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Nano in the US???

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The head of Inidan car maker Tata is saying the small Nano is heading for the US.
Maybe as soon as 2010.

Our version will be closer to the Euro-spec model pictured here than the bare bone Indian version that went on sale a few days ago for $2000.
The Euro version is expected to cost at least twice as much.

Still, the US market might be ready, by then, for a modern looking $5000 car.

What do you think?
Would you buy one?

Conversation 39 comments

  1. Everyone complains that there are too many small cars over here already.
    So lets imagine this being mowed down by an big SUV.
    Would you walk away from that??
    Would you buy one now??

  3. Over my dead body … Oh, it might be if I drove one of those Tata.

    The Smart has a ‘special’ cage. I am still waiting on the verdict of the Toyota iQ.

  5. gorgeous, beautiful style. puts toyota to shame. looks very safe and solid. absolutely stunning! I want 5 , instead of 1 yaris.

  7. That thing is ugly. I understand the reason for it in India, but you could find a decent more normal looking car for the same price and probably get more, better features. It’s got those little bitty wheels, no trunk (not if you have many kids or just use the trunk a lot), just strange. I don’t think I would trust any car company with the name Tata or Nano in it anyways; I wonder if Apple is ready to try and patent Nano before Tata can so Apple will have the first iCar Nano…

  8. How would they provide warranty support and infrastructure and dealerships if they only sell $5,000 cars? Would they set it up as a kiosk-based basis with trained service providers at local garages or a partner company?

    I don’t see this happening earlier than 2011, in two years.

    These make sense in places like India and Vietnam where cars haven’t gotten cheap yet (unlike over here, where there are way more cars than people). But these econocars should be deployed in the third world. I’d rather pay $5,000 for a used Toyota (or even a 15 year old BMW!) than a brand new plastic golf cart.

  10. Wouldn’t it be even less expensive to get killed on a $3000 cycle instead of being squashed in this 1-star egg shell?

  12. I wouldnt even see this on the road driving in my F150.
    Good luck to the Nano drivers.
    They will need it.

  13. This could wreak havoc with the beleaguered American car industry with both the domestics and the transplants. They should be very worried.

  17. I’m sure Tata are all excited and have big dreams, but maybe not this time around. As they develop this concept further though, I would start looking more seriously at them. In 1945 the VW Beetle (the real one) was sneered at and rejected by owners of now defunct companies like Hillman/Rootes Group. Tata are ambitious and are already tapping pent up demand. I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss this odd little car.

  19. Hey Mr. Rattan Tata aint f..ing around here. This smart gentleman owns Tetley Tea, Jaguar, Range Rover, Tata automobiles, and a huge chain of Luxury Hotels worldwide. He is Charismatic and Fair. We will but Tatas here, and we will like it.

  24. As people get bigger, who’s gonna fit in this thing? Cars can only get so small before you realize its a skateboard with an outboard motor, covered by a metal skin. I dont see true mini’s and sub-mini’s making headway here. Not for the distances Americans cover while driving.

    But it would make a cool golfcart.

  25. Eat Candy said…
    gorgeous, beautiful style. puts toyota to shame. looks very safe and solid. absolutely stunning! I want 5 , instead of 1 yaris.

    Please buy five, please. We beg of you.

  26. Bring them over here i say.
    They would make the best luxury golf carts for the rich country clubs.

  29. This is great two for one offer. You get your car and your coffin for the price of one. WWWhhhattt a D-E-A-L.

  33. These apparently are supposed to be throw away cars. It something goes wrong, you throw it away.
    They apparently are not making spare parts for it as such.
    Thats alot of waste.

  34. Re: throwaway cars?

    Not in India. Have you ever been there? In a country where a family of four does their daily commute on a ONE-PERSON MOTORCYCLE, they MacGyver their contraptions out the wazoo on a regular basis. We will see these things into the 2020s in various forms, used pretty much any way you can use one. Sure the greenies will show Parliament the photos of landfills and parts graveyards (as we have with every other disposable machine ever made…), but if a person really wants their machine to last, they will MAKE it last.

    But I do agree. What a waste of thumbs that are opposable to make machines that are disposable.

  35. not true, completely a lie…..no spare parts???….grow up with your childish tactics. nothing is “throw away” in India. people are riding on 40 years old scooters. There will be parts galore. and great service. You sir, demonstrate American stupidity at it’s finest.

  36. what??? said…
    not true, completely a lie…..no spare parts???….grow up with your childish tactics. nothing is “throw away” in India. people are riding on 40 years old scooters. There will be parts galore. and great service. You sir, demonstrate American stupidity at it’s finest.

    March 27, 2009 8:13 AM

    Sorry Apu. Ill buy one from the Quick E Mart.

  37. Sorry Apu. Ill buy one from the Quick E Mart.

    While you nurture your snotty attitude, there are probably tens of millions of people who could use this humble car to help their families survive and prosper. Let’s give the rest of the world a shot at what you most likely take for granted, eh?

    Thanks, Vince, for sharing the details of the Nano.

  38. All in all i guess they are designed for the third world countries. They have no room for big gas guzzling SUV’s over there or affluence like us over here.

  39. “While you nurture your snotty attitude, there are probably tens of millions of people who could use this humble car to help their families survive and prosper. Let’s give the rest of the world a shot at what you most likely take for granted, eh?”

    We and our forefathers worked and battled for centuries to get we are now. Im sure if it were the other way around and we were in a third world overpopulated country and they were over here, they wouldnt give a dam about us either.

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