[vasudeva]

The proof will be in the pudding, which is expected to be ready only by end-2008.

[ashwinsaval]

Guys Ratan tata has been clear about his intentions about the 1 lac car when he shows a clip of a family of four travelling on a scooter in the rain..the 1 lakh car opens up oppurtunities for small upcoming family for a chance to own a car soon...for many people who are non enthusiasts a first car means a lot and for those people it would come much sooner since the cheapest they can own one for is 1 lakh opposed to 2(correct me if im wrong) lakhs of a maruti 800..besides it has passed crash testing and is fuel efficient and pollution friendly.....so no disguising when i poll for the fact that its going to be a new revolution just the way the 800 was....

[khanak]

An EPIC achievement by Tata. The Tatas have once again made us all proud.

[Mpower]

The price of the car is definitely tempting, but the question to ask is...can someone who is used to 60kpl from their 100cc afford 20 kpl from the nano? I know many people who can afford to buy an used M800 (v good condition) for 1 lakh but prefer their 100cc because they cant afford the running exp and maintenance.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by Mpower

The price of the car is definitely tempting, but the question to ask is...can someone who is used to 60kpl from their 100cc afford 20 kpl from the nano? I know many people who can afford to buy an used M800 (v good condition) for 1 lakh but prefer their 100cc because they cant afford the running exp and maintenance.

Think of it this way,

If one is to carry 4 people, one will need two bikes which means around 30kmpl for the full family which is 10 kmpl cheaper than what Tata claims their Nano gives. Not bad considering the additional safety and pride of ownership a car gives as opposed to a bike. While I dont see college going kids trading their Karizmas in for one of these (atleast not in the Metros) I do tihnk families would rather travel in this as opposed to a scooter. The nano isnt going to abolish the bike market by any means but will certainly offer a very tempting alternative.

The thing about a used 800 is that it may not be perceived to be a very reliable and is at the end of the day a used car. Imagine what will happen when the Nano enters the seconds market!!!!

[Mpower]

Gotcha Khanak. But how often do all 4 in the family travel together, maybe once a week on Sunday. Rest of the time one person commutes to work.

Traffic now will be so bad that even guys driving Balenos etc will switch to 2 wheelers to get thru the congestion.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by Mpower

Gotcha Khanak. But how often do all 4 in the family travel together, maybe once a week on Sunday. Rest of the time one person commutes to work.

Traffic now will be so bad that even guys driving Balenos etc will switch to 2 wheelers to get thru the congestion.

I guess bike owners would hold onto their bikes for travelling alone or during peak hours and use their nano to watch a movie on sundays or go to a friends house.

[muni]

Ratan Tata himself has mentioned that the new car would canibalise the sales of the existing small cars i.e, Indicas, Altos, 800s, WagonRs, Santros etc.

Also People who would want to buy motorcycles and those who are decently well off financially would also prefer the Nano to the motor cycle as the Price would be tempting to make that extra leap.

Having said that , people with cars also would prefer this as a second or third car for small distance and city travelling. I guess this will cause a bit of congestion for parking as i know for sure that we hardly leave enough parking space while constructing our own house.

[LLL]

Originally Posted by muni

I guess this will cause a bit of congestion for parking as i know for sure that we hardly leave enough parking space while constructing our own house.

Parking problem is because of the poor policy of our governments.

It should be mandatory for every society to provide parking space within the complex. I see that almost every society asks visitors to park outside the complex? why? arent the visitors visiting the society members?

Every house owner needs to park his cars and his visitors cars inside the house. Despite laws to it, people pay off the building inspectors and do not provide sufficient parking space inside the plot.

On markets, it should be the responsibility of market associations to provide sufficient parking, without causing jams. If they cant, cars should be towed. PPl will stop visiting such markets, and when business will suffer, MA will have to provide parking space. If required, they need to pool their resources and build a parking complex.

Malls - most of the malls have adequate parking, but they screw up in providing entry/exit points. That results in jams on the raod with ppl trying to enter, leave the mall. Malls should be asked to ensure that this does not happen and should be penalised. they have to ensure there is no waiting time on the road.

but on nano - thats a boon. its not tata's fault that our govts and our ppl have messed up and cannot provide infra.

the argument that our infra is not sufficient for nano is similar to US and western world telling india not to setup any industries as it is going to add to pollution.

