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Automotive News & Views The Tata Nano, India's $2,500 Car
133 messages, Last post on Sep 08, 2009 at 8:20 AM
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2009 Tata Nano First Drive - First Impressions: Not ready for life in America, but a real car nonetheless.(more)
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Replying to: fintail (Jun 05, 2009 8:00 am) |
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Replying to: sixthflick (Jun 05, 2009 7:58 am) |
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Tata Nano at Fiat-Chrysler Showrooms? By Nick Kurczewski Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press "Tata Motors says it hopes to sell the ultra-cheap Nano in the United States in two years. But how? It’s no secret Tata Motors, India’s largest domestic automaker, wants to introduce its low-buck Nano city car in the United States. After all, a small matter like a global recession suddenly makes marketing the car, billed as “the world’s cheapest,” about as easy as selling snow cones in the Sahara. Speaking at a meeting for Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University last week, Ratan Tata, chairman and chief executive of the Tata Group, said he hoped to see the Nano arrive in North America by 2011, according to Reuters. This is despite the need to engineer the Nano to meet United States safety and emissions requirements, not to mention the search to find a suitable location to sell the cars. So how does a company hope to re-engineer a car within two years for a market where it has absolutely no sales presence? Luckily for Tata, the answer to these problems could be solved with a call to Fiat-Chrysler. Despite continued legal battles over the deal, a healthy Fiat-Chrysler union could pave the way for the Nano’s coming to the United States. Fiat and Tata already share many joint ventures. Tata sells Fiats in India and has access to the Italian company’s diesel engines. The two companies share a giant factory in India, and Tata has developed a pickup truck that Fiat will sell under its own name. Fiat’s chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, has also routinely stated his desire to introduce a budget brand to fit below Fiat’s already economical range of vehicles. An American or European version of the Nano, minus Tata badges, and possibly wearing a dormant nameplate from Fiat’s past (Autobianchi, anyone?), could give the Fiat Group its cheap car brand and Tata an entry into markets in Europe and the United States. Considering that the Tata Nano can exceed 50 miles a gallon, even a revised version (fitted with air bags and a larger 3-cylinder engine) could help Fiat-Chrysler meet tough new Environmental Protection Agency emissions standards that start taking effect in 2012. These new regulations will push car company fleet averages to more than 35 miles a gallon by 2016, up from the current level of about 25. A fuel sipper like the Nano could help."
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Replying to: hpmctorque (Jun 11, 2009 1:35 am) Their line of small diesel trucks will be well received if we ever get rid of the Chicken Tax. They are already able to meet the mileage requirement set by CAFE. None of the auto makers here can claim that. India has the engineering and labor force to become the largest auto maker. Fiat may be the smart company joining forces with Tata. And now being handed Chrysler as a gift from Obama. They could push GM and Ford to the rear. http://cvglobal.tatamotors.com/index.asp
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 11, 2009 5:36 am)
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Replying to: ateixeira (Jun 12, 2009 7:34 am) |
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| gagrice. He never let us forget the inequities of our free-trade agreement. rockylee will post again on Edmunds. It's only a matter of time. He'll get lonely. | |
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Nothing can save them but, quality autos and trucks. |
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Looks like this car is rugged and very well built. These guys have built a real roadworthy safe car. http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/video-nano-passes-european-crash-test- / Tata Motors said it was “delighted but not surprised” that its Nano subcompact passed European front- and side-impact crash tests last week. This is according to Autocar, which reports that the Nano was subjected to tests at the MIRA testing center in England: The crash tests included a 40 percent offset and a 56km/h (35 m.p.h.) frontal impact, and are tougher than those that exist in India — currently the Nano’s only market — but they are due to be adopted in India in three years’ time. “We’ve conducted these tests in India already,” Clive Hickman, Tata’s head of engineering, told Autocar, which has a gallery of photos here, “so we knew the car would pass. But it’s still a great moment.” For Americans, who have harbored strong doubts about the Nano’s crashworthiness, the results must be more surprising. Ever since Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Motors, said that he planned to sell the Nano in Europe (and possibly the United States) by 2011, there have been doubts about the small car’s ability to provide safe, comfortable transportation in Western traffic. But Tata seems prepared for the challenge. Nick Kurczewski, in his review of the Nano for The New York Times, wrote that the Nano Europe would be better equipped with air bags, revised bumpers and a bigger engine. According to company officials, an automatic transmission and a hatchback version are in the works.
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Tata Motors said it was “delighted but not surprised” that its Nano subcompact passed European front- and side-impact crash tests last week. This is according to Autocar, which reports that the Nano was subjected to tests at the MIRA testing center in England: The crash tests included a 40 percent offset and a 56km/h (35 m.p.h.) frontal impact, and are tougher than those that exist in India — currently the Nano’s only market — but they are due to be adopted in India in three years’ time. “We’ve conducted these tests in India already,” Clive Hickman, Tata’s head of engineering, told Autocar, which has a gallery of photos here, “so we knew the car would pass. But it’s still a great moment.” For Americans, who have harbored strong doubts about the Nano’s crashworthiness, the results must be more surprising. Ever since Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Motors, said that he planned to sell the Nano in Europe (and possibly the United States) by 2011, there have been doubts about the small car’s ability to provide safe, comfortable transportation in Western traffic. But Tata seems prepared for the challenge. Nick Kurczewski, in his review of the Nano for The New York Times, wrote that the Nano Europe would be better equipped with air bags, revised bumpers and a bigger engine. According to company officials, an automatic transmission and a hatchback version are in the works.
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Automotive News & Views The Tata Nano, India's $2,500 Car
