing to stop the ending lunching itself at sustained high revs.

The build quality (actually mainly the design and component quality) is pretty dire too.

[RiderofBikes]

I'm in love with it myself, small things can always be redone yourself, added or taken away. First thing i'd want to do is pay that sucker off ...in like 1-2yrs time! then drop a small deisel in that puppy

[ChazInMT]

AutomobileMag Tata

Here's some more rumor stuff on it in addition to speculation it'll be based on the Tata Europa model like this:



Looks like the hardware store owners are in favor of it since you can get your new wheel barrow tires from them. (I made that up)

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by niky

The Tata Nano... good luck. With the interior and build quality that car has, the Mitsubishi i, the Hyundai Eon and the Suzuki Celerio/A Star are all better bets to send Stateside.

The problem is that car makers come here with bottom of the market cars and move upmarket over the years as their customer base ages and makes more money. Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Suzuki already sell cars here and don't want to move down to cheaper, less profitable cars. People here have already heard of Tata and the Nano, and Tata wouldn't mind a new market. Of those four cars, the Tata is the only one that's ever coming here, and that's still a bif if.

[Arragonis]

Originally Posted by ChazInMT

AutomobileMag Tata

Here's some more rumor stuff on it in addition to speculation it'll be based on the Tata Europa model like this:



Looks like the hardware store owners are in favor of it since you can get your new wheel barrow tires from them. (I made that up)

Yeah, the Europa model - I'm surrounded by them...

Honestly this model had a production run of 1.

[niky]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Qute an in depth hands on review of a Nano here in English too. I've been a member on there and they police posts with a rod of iron especially for any mistakes in spilling and anything which is badly grammared.

Team BHP is an awesome resource.

13-14 km/l is pretty disappointing. You can do the same with the Maruti Alto or the Hyundai Eon. Both with bigger engines. And the Eon has more space, a better interior and a better chance at passing the NHTSA crash tests.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

What I dislike in the Tata Nano is its under-rated quality standards. Instead of rationalizing the usage of high-quality materials, some questionable-quality stuff is used.


As far as low-cost mini car project goes, the Brazilian Gurgel BR-800 SL from late 80's was more reasonable, altough the absence of rear doors could be an issue when modern competitors have this practical functionality.

[Arragonis]

Reminds me of this practical small car

[Arragonis]

The Nano is alive and well - there is going to be a new "CNG" (Autogas) version, according to rumours, with a Diesel model later.

The Nano CNG, which was first showcased at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo, is a CNG-petrol dual fuel version of the world’s least priced car. The Nano CNG will come with a compact CNG tank which will take the shape of a toroid to occupy the least amount of space possible. The toroidal tank will be able to hold 35 Liters of CNG while the petrol tank will continue to have a capacity of 15 liters. The Nano CNG will feature a dashboard mounted switch that lets the car driver to switch between CNG and petrol fuel modes, on the go.

The Nano CNG is expected to cost about INR 20,000 more than the equivalent petrol variants of the car, which is a very reasonable premium to pay for a mode of fuel that is as economical as diesel. In fact, Tata Motors’ move to launch the Nano CNG comes at a time when the diesel engined model of the small car has been delayed, with a launch now postponed to late 2013. So, the CNG-petrol dual fuel model, which will offer the economy of a diesel engined car, at a much lower price is expected to fill in and do duty until the diesel engined model of the Nano arrives.

Also a video review here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sZitve3SUw

[TheIVJackal]

I really liked that video review of the car. Aside from the sad looking wheels and the horrid dash, if the design can be better refined, this seems like an excellent car!