[MSJ]

Very Nice And Tasteful Collection Indeed, the man surely loves Convertibles and Executive Sedans.

I don't think this is the updated list of his cars as he has Over a dozen of American Classics Kept at his Mumbai And Alibaug Residence and are very difficult to spot as his cars are rarely out in the public eye.

[DudeWithaFiat]

Very nice thread. I have seen the first Ferrari California picture so many times that everytime I hear about Ferrari California, this picture comes into my mind.

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Mercedes W124

This W124 has been impeccably maintained and looks factory-fresh. This one is said to be an E220. I am unsure if this W124 is still in the garage.

This one is a diesel, not the E220 (which is petrol). Only the diesels had those vents on the right-side fender for air-intake. So, either this W124 is not his car, or if it is indeed his car, then its not an E220 .

[octane_100]

While MDA's garage is more like trying to show people what all money can buy (and in dozens!) Ratan Tata's shows more of passion. I can't help but compare the two to a Bollywood item number and classical music of Bhimsen Joshi (or MS Subbalakshmi)!!

[naivedyanm]

I see Singhania's collection, then Ambani's and then this...and then realize for Mr. Tata its not about show of wealth always but also about a practical, daily commute and iconic cars as well. No matter how much one likes/dislikes Nano, it was one of the most practical, affordable cars of its times. Its very obvious he had owned it as a symbolic gesture more than anything else.
P.s. the California was cool indeed!!

[autocrat]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

That was a crock of crap as far as commercialization and market relevance went.

With due respect, Sir, may be the Nano wasn't to your taste and didn't meet your needs or expectations, but calling it "crock of crap" is being too hard on the car as well as on Tata.

This car was designed to offer safe affordable and reasonably comfortable transport for the people who aspired to own a car but couldn't afford the existing options in the market. Where they went wrong probably was

1. Positioning: The car was marketed as a poor mans car, and no one wants to buy an aspirational product that certifies the owner as poor.

2. Price: The car was built to a price. Regardless of the cost . This resulted in Tata losing money on every car sold. This made no business sense. Shareholders demand profits.

3. Features: Building to a price meant the car was barebones. No power steering and no AC at launch meant they already distanced themselves from the people who desired these features.

4. Variants: In continuation to point 3 above, what Tata could have done was, launch one barebones variant at the promised price of 1 Lakh and offer more variants with more features. Eventually, the Nano did grow a small moustache when it Nano Twist was launched - Nice AC, easy power steering and nice colours - but it was too little too late. Those who own Nano Twists really appreciate the small footprint, easy driving, and chill cabin of the Nano - this is where the Nano should have been positioned - a personal car for city mobility.

Engineering wise, the cabin was light, but still strong. The cabin was super spacious, offering tons of space. The rear mounted engine did cause some issues in the initial models but the product received periodic engineering updates and was made safer and better. This is where, a seasoned design team scores - by reducing the number of points of failure through their design insight and experience.

So, when the Nano can be called a flop, it wasn't crap.

It did provide Tata tons of experience and learning, which has helped bring out better products from Tata today. A company that learns quickly from failures and makes positive amends is a company that will excel in the times to come. New Tata cars are no longer seen as "poor mans car".

[AKV10]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Chrysler Sebring
Attachment 2157579
Image Source
The Sebring was a mid-size sedan by Chrysler and was sold between 1994 and 2010. It was replaced by the Chrysler 200. Ratan Tata claims that he loves the colour of the car and that is what inspired the colour of the Tata Indica that was showcased at the 1998 Geneva Motor Show. The car shown here is for representation only.

I found this image of Mr. Tata's 1996 Chrysler Sebring convertible while reading an old interview of his by Autocar India:



Source: Wayback Machine(Autocar India - Archived)

[directinjection]

Autocrat, I fully agree with you that Nano wasn't crap but please allow me to make a few corrections in what you wrote!

Originally Posted by autocrat

..... Where they went wrong probably was

1. Positioning: The car was marketed as a poor mans car, and no one wants to buy an aspirational product that certifies the owner as poor.

Was it really launched as the poor man's car? I don't think so! The very first TV ad campaign showed a person arriving in a yellow Nano and getting saluted by a guard with the words "Salaam sahab!" Yellow colour was offered only in the top variant and the guard in the ad looked totally floored by the car! Here is the link to that ad:

https://youtu.be/3WB87eo_obU

Originally Posted by autocrat

2. Price: The car was built to a price. Regardless of the cost . This resulted in Tata losing money on every car sold. This made no business sense. Shareholders demand profits.

Only the base variant was priced at Rs. 1 lakh. There were two variants above it with price tags (IIRC) of Rs. 1.45 lakh and Rs. 1.65 lakhs. So it can't be concluded that Tata wasn't making profits. The base variant wasn't accepted by the market!

Originally Posted by autocrat

3. Features: Building to a price meant the car was barebones. No power steering and no AC at launch meant they already distanced themselves from the people who desired these features.

Even at the time of launch, there were three variants. The top two variants came with AC. As a matter of fact, the sales of the non-AC variant were close to zero! The car competed against the Maruti 800 which also came without power steering but sold in millions!

Originally Posted by autocrat

4. Variants: In continuation to point 3 above, what Tata could have done was, launch one barebones variant at the promised price of 1 Lakh and offer more variants with more features.

This is exactly what the company did! They launched the car in 3 variants out of which the bare bones 1 lakh version didn't sell at all!

Originally Posted by autocrat

Eventually, the Nano did grow a small moustache when it Nano Twist was launched

The moustache was probably Partap Bose's idea. I didn't like it at all; I'm not a big fan of his designs and consider him overrated!

Originally Posted by autocrat

- Nice AC, easy power steering and nice colours - but it was too little too late. Those who own Nano Twists really appreciate the small footprint, easy driving, and chill cabin of the Nano - this is where the Nano should have been positioned - a personal car for city mobility.

Other than power steering and openable boot, most of the other features were there even at the time of launch. They had later launched a factory-fitted CNG version too!

Originally Posted by autocrat

Engineering wise, the cabin was light, but still strong. The cabin was super spacious, offering tons of space. The rear mounted engine did cause some issues in the initial models but the product received periodic engineering updates and was made safer and better. This is where, a seasoned design team scores - by reducing the number of points of failure through their design insight and experience.

Agree with you!

Originally Posted by autocrat

So, when the Nano can be called a flop, it wasn't crap.

Agree with you 100%

In my view, the reasons for the car's failure were:

1. The sound of the 2 cylinder engine. People didn't like the three-wheeler like sound. Some called it a four wheeled auto!
2. Delay in launch. Thanks to Mamta Banerjee, the factory had to be shifted from Singur which delayed the launch considerably. Probably, the excitement around the car had withered away by the time it was actually launched.
3. Bad press. Exaggerated reports about fire incidents involving Nano appeared regularly which raised consumer concerns about the car's safety. Probably, the press reports were influenced by Tata's competitors, who knows?

Originally Posted by autocrat

It did provide Tata tons of experience and learning, which has helped bring out better products from Tata today. A company that learns quickly from failures and makes positive amends is a company that will excel in the times to come. New Tata cars are no longer seen as "poor mans car".

Agreed!

[rb003]

Impeccable collection. You really get the sense that he is a connossieur of the automobile, and not someone who simply buys the latest and greatest on the market. I imagine he quite enjoys keeping his cars a while and probably grows fonder of them over time.

[Aanchal Kaushik]

Ratan Tata is really the pride of our nation and what amazing collection. I am a fan!

[moralfibre]

Mod note: Please post your obituary on this thread (Padma Vibhushan Ratan N Tata passes away at 86).

[PPS]

Some recent pics of the Legends collection!

Source - mrjain

[jeepster]

Originally Posted by PPS

Some recent pics of the Legends collection!

Source - mrjain

Most of the cars are LHD.

How was he able to register a LHD Ferrari in 2009? Exception for him?

(Btw Ferrari's fitness has expired 4 moths ago.)