Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Tata Nano.

Indian carmaker Tata chose a site in Singur, India for the plant that would make the Nano, the world's cheapest car. Not long afterward, eleven petitions were filed in the Calcutta High Court stating that the purchase of the land for the factory violated the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. It was alleged that the government of Bengal forcibly took "fertile multi-crop agricultural land" from farmers for industrial use, which isn't allowed.

Earlier this year, the Calcutta High Court found in favor of the government of West Bengal (where Singur is) and Tata. Now another petition has been filed with India's Supreme Court over the issue, and the Supreme Court has asked the West Bengal government and Tata to respond.

The issue for the moment is that the Nano is supposed to go on sale in October -- but the next hearing over the land use petition won't be held until July. Some suppose a revised land deal might drive up the price of the car. Regardless, if Tata doesn't work out a production alternative, Tata won't get the head start it was hoping for on what could be a huge market.



[Source: Times of India via Detroit News]

Countries like China and India are a hotbed for the auto industry, and every major automaker is looking to improve its standing in the emerging markets while they're still on the ground floor. Low-cost micro cars are all the rage in the East, and Nissan/Renault is looking into getting a piece of that action by producing a Nano fighter. Nissan Motor India Director Neeraj Garg told The Times of India that while higher priced sedans and SUVs are also scheduled for India's booming auto market, a low-priced hatch is also on the wishlist if the pricing is right.

Company officials say that the low-cost transportation could be among six new products scheduled for India by 2012, and with the country's low-cost labor, Nissan/Renault could also export any vehicles it makes there.

[Source: The Times of India]

We've heard the styling of some Italian cars being referred to as sensual before, so it comes as little surprise that the Italian styling firm Pininfarina's interest was piqued when it heard that a young Indian's car designs were inspired by the ancient love-making guide Kama Sutra. Ramesh Gound, a student of the National Institute of design in India says, "When I thought of what the world associates with India, it is Kama Sutra that came to my mind. After studying Kama Sutra, I realized its essence and my theme emerged -- two objects coming together and moving in one direction with a force of passion." He adds, "the exteriors of the body curve and become part of the interiors of the car." Yeah... so it sounds like his studies into Kama Sutra proved useful. For all of his hard work, Gound was rewarded with an internship at the famous Italian design house.

[Source: Times of India]

Click above for more high-res images of the Toyota iQ

Toyota has been working on an affordable small car that will be cost-competitive in emerging markets, and Autocar is reporting that India is being considered as a destination for production. India makes sense due to its low-cost labor, and with competitors like the Tata Nano going for as little as $2,500, the world's biggest automaker will need to cut cost everywhere it can. There is no word as to exactly what vehicle would be produced in India, but one option is Toyota's production iQ from Geneva, which is scheduled to begin production later in 2008. Toyota is looking for initial sales of the iQ to crest 100,000 units.


[Source: Autocar via Winding Road]

For the aggressive driver, the horn can prove to be a powerful ally, but it can also annoy the snot out of everybody around them. In Mumbai, India, the noise pollution emanating from the auto-sax is so bad, the heavily populated city decided to have a no-honking day. Here in the States we have a special "day" just about every day of the year, but seldom do we mobilize 2,000 volunteers to ensure the occasion is honored. Mumbai did just that, as the un-paid help toted signs reminding the city of 1.5 million to keep their hands off the horn. While volunteers put the clamps down on every day horns, the fuzz get involved if someone had a tricked-out aftermarket honk.

To prove a point about noise pollution and physical and mental well-being, the folks over in Mumbai also celebrated World Health Day. We can't see how being stuck in traffic with Tatas, bicycles, cows, and elephants and not being able to release stress by honking can be good for anyone.

[Source: The CarConnection]

It's been sporadically reported over the past few months that BMW is considering offering a new microcar to battle it out with the smarts and Toyota iQs of the world. An Isetta revival seems plausible, but in markets outside of Europe and the U.S., the determining factor for consumers is price.

