Tata Nano

Click on photo to enlarge.



















All the newspapers yesterday carried news about the new car called Nano, manufactured by a company called TATA. All the TV channels are talking about this car. It is priced at USD 2500 (plus taxes). In the newspaper headline you see the words "Rs 1-lakh" - "lakh/lac" is one hundred thousand. This is supposed to be the cheapest car in the world. There is a mood of exuberance everywhere. But there are also concerns about how this and other similar small cars will add to the already chaotic traffic in India.

Did you like the play on words - "Nano second to none"? (nanosecond & second to none)

The Tata Group is the largest Indian business group and recently Ford has agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata. Coming up with the Nano, and buying the premium British brands, Tata has caused Indians to be proud. The Tatas are a wealthy Parsi family who have contributed through many industries to the growth of India for the last 100 years and have been at the forefront of giving back to the society long before CSR (corporate social responsibility) became a buzzword in India.

The car has a 634-cc two-stroke aluminum engine which generates 33 bhp and is supposed to give 20-22 Kmpl or about 50 mpg. This ad was seen in many newspapers. Click on the photo to get a better idea of how the car looks.

"To dream anything that you want to dream. That's the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That's the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed." -Bernard Edmonds

"There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" -Robert F Kennedy

"To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded." -inaccurately attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson