Tata Nano in Detroit

WHAT’S THE TATA NANO DOING IN DETROIT?
The World’s Cheapest Car on Display

By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Detroit Bureau
Photos By Margaret Hehr

When the invitation came to come see the Tata Nano I couldn’t refuse. After all, the Nano is one of the most talked about cars in the automotive universe. You may recall stories over the last couple years about this Indian company building the cheapest real car in the world to sell for $2,500 – the same Indian company, by the way, that bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford.

The Nano wasn’t here in Detroit on its own behalf. It just came over to gather attention for Tata Technologies, a major engineering and design firm working with all the major OEMs. Tata Technologies is an independent affiliate of Tata Motors and dozens of other Tata companies. The Tata conglomerate has entities involved in everything from steel making to IT to airlines to hospitality to tea and is one of the largest commercial vehicle makers in the world.

The story goes that the fourth generation leader of the Tata Group, Mr. Ratan Tata, was appalled at seeing masses of Indians packing onto motorcycles and scooters and wildly dashing through traffic risking life and limb – Mom, Dad and kids all teetering on old two-wheelers. He decided there must be a way to make a low-cost, all-weather conveyance – not even necessarily a car – that the average Indian could afford and one that would mitigate the risks of the every-man-for-himself driving environment. So he issued the challenge to his people to build such a conveyance, keeping the price to an arbitrary $2,500.

Tata Technologies, headquartered Singapore with regional facility here in Troy, Michigan, was involved in just about every aspect of the Nano’s development, and now in its manufacture. Though part of the same conglomerate of companies, they insist that they did not have a sweetheart deal either in getting the development work or in sourcing through other members of the Tata Group.

This little car is what they came up with. It’s not just a glorified golf cart. They make no apologies for trying to make the “cheapest” car they could possibly make “without compromising on aesthetics, value to the customer, or safety and environmental requirements,” according to Jai Bolar, senior manager of development for Tata Technologies. I guess we could examine the semantics – like what “without compromise” means in this case – but the car is much more than I had expected considering the price.

So, what did they come up with for $2,500?

Indian buyers get a 4-passenger (5 if you squeeze three small people in the back) little humpy 4-door, steel-bodied sedan with a tiny rear-mounted, 2-cylinder, 27-horsepower engine and 4-speed manual transmission managing to get 50-mpg. After all, what more do you really need when you’re replacing a motor scooter?

The Nano looks like what we think of as a “city car.” Little 12-inch wheels are pushed out to the corners and spread wide for good balance. Interestingly, the front and rear tires are a little different in size, perhaps to accommodate the heavier rear where the drive train resides. Side impact beams are integrated into the think doors.

The body shape appears aerodynamically slick but no one could offer the coefficient of drag. I suppose for a car that will spend most of its life at rather low speeds the Cd becomes superfluous.

Nano has no trunk but the rear seat folds down for cargo. A little cargo space surrounds the full-size (remember, it’s a 12-incher) spare tire under the hood. The interior volume feels generous enough for such a little car and the quality of materials was reasonable good as well. Controls in the center of the dash are as simple as can be imagined.

The assembled media folks swarmed in and out of the car (many of us a bit overweight), most finding it adequate. I did not feel claustrophobic in spite of my unconscionable girth.

Now remember, this is not a car especially prepped for the press. It came directly from a dealer’s inventory. The folks at Tata Technologies didn’t have an easy time getting this little squirt for US display. First on sale last spring they’re selling like hotcakes in India. The Tata Technologies folks ended up buying this one from a dealer for the $2,500 sale price then paying over six grand to ship it over. They plan to keep it here for a year and parade it around to promote Tata Technologies business.

Will the Nano ever be sold in the US?

Probably not – is my guess. Tata has the door open for that possibility. They plan to offer it in Europe but it will cost around $8,000 after bringing it up to Euro specs. Of course, that’s still about half of what a Smart Fortwo would cost there, but it’s only half the car except in size. It would cost at least that here in the US because of our tough standards. While it’s a cute little car, amazingly efficient and simple as a third grade math problem, I don’t think its Spartan character would satisfy an American customer.

So don’t look for the Tata Nano here anytime soon. But, you can buy their other products, if you like – Jaguar and Land Rover.