An insurance agent by the name of Satish Sawant recently took delivery of his brand new Tata Nano, in Mumbai. He doesn’t have a license to drive yet, so he arranged to be chauffeured home in his new ride. On the way home, however, a motorcyclist pulled alongside and motioned to the rear of the vehicle. When Sawant looked around, he saw that the rear end of his brand new car was engulfed in flames. He and the driver got out of the car safely, but as you can see, the car didn’t fare so well.
The Tata Nano has been in global news before. The reason it gets so much attention? It costs around $2,500 US, making it the cheapest car on the planet. Of course, you don’t get a lot of creature comforts for your $2,500, but you do get four doors, a roof, steering wheel, seats, an engine, all the basics you’d expect on a new car.
Will we see a Tata Nano on these shores? Well that’s an interesting question, since Tata founder Ratan Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover last year. I doubt the Nano will make it here, at least in its current configuration, since it won’t pass US emissions and safety regulations. We may see Tata branded cars, but the company will have to produce much better cars in order to prevent themselves from becoming the next Yugo.
by John Suit
Source: Indian Autos Blog via AutoBlog