[emkay456]

Yesterday saw two so called TDs on news channel. One was on the well known rabid news spewing Hindi Channel. They said Nano does not have a hand brake !! I think I saw a handbrake in one of the TV shots !! What a way to sensationalise !!

Times Now carried a TD. It was totally unprofessional and just touching on the superficials. I suspected it to a be plant by Tatas. I think the suspicion is enforced after seeing the 2 page advertisement in Times of India today. A sort of each profiting from the other !!

[kalpeshc]

Well - I feel that I may be one of the target audience that the Nano is trying to capture. I am a married guy having a young kid and have put up almost everything I'd saved in a house a few years back. I'm paying the EMIs (thankfully not through my nose) and I'd like to own a vehicle provided it doesn't dent my monthly budget. If I opt for a cheap car like Alto, I'm still talking about an EMI of around 4-5K (I may be off here) along with the upfront cash that I may have to shell out. This car gives me a very attractive option. I know that if i want more car in my car, I'd have to shell out more money.

Please just consider this car as one of the cheapest option available in the market. Of course, if you want more frills, there are other options available. You can go for Alto, Santro, Estilo, Indica, Indigo CS, Indigo, Accent, DZire, Fiesta, BMWs, Mercs, etc. as you budget can afford. Nano is just giving me a cheap option if i cannot afford anything else in that list. Now it's up to me whether I want to wait and save some cash to get a better car or get a Nano right away.

[saurabh711]

After the launch yesterday, me and my wife were going to a restaurant for dinner, we saw a family of four riding on a Hero Honda Splendor. I mean it was two adults and two kids probably 6-8 years old.

We talked that the Nano would do good for these people. Atleast they can drive safely on the road. God forbid, if one of the kids fell from the bike and came under a car or something. Atleast the not so fortunate folks can also afford to have the protection of a car.

We have 4 cars and 2- two wheelers in our family. Two of those are TATA cars. I'm sure the Nano even if it has small niggles would do a lot of good to the folks who can now make their dream of owning a car a reality.

I remember years back when Bajaj launched their bikes which you could own at Rs 501/-. I used to think that was great, but now with owning a car for Rs 2,999 as down payment. That is something of a dream. Hats off to TATA!!

[streetrage911]

Originally Posted by kalpeshc

Please just consider this car as one of the cheapest option available in the market. Of course, if you want more frills, there are other options available. You can go for Alto, Santro, Estilo, Indica, Indigo CS, Indigo, Accent, DZire, Fiesta, BMWs, Mercs, etc. as you budget can afford. Nano is just giving me a cheap option if i cannot afford anything else in that list. Now it's up to me whether I want to wait and save some cash to get a better car or get a Nano right away.

Seeing the economic crunch, Indian Market is facing: Nano is going to be a SUPER DUPER HIT.
Recession Hurts but still one can own a nano right away Kudos to Mr Ratan Tata. India is proud of you

[GTO]

Team : Please keep the discussion relevant ONLY to the test-drive. We do have other threads for general Nano talk.

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1) I know people who had their indica failed in middle of nowhere because of reliability issues.
I know a family who lost lives of near and dear people because the steering of Indigo failed. Indigo was not even one year old.

So, does it make all TATA vehicles are bad? Certainly no.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

2) Its true, but the car has to be safe and some minimum quality bits are expected.
Its like buying 600 dpi mouse and 800 dpi mouse. The latter will cost more, but will function better. The former will not be able to do its job properly for long.

Expected, yes. But expectation differs between audience. Did Nano fullfill expectation? Yes, for those who have right expectation. And he knows well that he is not paying for a civic or high end car and also knows well what to expect for what he pays.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Correct, they worked backwards, that is the error. I doubt the integrity of the shell in case of crash, handling, etc. The real answer lies below.

There is a post that says, the total cost of each spares is way higher than the car itself and so some dealers buy cars rather than buying spares. So,
can we really calculate like this?

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

This brings me to real point. A person who barely manages to fuel his expenditure of bike will buy Nano for using it as a city car ? The maintenance will be surely more than bike, FE will go down from 60 to 20-22. Do you think he will still use Nano for city driving ?

He will. Why? We are not talking about ONE person driving it. Its been for the family and not for sales rep who keeps driving his bike all over the city.
Not only that, even people like these sales rep will take Nano for single driver use. Why? Because, its gives more mileage than other cars, more comfort from his bike in the hot sun or rain, etc etc.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

What he will end up doing is this : using Nano as highway car.
Those who have one or more car and are using their present cars for city transport will buy this car for using in city. The target audience will end up in trouble big time on highways.

We are in trouble even now with those numerous other vehicles which create issues. So, does it stop people from buying car at all? No.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

About me being in target audience. I am still in college. I will in the target zone, but will not buy this car becasue I will have family only when I am able to pull up a nice big house and two midsize cars. This is the best thing to do rather than buying Nano as a compulsion which is consequence of a big mistake of having wife + 2 kids.

That answers to all questions, I mean you cant think from "family" angle. Lol, Now you know if I am married. Hahaa.

btw, if you have the wish and money to own a GOOD cars, then there is no point in even thinking this Nano.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Nano is purely a city car, nothing more. I feel that those who barely manage to get Rs. 60K bike will not use nano as a city vehicle. This defeats the purpose of the car.

Again, no. He will stop using autos for those family outing and use this as city car for sure. Especaily on those rainy days when auto fares touch the sky.

