 
Nano is a buzzword. Made
fashionable by nanotechnology, the term is applied to everything from
iPods to washing machines and now, to cars. A car, to be precise. The
Tata Nano, enough said.
The Nano is Tata's attempt at creating a truly people's car. Although
Tata cannot probably sell it at the magical Indian Rs 100,000 mark due
to unforeseen cost escalations, it is still aiming at Rs.120,000 to
Rs.150,000.
Tata plans to make as many as 450,000 of the beauties a year.
The more expensive versions will have body colored bumpers,
air-conditioning and electric front windows.With the Nano, Tata is
poised to take on India and later, the world. Even with the high taxes
and duties here, the Nano will still be cheaper than the Maruti Suzuki
800 AC. In these hard times, a fuel consumption figure of 55 mpg also
sounds very promising to the prospective buyers of this class of car.
 With
Jaguar and Land Rover already under its belt, Tata will have everything
from a cheap no-frills car to luxury marques in its stable. The Nano
itself will see a grander version for he export markets. It actually
showed a European prototype in Geneva in March.
The Nano is tiny, make no mistake. Yet the 625 cc twin-cylinder car
with a 16 liter fuel tank has four-doors, making it a family saloon.
There is no fifth gear, but at these prices who can complain? Initial
reports say that the gearbox is smooth and the top gear can hit right up
to 80 Km/h.
The first photos suggest an amazingly roomy interior with ample leg
and head room for four adults - make that five in India and Sri Lanka.
Many thanks then to that tall boy stance. And with the sticker price
just above some of the high performance bikes, more families could be
tempted to try four wheels instead of two.
 That
all-round independent suspension could help to take them places in
style. Don't worry about the all-drum brakes, though. The car is so
small and light (only 600 Kg), you don't actually need expensive, power
assisted disc brakes. .
Obviously, Tata had to cut a few corners here and there to keep costs
down but at least the engineers have tried to be creative about it. Flat
side glass, a single wiper, no tailgate (load the boot by folding the
rear seat flat and loading through one of the big rear doors), no rear
wiper, no passenger's seat adjustment, three wheel-nuts instead of four,
one door and no power steering - just like the Maruti 800 AC.
But there is no need for power steering here, it already has a very
small turning circle. By the way, the front and rear tire sizes are
different. Just a couple more facts: The Nano is rear-engined - the
engine is under the rear seat, as is the radiator. Emissions are lower
than those of a motorcycle. Definitely a car for the masses and if all
goes well, this will be Tata's Model T.
- Pramod
|
