Throughout development, Tata has been keeping hush-hush about the Nano’s figures and stats. A bit surprising then, that the Nano was seen out testing recently without any camo:

Seeing as how it’s the world’s most inexpensive car, it certainly doesn’t look like it. Would you buy a Tata Nano? Continue Reading…

If you haven’t been reading your favorite automotive magazine over the past year, then you’ve missed out on the big following of the little car from India: the Tata Nano. In short, literally, the Nano is four-door “ultra” compact sedan/hatch, measuring in at 10.2 feet long (122.4 inches) by 4.9 feet wide (58.8 inches) by 5.3 feet high (63.6 inches). Compare that to the smallest four-door hatch sold in America, the Honda Fit, which measures in at 13.1 feet by 5 feet by 5.5 feet (157.4×60x66.5), and the Honda would look like a moving van compared to the little Tata.

Another interesting note is something the owner of Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, is very proud of: it’s basement pricing. If you could buy this vehicle (we in the States cannot at the moment), you would pay less than $2,000 for the base model! Of course, that price includes admission and not much else. Luxuries that we are accustomed to, such as a radio, power items, and air condition, are all options. But even added to the bottom line, you wouldn’t be spending much coin.

My question though is, would the Nano work in the United States?. I know we have been selling diminutive vehicles similar to the stumpy Tata for decades (Honda, Chevrolet, Mini, etc.). However, I want to know if we, as an automotive society, are willing to not only give up our space, but our luxuries too? Are we willing to go back to the days of the first Volkswagen Beetles, the original Toyota Corollas, even as far back as the original Model T, where all you purchased on a vehicle were a body, four wheels, and an engine? Continue Reading…