[AMATMO]

india is indeed a country with very very poor town planning

[Brosreview]

Apples’ iPod nano has a storage capacity of 4 or 8 GB storing up to 1000 or 2000 songs, 3500 to 7000 photos, 4 to 8 hours of video and enables data storage via usb cable with 24 hours of audio and 5 hours of video playback. Impressive!!! Isn’t it? Is it the same with the Tata Nano?

There are two sorts of answers that can be expected to this question. As far as I know, ever since Hyundai decided to sell their automobiles in India, the Indians have got accustomed to expect more for the amount they pay. Hyundai provide their cars with ABS, EBD, airbags, 4 speaker mp3 players and similar stuff that serve as eye candy to buyers. These features were once after-market installations that turned optional and now become standard. Moreover, their cars are all placed at an astonishingly cheap price making the Indian masses go for nothing but Hyundai. Well, it is known that dreams are something that make car companies excel in their field. Invent stuff, test them and then install and sell the car with an irresistible price tag. The dream to expect more from cars began ever since the onset of Korean cars in the world. They provided stuff in their cars for at times half the price from what you could get in a much expensive German car. They are then often misunderstood to being better than a German car, are they?

Hyundai’s cannot be considered better than German cars alone over a price tag issue; for instance, their not so good ABS system that are locally made, barely meeting industry standards, thus explaining the cheap aka affordable price tag.

Petrol prices hiked and then people opted for diesel and noticed that there was no affordable vehicle. Tata then released their Indica, Indigo and the other one that is slightly longer than the Indigo, the big station wagon thingy; offo, I cannot remember. The Indica and Indigo sold like hot chocolate cakes. Thus, Tata won an irreplaceable place in the market specifically in that price range.

The Tata Nano is a concept that needs to be appreciated as it claims to accommodate 5 passengers comfortable in its 624cc, 33bhp engine. The jewel of India deserves appreciation for having thought and personally designed it for the stones of India. It also has a convincing mileage of around 50mpg. It satisfies the frontal crash test demands and hence stamped safe and secure. And, this rear mounted engine, 5 door hatch back has a boot space of 150 litres.

The second sort of answer: Even though I have read that the Nano is wider than the Alto, I can neither visually nor reckon in reality that the Nano can “comfortably” accommodate 5 passengers. Ratan Tata mentioned that the car isn’t advised for highway drives and even mentioned the petrol engine to be noisy. When questioned about unsafe emissions he emotionally evaded the reporters to the Indians masses deserving a “right to an individual form of transport”. Hence, it is a people’s car. I appreciate his concern, I truly do. The idea of selling this car within 2 lakh INR is quite bold and commendable.

Nevertheless, I cannot prevent myself from critiquing it. Since, the expectation standard has increased in India, this car may as well be constantly complained about. The features provided are ancient – not Tata Nano but Tata Nana (grandfather). This car is emotionally impressive like some Karan Johar / Yash Raj movie. But, come on, let us face it, it is not a good car. While the Maruti 800 being an 800cc hiccups as it climbs aka crawls an incline helps me deduce that the 0.6litre, 4bhp less Tata Nano may decide to be on strike as it approaches a hill (regardless of its’ air con being turned on). The wheels that appeared to have been borrowed from a Bajaj auto rickshaw cannot hold on to the roads in a bend (Indians roads are filled with those).

As far as I see it, I feel he meant this was a poor peoples’ car; world’s cheapest car with cheap in terms of class. The ones who leave for work in the morning with a Tiffin carrier, with their kids catching a rented rickshaw, or who cycle or catch a school bus, or walk to school. He returns from work and after a few hours of relaxation is compelled to go to the town to buy one Praful saree for and with his wife and child / children. They then enjoy dinner in a non-ac room of a road-side restaurant; the ones where the car needs to be parked alongside the road. Never mind with the Nano, since it has no side view mirrors to be broken. These families will not take the car if the journey is more than 25 ks and thus will catch the bus for long trips – remember? Nano isn’t advised for highway drives. Their ideology of a car is just another private source of transport taking them from point A to point B. They do not care of luxury or any other options due to their financial limitations and / or less knowledge on cars. So, there you go, the lower class or two-wheeler class can finally buy something on 4 wheels. Umm, when I come to think of it, I reckon that this car would also be preferred by meagre Gujju and Marwadi businessmen for their constant trips to the town / city.

