New Car Quotes, Buy Used Cars, Auto Reviews and Prices.

What $2,500 buys in India: Tata Nano unveiled

Tata has pulled the wraps off its long-discussed and highly-anticipated 1-lakh (around $2,500) car. The orb-like Tata Nano was unveiled at the New Delhi Auto Expo today, boasting a 30-horsepower 624-cc engine; a four-speed manual transmission; a disc/drum brake setup; room for five (based on the above photo); and claimed fuel economy of 54 US miles per gallon. There's no power steering, and you'll find more instrumentation on many wristwatches -- the Nano has only a fuel gauge, speedometer, and oil light. Suspension? Well, it has one. Tata claims that the car meets safety and environmental standards, and we're sure it won't be long before tests show whether the car is up to snuff in those areas. Say hello to the new 'people's car,' brought to you by the same folks who hope to sell you Jaguars in the not-so-distant future. We'd say that if all goes as planned, Tata's got just about every possible demographic covered. Thanks for the tip, RV!

UPDATE: Official Tata press release added after jump.

[Source: Rediff]

Continue reading What $2,500 buys in India: Tata Nano unveiled

(Via Autoblog.)

$2500 Tatas To Be Shown Thursday [News]

Tata Motors will finally be showing off the long awaited $2500 automobile on Thursday. We've been throwing digital column space at it since August and now we'll get to see the new people's car. So what can we expect from a car that would make Henry Ford proud? Well, to borrow a phrase, everything you need, nothing you don't. The ass-engined Indian slot car is rumored to be a four door hatch with seating for five and a rounded jellybean shape. Expect power nothing and maybe a Bosch supplied 600-ish cc motor attached to a CVT. Also to be expected - YouTube videos of Indians doing choreographed auto fighting with them as soon as they hit the market.

(Via Jalopnik.)

Tata 1-Lakh Car to use Bosch Value Motronic

Click to enlarge

Bosch’s new Value Motronic is a new engine management platform for gasoline-powered engines, aimed to provide maximum functionality at minimum cost. What Bosch has done is cut down the use of sensors, injectors, and other hardware, instead using more intelligent software to make up for the reduction in sensors.

The Bosch Value Motronic is one of the key items to scale down the cost of the new Tata 1 Lakh car, which Tata calls the People’s Car. The cheap, no-nonsense car will be built using re-engineered plastics and modern adhesives, and is aimed at converting India’s many motorcycle users to something with 4 wheels and a roof, which will ultimately benefit them as it is much safer.

The car’s 660cc engine (expect to produce 30 to 35hp) will not only use Bosch’s Value Motronic ECU but sources say the engine itself will be built by Bosch, who has just setup Bosch India by investing Rs 850 crore (RM 710 million) into its Indian operations previously known as Mico Bosch. Total investment in India by the German automotive technology company will reach Rs 2,650 crore (RM 2.2 billion) by 2010.

Those who have seen the 4-seater car describe it as a small jellybean shaped car, and our very own talented Theophilus Chin has whipped up a very nice artist’s impression (shown above) which will have to do until the car is unveiled at the Delhi Motor Show on Thursday!

(Via Paul Tan's Raves and Rants on the Automotive Industry.)

Watch out Tata: Bajaj to double small car fuel efficiency, Ford invests in Indian small car plantIt's just two days before the debut of Tata's $2,500 car and a major U.S. car maker blinked. Ford said Tuesday it will invest $500m in a vehicle plant in India. Ford also says a significant part of that investment will go toward making a small, inexpensive car. Ford is not alone in trying to grab headlines away from Tata.

Bajaj Autos, Indian's first and the world's fourth largest maker of three wheeled vehicles, has decided to add a wheel and is getting into the car market. 'It would be inappropriate to say that it will be priced at a lakh or two or anywhere in between because is too premature,' says Bajaj. The car, which is two to four years away, 'will set a new benchmark in terms of fuel economy and offer twice as much as the current crop of small cars,' according to Bajaj. Will increasing fuel efficiency come at the expense of more important things?

The New York Times wrote an article about Tata's $2,500 car with a compilation of the cost-cutting measures. The Times article questions the environmental claims from the company that the car would have low emissions (more precisely, that a car this cheap could maintain low emissions for the life of the vehicle). Go below the fold for the quote from the Times.

(Via AutoblogGreen.)