TATA to expensive CARS

Tata Nano: The World's Cheapest Car

NEW DELHI — With crowds jamming the Tata Motors exhibit at the New Delhi Auto Expo three hours before showtime, the Indian automaker's chief, Ratan Tata, drove the highly-anticipated 1-lakh ($2,500) car, named the Nano.

Promised by Ratan Tata as the world's cheapest car and the people's car, the Nano hatchback goes on sale in India later this year. Exports are planned within three years.

The Nano is rear-drive with a rear gas engine, a 34-horsepower 623cc aluminum twin-cylinder. Tata says the Nano, available in standard or "deluxe" trim, achieves fuel economy of about 50 mpg. However, it meets only Euro III emissions standards, which are up to four years behind current European regulations.

Tata says the Nano already has passed India's full-frontal crash tests and is designed to meet international offset and side-impact crash tests. It has no airbags, but Ratan Tata said they could be added for markets outside India.

A Cornell University-trained architect who personally helped design the Nano, Ratan Tata had long vowed he'd develop a car cheap enough so Indians could trade their motorbike in for one.

"A promise is a promise, and that's what we'd like to leave you with," Ratan Tata said at the conclusion of the press conference.

What this means to you: You won't be seeing a 1-lakh car in the U.S. for awhile — if ever. But if you live in India, you can trade up your motorbike for a Nano. — Nick Kurczewski, AutoObserver Correspondent