The Nano lands in India

But what will a $2,000 car mean for the rest of the world?

Royal FordMarch 23, 2009 16:23Updated May 30, 2010 11:48

Tata Nano cars are displayed during their launch in Mumbai, March 23, 2009. The Nano, the world's cheapest car, will hit Indian roads in July, and demand is expected to far outstrip supply as the price tag of around $2,000 draws legions of new buyers. (Arko Datta/Reuters)

Were I running Tata Motors Ltd. of India, I’d have named its new car the "10-9" (for non-math geeks that's the symbol often used to denote the concept of "nano," or one-billionth).

It would have put this new mighty mote automobile up there with the big boys from Cadillac, Lexus, Volvo and BMW, with models such as the CTS, XLR, STS, LS, GS, ES, LX, S40, S60, S80, XC60 XC70 and XC90.

Tata went with the Nano, unveiling the ready-for-market version of the new mini car Monday. (See Saritha Rai's Nano analysis from Bangalore.)

Were we back in the days of cars such as Gremlins, Thunderbirds, Firebirds or even Beetles, this car might well have been called the Mighty Mouse, here to save the day.

Which is Tata’s intent with a car costing only about $2,000 and aimed at rising middle classes in developing countries. Middle class is a flexible term. In India, for instance, it means families earning $300 to $500 in monthly income.

When a prototype was first shown at India’s Mumbai Auto Show a year ago, the Nano's diminutive promise set off a rumble — not from its 34-horsepower engine, but from better-paid middle and upper classes in Europe and the United States who were feeling the pinch of higher gasoline prices and looking for something smaller and more fuel efficient.

Tata is calling the Nano the "people's car," but I think that was long ago taken by a German outfit called Volkswagen. In fact, the Nano sounds very familiar in its presentation: 34 horsepower, engine in the rear, rear-wheel drive, non-collapsing steering wheel, no airbags, no rear seatbelts, no ABS, no traction control, no air conditioning, no power steering.

But could you build that Volkswagen Beetle for America today?