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It doesn’t even go on sale until October but the Tata Nano, soon to be the cheapest new car in the world, is already making a big impact in its native India.
Since it was announced less than a month ago, the Nano has almost single-handedly destroyed the value of budget secondhand cars in India. Prices for a secondhand Maruti 800, currently the cheapest and most popular car in India, have dropped by 30 per cent in just two months.
Nanomania also appears to be putting the nail into sales of ...Read the full article

So we give up all our CO2 churners and then the Indians go out get millions of small co2 belchers.

So shall we all get our 15mpg cars now then?

What gives us in Britain the right to have more cars per head than India.  If you've ever been there, then you would understand how much of an important development this car is.  I personally saw a whole family on a moped die.  So if this car can help these families travel in a safe manner, i'm all for it.  And for that matter, this is a 50+mpg car, so there will be 3 of those to ur one 15 mpg car.  Who's the bigger co2 villain??

If the last car that Tata released to this country was anything to go on (Sh*ty sorry CityRover) lets hope this one stays in India. I worked at a Rover dealership when these were on sale and every one came back with problems. I know this new car is cheap but i bet it won't be cheerful.

private:

If the last car that Tata released to this country was anything to go on (Sh*ty sorry CityRover) lets hope this one stays in India. I worked at a Rover dealership when these were on sale and every one came back with problems. I know this new car is cheap but i bet it won't be cheerful.

Absolutely!

This car looks weird. I don`t see what all the fuss is about, I mean the car looks like lawnmower with a bodykit on top of it, and looking at the wheels, I bet it drives like lawnmower. Now how can this car be a gamechanger?

 It isn't meant to be a gamechanger.  This car is fit for purpose.  If you've ever driven in India, you'd realise that traffic rarely moves faster than 30 mph, the roads are so congested in the metrocities, that u need to be economical with your footprint.  For a car barely larger than a Smart car, to be able to fit 4 6ft passengers, surely you can see that in it's domain, it works.  This car is not a luxury item, it is designed in the purist sense.  It takes 4 people (officialy, rather more likely to be 6) in relatively safety and comfort from a to b.  It's not a rival to a Renault Twingo, let alone a Clio.  It's a covered, more stable scooter.  This car won't work here, or anywhere West of the Eastern Block, but out there it's perfect.  I even have one on order.

Tata Nano is a game-changer because of its price - gives a cheaper option to people. It is the same principle that has made Walmart and Amazon such big hits in the US. I won't mind buying one just for grocery-shopping and local travel. Dude..it costs < 2000 pounds!! Think about it.

First post from Detroit, Michigan...

 Its quite amusing that you folks are reacting the same way to a much smaller car than most Yanks did.   "Give up my pickemup truck that says my manhood is strong???  No way" 

 I showed this to my 15 year old daughter and she said wonderful for going to school with her friends, assuming it can carry Tenor Saxophones, boys,  and book bags.  Add $500 for a bluetooth and ipod link (she loves Ford Sync) and it will make her wait for a Ford Verve acceptable.  

 By the way... I drive a Ford Edge and a Lincoln MKX.  I am prepared for some yank hate, but I can take it.  

I was driven around in Kerala in an Indica (City Rover) and it was great compared to the old Morris Oxford we usually rode in - although I enjoyed them in a retro way - especially done out like a Bentley in green with rear wheel spats or with a fit for a Maharaja purple interior driven by a dude who also had alloy wheels and cool 50's sunshade. They are making the Nano for less than me and my mates spend on alloy/carbon/ Campag road bikes for local club runs. Labour will be cheap but materials are an international market so there is some clever engineering in this car and I would expect nothing less from Tata who are a great company - not some hollowed out, tax dodging private equity punt. Meanwhile Western hedge fund managers will be spending their dubious  bonuses on Audi RS6 "Estates". You cant even pretend that its there for track days unless Ikea are sponsoring some new version of the Le Mans race where you load up a bedroom and assemble it after 24 hours driving!  As one Indian middle class housewife said "I sit on the very edge of the scooter"  I've seen scooters go over in Dehli and the bloke rush his bike to the edge before he picked up his wife.  Nano is a good fit for purpose and exciting development.

nigzsingh:

What gives us in Britain the right to have more cars per head than India....

Well my guess would be the average UK citizen's greater earning power and wealth.

Given the way British politicians run things and tax everything and everybody to death it's only a matter of time before Britains can't afford anything but a Nano.. so I wouldn't be so smug!

The Nano is a bombshell to established manufacturers though it won't have them running to cut prices. Instead as seen in India it'll only effect cars in the same (near!) price range. But it certainly draws a new line in the sand for what a 'cheap' car should sell for and is revolutionary for the mobility of India's vast population. The waves will ripple upwards though (look at Mercedes and BMW plans to platform share) and be good news for consumers worlwide over the next few years.

As for the green issue about CO2 emissions which is an unproven science based on hot air. I really couldn't give a fig for their piffle!!