Looks like India has finally found a way to reduce their population problem.

As we have said before the EU is twenty- thirty years behind US emissions standards and the rest of the world patterns it's standards on not current but obsolescent EU standards. India's forthcoming standards meet antique EU standards EU II and EU III that date to the late 60s and early 1970s.

The eco-loons here in America just do not recognize how far ahead of every one else that they have pushed standards and the rest of the World is not following.

In this time of trials for American automakers, they should just pause in their effort to enact more and tougher standards, that penalize our American autotmakers more than others. The presently existing standards have not fully worked their way into our air quality.

The present auto fleet takes time to turn over, in the meantine the average new car is considerably better then the older ones in the fleet. Over 60 models now arer e PZEV zero pollution models according to CARB, not even considering the electric hybrids. As these are older models are scrapped our air will continue to get better.

America already has the cleanest air in the world, in every toxic emssisions category, including non-toxic CO2. Is it perfect? No, but teh USA's air gets cleaner every year.

Most eco-loons don't know that America already sequesters more CO2 than it emmits and even absorbs some from Eurasia. They are madly trying to kill the Golden Goose by passing even more regulations, including a new CO2 regulation. We do it by having invested in the largest wilderness and park lands system in the World; where the plants absorb all that CO2 and grow luxuriantly.

@JosephT
You've never been to India, have you? This vehicle is an improvement over what you see on their roads. Rickshaws, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, and heavy diesel spewing trucks all share the road.

Ya gotta love it.

This sets entirely new standards for homely, not ugly homely; cute homely. Except the wheels are too small.
Makes it look like a Pontiac Aztek - sorry.

But the wheels give Nano that same built-in anti-theft protection.

$2000 - how can they do that, maybe they can't - maybe this first 100,000 cars breaks even, starts volume going and pulls in more investors.
When capacity arrives in 2010, they might be $4000; even that's not bad.

When, if ever, will they become compliant and importable to the US ?
A $5k car would sell, I think; I mean to real people.
What did Yugo's first sell for ? $4k? That equals about $8k.

As recent as 1992 a GM Geo Metro did not have any rollover or side intrusion protection.. things the Tata Nano has. The metro did have airbags but they really are not needed if you wear your seatbelt.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I just don't see this as an improvement. These cars would not pass 1979 US standards. 65 mph means this thing is a death-trap

@ExDemo,

European cars emit far less CO2 than their American counterparts, we've been far ahead of you in that respect for decades.

ai_vin,

Sorry, but our aggressive cleanup regulations do penalize our domestic automakers more than others. Just who do you think must spend all the money to develop the technology to meet the toughest standards in the World ?

Who developed the Catalytic converter? Who developed the constantly self-tuning auto engines with microprocessor controls? Who pioneered the O2 sensor for closed loop control? yada, yada, yada...

The domestics have a technology development tax imposed on them.

You surely don't think the Sierra Club or Greenpeace spend a single dime developing the required technology to meet the standards that they urge on everyone and the government to enact, do you?

Plus there is the federal law that requires the automakers to cheaply license their cleanup technologies to other automakers for ridiculously low, essentially free, licenses. This was done to facilitate the spread the technology for cleanup; but it ends up costing the firms who must meet these tougher than anybody else's standards the soonest, the R&D money that it takes to do so, with little prospect of cost recovery.

And the bringing up the rear, the Japanese, Indians, Chinese, and Koreans lag far behind those current EU standards.

As an example, the EU standards for diesel NOx are fully 90% dirtier than in America, and any other toxic emission measure that you would like to examine are similar,but less stark. BTW, that is the reason there are few EU diesel models sold in America. They are polluting pigs by our laws and illegal.

Except for one standard. The EU has had tougher standards for VOC emissions from PARKED cars. But then there are tremendous numbers of sooty, stinky, polluting diesels there, And diesel fuel does not evaporate as readily as more volatile gasoline. So the EU has a standard that applies to less than 50% of the cars there,as the VOC standard was drafted such that diesel fuel evaporaitons would not exceed it. Convenient isn't it?

But CARB has even addressed that, and gone beyond with with its PZEV and AT-PZEV regulations, that equal the EU lead in that category. But the EU does not have any standards that meet SULEV or its Federal Tier II equivalent, that are the basis on TOP of which, PZEV VOC regulations are added. So our PZEV vehicles all 56 models of them in 2008, beat the EU even there.

Who gets a free ride? Certainly not our domestic automakers.

I think this is a beautiful machine. It is certainly NOT primitive. In fact, I would say it is the most advanced machine on the road.

If this does not wake up manufacturers in the US and Europe I am not sure what will. There must be innovation or even the strong companies will die (although i don't think there is a strong auto manufacturer now). Why pay $20k for a little car to sit in traffic when you can buy this one for $2k?

Kudos Tata. Your innovation has demonstrated how we will solve the energy crisis.

The good side of bringing out fuel efficient cars- they will sell more in poor countries increasing consumption and put pressure on car makers worldwide to improve fuel economy because of peak oil and rising world use of fuel. It’s not ethical to watch developed countries like US squander the rest of the world’s reserves with their gas-guzzlers.

A hundred million idling engines on the world’s congested motorways waste a good percentage of the world’s precious fuel every day. I wish people would wake up to this massive disaster unfolding. But it appears most people still prefer to live with their head in sand. I say bring on fuel efficient TA-TAs and cars that have stop/start engines that don't waste fuel when they idle. It’s not full electric but its a start.

In respect to local auto makers in the US and Australia losing work to the imported Indian cars (If they ever do make it through inspections), Western auto makers can’t make cars this cheap if they were fully paid by governments. Good on the Indians, give the roads back to the people, and remove dangerous 4WDS.