BMW might be looking to India to launch its newest breed of mini mobility, something that would be similar in size to the recently released Tata Nano, but come equipped with more of the luxuries normally associated with the German marque.

The PTI News agency originally reported on BMW's initial exploration into this new vehicle, and our friends over at World Car Fans contacted BMW for more information. According to BMW's spokesperson, there are no plans to compete with the Nano, but the automaker is exploring "the future [of] mobility," a wonderfully canned answer from a PR department if we ever heard one.

[Source: World Car Fans]

click above to view more images of the Tata Nano

Anticipation for the Tata Nano in India is so high that the country's used car market is taking a dive ahead of the car's arrival later this year. Autocar is reporting that sales for India's current most popular and cheapest car, a used Maruti 800, have already fallen 30 percent, and sales for a brand new Maruti 800 were down 20 percent last month. The Maruti is actually a rebadged version of the older Suzuki Altos. At nearly 200,000 rupees, it's about twice as much to buy new as the $2,500 Tata Nano will be, despite being a smaller car. Indian car buyers apparently are not dumb. Why buy a new or used car today when you can wait until the end of the year and get a new Tata Nano for much less? The used car market in India could rebound a bit, however, after the Nano debuts. All those people waiting to buy one now might not end up liking the world's cheapest car after they get a chance to drive one.

[Source: Autocar via Winding Road]

Super Aguri undergoing testing at Jerez

Well that didn't take long. After only two years on the grid, Super Aguri is up for sale. Unlike most of the other "new" teams that took over and rebranded themselves from previous teams, Super Aguri actually put up the bond to join the 2006 Formula One championship as an additional entry. Since then, however, the team has had difficulty putting together the enormous budget required of a modern F1 team, falling into debt to the tune of $47 million, despite getting support from Honda and running old cars.

Now, following the emergence of Force India and the confirmation of an Indian Grand Prix in two years, another Indian business consortium is looking at buying its way into the sport. The Spice Group telecommunications company, which already sponsors Indian former F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan's Team India A1GP car, is reported to be negotiating to acquire Super Aguri. Tata, which is inching closer to its acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar (which itself once had its own F1 team), is reported to be possibly supporting the bid. The price: $1, plus the coverage of the team's debts. The deal hasn't been finalized, but would involve bringing Karthikeyan back to the grid, and leaving Aguri Suzuki in charge. Spice confirms that it is talking with Aguri and a second team. In related news, Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz has reiterated that Scuderia Toro Rosso is not for sale.

[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty]

One way or another, we're going to see a Tata vehicle here in the United States. Whether or not it's through the Jaguar/Land Rover brands or something actually wearing the Tata nameplate, India's top vehicle builder is moving aggressively to become a world player. To that end, Tata Motors has entered into a new deal with Chrysler, LLC to develop an electric version of Tata's Ace mini truck for sale in North America. Chrysler's Global Electric Motorcars division (GEM) is working with Tata to import fully-assembled vehicles that meet all the appropriate U.S. regulations. The battery-operated Ace has successfully navigated the required safety tests, and they're reportedly ready for production. Tata wants to eventually export up to 50,000 vehicles to the US, but they've pegged the goal for 2008 at 10,000 units. This is definitely the year to keep an eye on Tata.

[Source: Reuters]

With less than a day to go before Tata unveils its much-hyped $2,500 "people's car," one of the automaker's Indian rivals, Bajaj Auto, has unveiled a vehicle with a similar purpose. The concept, which was designed and built in India, will be produced under the Nissan/Renault/Bajaj alliance and should retail for around $3,000. The budget car's body might be different when it reaches production, but the running gear, steering, brakes and engine is pretty much set in stone. Other versions will be produced in the coming years sporting Nissan and Renault badges with bodywork to match each of those automakers' lineups.

While a $500 sticker over Tata's ultra-low cost conveyance isn't much, the bigger hurdle for Bajaj is getting production sorted out. Tata intends to begin production of its vehicle within the next eight months, while Bajaj might have to wait a full two years before its bargain-basement whip hits the streets.

[Source: Economic Times]