Btw, how many percentage of the driving / family owning cars drive through the highways? may be its hardly 10% of whole population holding the cars. There are so many people who prefers not to do highway driving and rather prefer bus / trains for long distance.

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Now what could be better :
1) Tyres : The bigger wheel will have less vertical movement = better ride quality. For a car this tall, why cant we have 13" tyres atleast ? 12" is too much cost cutting.

2) A simple and ultitarian car's engine must be easily accessible. Is this the case with Nano ?
Rs. 2 use and throw pen will be used more roughly than Rs. 100 Parker.
Nano will be used more roughly and wear and tear is also going to be more owing to low running costs ( people will use car more ). And the engine access is restricted. Those who have opened engine at home will understand how the comfortable access to mill can be helpful.

3) Two cylinder engine. Make it three and I will agree this is a car.

4) Dynamics. The car is tall on small wheels. The target audience will have to be aware this thing is totally different from two wheeler.

Its just simple to sit and comment. Dont you think the people behind the screen would have got a valid reason for all these/ Ofcourse, I believe cost is NOT the only reason.

btw, the world has agreed this is a car. So, I dont think TATA or even anyone expects or waiting for you to agree

[Lalvaz]

Wow, Looks like Tata Motors and Ratan Tata has hit paydirt with the Nano. Look at the sheer hysteria that the Nano seems to have whipped up. Can't wait to do a proper TD of the vehicle and see if it really lives up to the hype.

But vehicle performance apart, looking at the amounts that the consumers have to pay for booking the Nano (Approx 80% of cost), and the fact that they could take upto 2 years to get delivery, looks like the Tata's have discovered a cheap financing option. I mean funds at 8.5% in this market, and that is apart from the Rs.300 per form. Wow, looks like whether the Nano is a hit or not, the company is going to laugh all the way to the bank. And hey, we're not even talking the subsidy that they are rumored to get from Mr.Modi.

[abhi182]

Amazing, some of the comments in thread are even more patronizing than some of the articles in the American and European media

If this was readily available (and I had a 3rd parking slot), I'd have probably got one in a blink for my office commute... I think it would make a great city car and also fairly capable of doing small highway trips...

But more than I, there are so many people I see around me who absolutely NEEDED something like this
It's a fairly common sight in Chennai (as well as rest of India) - a young husband and wife on a bike, the lady sitting side-saddle with an infant cradled in her arms
Everytime I see such a couple on the road, my heart skips a beat and I slow down to a sedate driving pace from my usual mildly aggressive driving stance

Now tell me they don't need one...

Also, given the simplicity of the car , there isn't much that can go wrong as far as niggles go
One reason the 800 is considered very reliable is its simplicity, and am guessing so will it be with the nano
Unfortunately (and no thanks to Mamta Banerjee), it would be ages before we can lay our hands on one... :(

[Partho-Palio]

I think "overwhelming" may be the right point to describe all aspects of Nano. All of sudden I (a normal person) feel that somebody started thinking for us and now almost everybody would start thinking about us.
It is not about TATA, but about India. We need many more NANOs in various aspects of life to become world leader.
I am b&b out in Jamshedpur, we have seen TATA Ethos, very closely. PF Act was applicable from 1956, TISCO has similar scheme since 1918 !!!
As even after 1 lakh of selling price TATA will still make money, every business should think like that, profiteering @ 50% and above IS SIN

[extreme_torque]

Its not just the two-wheeler family of four which will buy the Nano but also people who have 2 or 3 cars at home and want a nice easy on the pocket city runabout. I for sure wont wind driving around in a Nano in Delhi and at 1.75 Lakhs for the top end version, it doesnt hurt the pocket as well.
All said and done, the Nano looks so endearing, honest to god just like your neighbourhood faithful friend that it makes me smile everytime I look at it and there arent many car that can do this to me including the mighty Veyron. I just hope and pray that is one huge success for Tata Motors and for the Indian middle class dream. Kudos Tata!

[MileCruncher]

Rather than trying to find faults with the NANO, we need to appreciate RATAN TATA for his commitment to the people of India. This is definitely a paradigm shift in automotive manufacturing and pricing.

I myself don't mind picking one up for city commute after the initial dust settles down.

[rrsteer]

Kept on watching the Nano special in the news channels again and again yesterday and each time it occured to me that Nano is perhaps better put together than other Tata cars in the market. Ok dont for this.

[mwzd]

Think they have a website too now - tatanano.com

Actually this car is very Gandhian in nature and pricing - social engineering at its best.

The fact that its surprised even its die hard fans by its quality is excellent news for the average Indian. Maybe in a few years all cars will hit pricing parity levels with US - its sad that where people earn more, cars cost less than here.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by mwzd

Think they have a website too now - tatanano.com

Actually this car is very Gandhian in nature and pricing - social engineering at its best.

The fact that its surprised even its die hard fans by its quality is excellent news for the average Indian. Maybe in a few years all cars will hit pricing parity levels with US - its sad that where people earn more, cars cost less than here.

I'm sure some one amongst us got to see the DC version of the nano on ndtv profit.Hes going the full hog with gull wing doors, hayabusa engine et all.well I didn't see the video but I'm hoping someone gets to put it up in youtube and give us the link.

[travelwriter]

I have some basic questions.

What does body roll mean?
What do we mean when we say gear is short?
What does cornering mean?

Please help