Information Madness

After all the hurdels, Tata Nano, the so called "People's car" is launched in India. Customers can expect to own a car for Rs. 1.20 Lakh to Rs. 1.30 Lakh. The booking will start from second week of April.

Here are some facts about Tata Nano. Nano has a roomy passenger compartment with generous leg space and head room. The car is 3.1 metres in length and 1.5 metres wide and is 1.6 metres in height.

The Nano has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminium, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. This is the first time that a two-cylinder gasoline engine is being used in a car with single balancer shaft.

Tata Nano will have tubeless tires. I did read it somewhere that the car is tested to go upto 45 kilometers/hour speed. So if you are planning to buy Nano and drive it on Express Highway, you better make sure it is designed to run on speeds above 50 km/hour.

According to this NYTimes article, Tata chose wheel bearings that are strong enough to drive the car up to 45 miles an hour, but they will wear quickly above that speed, reducing the car’s life span. The car’s top speed is 75 miles an hour.

The cars will be on display at Tata Motors dealerships from the first week of April 2009. Bookings will commence from the second week of April 2009.

Updates

Tata can produce up to 60,000 Nanos a year at its factory in Pantnagar in northern India. It can export the models from 2011. Tata Motors will begin accepting bookings for the car between April 9-25 and deliveries will start in early July. The company will guarantee prices for the first 100,000 units. Customers must pay deposits of 95 percent of the car’s price [bloomberg]

Resham Singh, showroom and sales manager at Sanya Motors, New Delhi, said: “The Nano is a value-for-money car. Apart from the price, it has better designs than what is available in the market right now — tubeless tires and the like.

“Our bookings will begin in the first or second week of April and the first delivery is expected to happen only in the first week of June. “For every 100 bookings we will only be able to give away two to three cars. The ratio of supply to demand is less. Sales will be done by lottery system.”

Tata Nano gets 23.6 Km/liter (gas mileave)/(petrol average).

Nano comes in three models:

• Tata Nano Standard: three color options, single-tone seats, and fold-down rear seat.

• Tata Nano CX: five color options, with heating and air-conditioning, two-tone seats, parcel shelf, booster-assisted brakes, fold-down rear seat with nap rest.

• Tata Nano LX: the features of CX plus complete fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body colored exteriors in three premium colors, fog lamps, electronic trip meter, cup holder in front console, mobile charger point, and rear spoiler.

More information on Tata Nano Gets Its Website TataNano.com