With the least fear of being considered caustic, I would like to add that this is a bad car. It is like an iPod nano with all its storage but 62.4 minutes of audio and video playback. Nano is bad on the inside and looks like Jerry on roller-blades on the outside. It appears to be a clone of Daewoo Matiz and Maruti Estilo on the outside. It looks like an egg tossed over. It is a safer auto rickshaw. This car could melt down as made of plastic and adhesives used to make it cheaper and hence not entirely safe. It is like a use and throw car. Regular bulbs used instead of long-life bulbs so that “people” can frequently replace them. It could be a golf cart limitedly safe on golfing grounds and not proving grounds. I read words like cute under the appearance section. I would like to think cute meant as not the daily usage but the alternate meaning – ugly but bearable. It is an ideal L-board vehicle. It would be better if had an electric engine.

All criticism apart, just like all Yash Raj banner films keep the tiller busy, this car could possibly increase congestion as it has opened the affordable factor for more sets of people and may become a hit. But, will Ratan Tata buy one? I bet for the same price he would prefer renting a Ferrari 355 Spyder for a weekend in Europe. And, international buyers would prefer a fully-paid off fortnight trip to Northern India (Delhi – Mandawa - Bikaner – Jaisalmer – Jodhpur - Udaipur – Pushkar – Jaipur – Agra – Khujraho – Varanasi – Delhi). That would be more fun, wouldn’t it?

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by AMATMO

india is indeed a country with very very poor town planning

Townplanning isn't too bad. It's just that it is never implemented seriously. Nobody takes any action when builders and users violate the master plans and land user norms.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by directinjection

Townplanning isn't too bad. It's just that it is never implemented seriously. Nobody takes any action when builders and users violate the master plans and land user norms.

I agree. As long as the 'cream' of society (civil servants) needs to work under the 'bane' of society(politicians), we cannot expect better stuff.Only long-term solution is voting for better people. But alas, we need to choose the lesser devil, so most of us refrain from voting.

[samya]

I would like to know about the indian car owners. How many people really love and like to enjoy music, power windows, central lock, parking lamp, power steering, climatic control of A/c, digital speedo meter, cup holder and leather seats? We are Indians live with different econoic levels bye-cycle wants a two wheeler, two wheeler wants a smal four wheeler and small four wheeler wants ... seden....

this is obvious and we must be rationale to wellcome any sort of entry level vehicle from any form and any brand. This would help us to grow globally

Appreciation is better than criticism

[aaggoswami]

I am not against the Nano. It is really a great car, espeically an excellent second car.

But the masses for which they are built are not really responsible drivers. They are not even properly educated. If the Great Nano goes into the hands of some educated and uprising middle class family, I would feel proud for such an indigenous product. But at the same time if the vehicle lands up in the hands of uneducated people along with so called college guys, it will be just the begening of something that would led us to face challanges for which none of us are prepared.


Slightly off topic: I am a college going person with a bike, i.e. i ride a bike. While taking a U turn i thought that I am suppossed to be on the innerside of the U so that a car can easily accomodate for taking U turn.
A girl driving a Red/Maroon HOnda City came left of me. Now note that if I had been on the outer side of the U turn then the car would have to wait till i get on the next lane. So I thought of other.

As soon as the road was clear i.e. when we were hitting the next lane, the girl forgot that I was also taking U turn. As my position was sensitive, i quickly took turn, but then after showing the indicator, went to the left of the road.(U turn was completed and i was now on the next lane where i went left to let other vehicle pass me). But the girl was not ready to notice a 90kg person on a bike. She rear ended me and i have broken left knee meniscus( bony cartilage between two joints that absorbs shocks and reduces friction between two bones). The fight just ended with the girl crying. I was to call the police, but the "GOOD GUYS" i.e. common men warned me not to do so. She was now showing her contacts.

The case in now the hands of police.

I am using a dial up connection so its impossible for me to send photographs of the incidence and my plaster.
It may look like some story but for me it was very close to death.




So my point is that, if the car gets into wrong hands, it will be trouble for each and every one on the road.