Click above for a gallery of custom Nanos
For the time being, you have to live in India to buy a Tata Nano. The new people's car is slated for domestic consumption only for now, but that doesn't mean you can't unleash your inner Nano shopper. That's right, Tata's website now allows anyone to customize their own version of little fun-sized runabout. While the car's feature set is limited by necessity -- loading it up with options would run up the price, which would in turn defeat its purpose -- you can do a fair bit of personalization. The standard car gets brighter colors, while the ironically-named Luxury trim features more muted hues. From there, depending on the trim level, you can add foglamps, a number of wheel designs, and best of all -- decal packages! Throw on some racing stripes and crank up the IndiPop; 30-horsepower never looked so fast!
[Source: Tata Motors via Motive]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
jeffzekas @ Mar 27th 2008 8:13PM
The Nano is cute and economical. Bring it to America, and we can save BILLIONS of gallons of oil!
Reader @ Mar 27th 2008 9:49PM
If only we didn't have safety and emission standards like India...
Jon55 @ Mar 27th 2008 9:50PM
Are you kidding? Keep this piece of crap away. We don't want your cheap ugly ball of suck.
Tinu @ Mar 27th 2008 9:57PM
Piece of crap? I think you are missing the point here. Its a $2500 car. You can't expect Volvo safety, Infinity looks, BMW Horsepower, etc etc. Its basic transportation, saves on gas too.
Derek @ Mar 27th 2008 10:07PM
To bring this to the USA just takes a few "zeroes".
Add a zero to the HP, curb weight and price.
take away one zero from the fuel economy.
It's all good!
Jon still doesn't get that he doesn't have to buy one. I'd rather these on the road than SUV's though. The Nano at least won't block my view of the road ahead.
Mobius_1 @ Mar 27th 2008 10:53PM
With increasing obesity troubling the world, I have a better solution: bicycles
LeRobert @ Mar 27th 2008 11:40PM
The individual might end up saving oil, but as a whole, the world is going to consume more because the dirt-poor farmers in China and India can now afford to drive as well! The demand for oil is going to skyrocket if the Nano proves popular, and that can only mean higher oil prices. We should be hating the Nano, not being smitten with it.
jeffzekas @ Mar 28th 2008 1:51AM
1. You can't ride a bicycle in the snow.
2. Only folks who are already riding motorbikes will ride the Nano.
3.You don't need 500 hp to move one person ten miles to work!
LeRobert @ Mar 28th 2008 1:57AM
You're right... 200 hp is ample for me =).
geo.stewart @ Mar 28th 2008 8:37AM
you are better off with the choices you have from the used car market for the money...
This has none of the safety features we are accustomed to. It doesnt have the speed to keep up with our infrastructure. Its not built, meant, or intended for our automobile environment. The Yugo was a better vehicle match for the time and everyone saw where that ended up. Anyone crying for one of these in the US hasnt thought it through.
Anyone excited about it in general living in Europe or US hasnt thought it through. Facilitating the growth in India and China putting people in these vehicles is only going to raise the price of oil exponentially. And yes, that is a self-centered view but it is a fact that this will ultimately raise the price of oil. I think its great for them to industrialize and then become growing consumers but it will ultimately have a costly impact on the rest of the world.
Derek @ Mar 28th 2008 2:33PM
Can't ride a bike in the snow? Really?
http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/29/97/22269729.jpg
Plenty of people ride motorcycles year round as well.
jeffzekas @ Mar 28th 2008 1:53PM
Folks still drive Model T Fords and MG-TC's on public roads, even though neither of these cars are designed to "have the speed to keep up with our infrastructure". In fact, NONE of the classic cars still on the highway meet current safety standards! Yet, we still allow these vehicles to mix with traffic (I remember seeing Phil Hill driving his blower Bentley on the Santa Monica Freeway! And our neighbor, George, drove his 1905, five horsepower. single cylinder Cadillac around town).
As for the price of oil, whether China and India built the Nano, or build Ford Ka's under license, the cost of oil will continue to rise, since 2 billion folks live in these two countries, nations which are modernizing rapidly. Modernization, not the Nano, will cause the depletion of oil, since the major users of petroleum are trucks, factories and trains.
Mike Jenkins @ Mar 27th 2008 8:17PM
No read link?
Alex Nunez @ Mar 27th 2008 8:24PM
Whoops. There you go. That said, we now hyperlink the sources directly as well, so clicking on "Tata Motors" and/or "Motive" would have done the same thing.
Mike Jenkins @ Mar 27th 2008 8:26PM
Thanks, I didn't know that. Cool customization tool, but there were no options for seats or anything after that.
geo.stewart @ Mar 28th 2008 8:28AM
brings new meaning to the term 'sticker shock'...
Alex Nunez @ Mar 27th 2008 8:29PM
Well dude, it's a Tata Nano. It's not like you're gonna get a Recaro option. You DO get to choose your seat fabric color, at least!
brn @ Mar 27th 2008 8:36PM
The Tata Nano, a tuners delight. Trick my Nano!
Sherief @ Mar 27th 2008 8:42PM
I can see the tagline now
"Show us your Tata!"
almost Dr. G.. @ Mar 27th 2008 9:56PM
oh man i just laughed pretty hard at that..