World's Cheapest Car Goes On Sale In India

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World's Cheapest Car Goes On Sale In India

Posted by timothy on Monday March 23, 2009 @12:18AM from the wish-it-had-a-monorail-socket-too dept.

Frankie70 writes "The Tata Nano — the car that caught the world's imagination as the cheapest ever — will finally be rolled out commercially on Monday in Mumbai in a mega event organised by Tata Motors. Ben Oliver, contributing editor, Car Magazine, London test drove the car in December, 08. These were his first impressions. This was his verdict: 'CAR's first ride in the Tata Nano felt far more significant and exciting than a first drive in a Ferrari or Lamborghini, because this car's importance is immeasurably greater. It won't compete on dynamics or quality with European or Japanese city cars, but it doesn't have to. What Tata has achieved at an unprecedented price is astonishing, although we'd guess it will cost Indian consumers closer to £1700 when it finally goes on sale, six months late, in March 2009.'"

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I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by ActusReus · 2009-03-23 00:21 · Score: 5, Funny

... or maybe a Tata Shuffle, with the steering controls obnoxiously embedded in some earbuds?
1. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by Threni · 2009-03-23 00:23 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  or the `tata clean air - it was nice knowing you'...
2. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-23 00:52 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Well, I'll be waiting for the "Touch Tata" so I can finally say I got to 2nd base!
3. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by kinnell · 2009-03-23 01:27 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  ...or maybe a single button in the centre of the dashboard which steers you in a random direction.
  
  --
  If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
4. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by ozmanjusri · 2009-03-23 01:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  ... or maybe a Tata Shuffle, with the steering controls obnoxiously embedded in some earbuds?
  Wait 'till your first crash. You'll find your Tata Touch has its steering controls obnoxiously embedded in your chest.
  
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  "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
5. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by shis-ka-bob · 2009-03-23 03:41 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  The car is named 'tata' and the best you can come up with is a iPod interface? Am I the only one with a gutter mind who is looking forward to a ta-ta interface with left and right control silicone controllers?
  
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  Think global, act loco
6. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by davester666 · 2009-03-23 05:35 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  It's colder up here, so we can generate more energy from the difference between the ambient temperature and the temperature of our politician's hot air.
  
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  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
7. Re:I'm still waiting for the Tata Touch... by aliquis · 2009-03-23 06:27 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Where the fuck do you idiots come from?
  USA.
Hyperbole much? by Speare · 2009-03-23 00:31 · Score: 1, Funny

CAR's first ride in the Tata Nano felt far more significant and exciting than a first drive in a Ferrari or Lamborghini
Wow, that's some hyperbole. A tuktuk is a sort of moped with a roof, and this Nano is a tuktuk with doors. Maybe he's talking about his first ride in a cardboard box in the "exciting" traffic flows in India - go ahead and search for that in YouTube.

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Top gear by simonwalton · 2009-03-23 00:55 · Score: 5, Funny

Can't wait to see The Stig powersliding this baby around the Top Gear test track.
1. Re:Top gear by neomunk · 2009-03-23 02:17 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Like real life Penny Racers! Brilliant!
Re:Infrastructure will not handle this by (H)elix1 · 2009-03-23 01:11 · Score: 5, Funny

Heh. My first visit to New Delhi, I wondered if India followed 'British' driving rules (drive on the left side of the road) vs the right side lane driving seen in many other countries. A couple hours each way, several days in a row, I was unable to call it based on the driving observed.
These guys would make the Brazilian or Italian drivers blush... It is a wonder we don't see more of them on the race track.

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+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Re:And will be unavailable anyplace else.... by AvitarX · 2009-03-23 01:15 · Score: 4, Funny

Tatas are very sexy though.

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Re:And will be unavailable anyplace else.... by Zero__Kelvin · 2009-03-23 01:18 · Score: 2, Funny

Oh my God! He's right! Quick! Somebody convene a special congress to invent science!

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Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Nano = Population Control by Logical+Zebra · 2009-03-23 02:06 · Score: 2, Funny

Seriously. That thing is a death trap.

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I have a bad feeling about this...
Re:Cheap car already tried and failed! by sorak · 2009-03-23 02:50 · Score: 2, Funny

Failed?
The Yugo sold quite a lot of cars, and according to the wikipedia article you link to, they're still being sold. Not in the US, but the Tata Nano isn't aimed at the US either. Lots of stuff isn't. Just because something won't succeed in the US, that doesn't automatically make it a failure.
Yes. Look at David Hasselhoff!
Re:And will be unavailable anyplace else.... by RunsWithMatches · 2009-03-23 03:06 · Score: 2, Funny

...My point being - who the hell are you to decide who gets to drive and who doesn't?
Obama's car czar, of course.
Re:And will be unavailable anyplace else.... by Anonymous Coward · 2009-03-23 03:14 · Score: 1, Funny

But, enabling 29,000,000,000 people to buy a car and drive around is not always a great idea.
29 billion is ahelluvalot. Where did you get the numbers? ;)