Autoblog

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]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Caparo T1.

The British engineering team at Caparo has quickly made a name for itself by diversifying its production and design expertise with the absolutely insane T1 supercar, while simultaneously landing the contract to supply body structures for the equally revolutionary, if far less expensive, Tata Nano. Caparo is looking to expand its line of products to include two new models that also span the spectrum from high-strung super coupe to a compact, lightweight city car.

Currently, Caparo has sold 20 T1s and has taken in around £4 million, which will aid in the development of both vehicles. The new high-performance model will be a more useable version of the T1, but Caparo's chief exec, Angad Paul, remained mum on the details. The other model will make use of innovative materials and packaging, and is likely aimed at smart's fortwo and other small, urban runabouts. The major push by Caparo is to make composite body panels less expensive in an effort to reduce weight and increase efficiency. "The carbon fiber route is not just for expensive cars," Paul maintains, "We are thinking of the Fiat Punto class."


[Source: Autocar]

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

The Geneva Motor Show provided our first opportunity to get up close and mildly personal with Tata's potentially revolutionary Nano. Overall, we're pretty damned impressed. The squat dimensions and short overhangs lend themselves well to the Nano's protuberant proportions, and as much as we tried, we had a hard time finding where Tata really skimped on the exterior elements.

There were two models rotating on stage, the $2,500 "basic" version that's garnered more press than Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan combined, and the lesser-known "luxury" version that gets an enhanced interior, some color-keyed body panels, fog lamps and larger wheels with an additional bolt (the lesser model only sports three lugs versus the upgraded model's four). Unfortunately, when we asked to take a look inside, the nice gentlemen from Tata kindly told us that the doors were locked and we'd have to make better use of our telephoto lens. That might be an indication as to where Tata skimped on materials, but for the money, the intended audience won't be expecting Audi-quality interiors.

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]

Click image for a gallery of the GM China Chevrolet Spark

If everyone else is going to build cars like Tata's headline-grabbing Nano, GM's going to pile on, too. The Lutz cites GM's part-ownership stake in Wuling Motors, a Chinese manufacturer of sub-$3,000 utility vehicles as a possible source of a GM Nano competitor. Lutz went on to say that one way to make an inexpensive car for the developing world is to repurpose a legacy platform that has become obsolete. The tooling and design will have long been paid off, and there'll be plenty of experience from the manufacturing side, too. This is essentially what GM China is already doing with the Daewoo Matiz/Chevrolet Spark. It might smack of dumping an old product that isn't safe or clean enough for mature markets, but is "good enough" in other parts of the world. That said, it could also be a way to maximize the life of an investment while also providing developing markets with a better product than they'd have otherwise. Lutz also called into question whether the average Nano would sell for its rock-bottom $2,500 price of entry, anyway. Adding extra amenities will likely push the price of most Nanos higher, says Bob.

[Source: Auto News - sub req]

click above to view more images of the Tata Nano

The unveiling today of the Tata Nano in India has caused quite a stir. The $2,500 micro car will officially become the world's cheapest production car when it goes on sale later this year, and we've actually been getting emails all day from people the world over asking how they can buy one.

We've got video of the Nano's live reveal at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, and it was quite an event. Consider that the unveiling's soundtrack was the theme music from 2001: A Space Odyssey, a.k.a. "Also sprach Zarathustra" by Richard Strauss. That's a pretty heavy score for such a small vehicle.

We've also added more pics to our gallery that show the Standard Nano and Luxury Nano from more angles, including our first view of the interior. We'll save you the suspense, it's spartan, very spartan. Don't expect XM and a navigation system to be offered in the Nano. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't be that hard to find an optional nav system on some luxury cars that cost more than the Nano itself.

Follow the jump to view video of Tato Nano being unveiled.

[Source: Tata Motors]

When Apple's low-cost Mac Mini computer debuted, it wasn't long before industrious hackers took advantage of its small form factor to create some incredible in-car installs. There have always been some major limitations, however, to installing a Mac Mini in your dash, the most significant being how to interact with it. Driving around with a keyboard and mouse in your lap isn't very ergonomic. Enter the new AppleTV, a device that despite having only been on the market for a week or so has become the most hacked Apple device ever. It has not, however, been installed in a car yet. Here's why it should be.

The AppleTV is a device that's designed to be used in conjunction with a Mac or PC running iTunes, which, let's face it, most computers do. It connects to your desktop via an 802.11 wireless connection and syncs video and music purchased from the iTunes Store onto its own 40GB hard drive. In essence, it acts much like a screenless Video iPod that syncs wirelessly with your computer. Instead of connecting it to an HDTV as it was designed, one could easily envision hacking the video input of a car's in-dash screen to accept the video output of an AppleTV. If successful, you could theoretically pull into your garage and wirelessly sync the video and music on your desktop computer to your car (assuming the range of your wireless network reaches the garage). Once on the road, all of the AppleTV's functions are controlled via a tiny Apple Remote, so there's no need for a keyboard, mouse or other exotic input device.

British? Can't make up your mind about that fun little Miata you've had your eye on? Mazda's here to help. Beginning in 2007, buy a Miata...er...MX-5, in Roadster Coupe form and get iPod connectivity as standard equipment. You ragtop buyers will still be expected to pay for yours.

What's that, you say? You don't have an iPod yet? How have you been listening to the Autoblog podcast? Shame, shame. But, no worries, Mazda's got your back. Along with sporty motoring frivolity, your new MX-5 also comes with a shiny new iPod Nano (hopefully a newer one than the first-gen model in the Mazda-provided photo) . Lucky you.

Oh, and if you live in the US, you still have an opportunity to get an iPod from us. Just listen to the Autoblog podcast for a chance to win your own. Details here. Who loves ya?

Sure you could purchase a $35 plastic case to protect your shiny (for now) iPod Nano, but does it have disc brakes and airbags? Mitsubishi has taken iPod protection to a whole new level with its integrated Nano slot in the i (eye) city car's dash. Just plug in your iPod and enjoy the security only a car can provide. At around $15,000 it may not be the most economical case in which to shroud your iPod, but it's the only one that comes with a turbocharged three-cylinder engine and rear-wheel drive.

[Source: Engadget]