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The Tata Nano: how did they do it?

January 25, 2008 at 4:30 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata Nano

The Tata 1 Lakh Car was unveiled recently and it was given the name Tata Nano. We know its small, egg-like and comes with a small two-cylinder engine, but what exactly did Tata do to achieve the now famous “1 Lakh” price?

  • Base 1-lakh model has no radio, power steering, power windows or air conditioning.
  • Instrument panel only has the basics – speedometer, odometer and fuel gauge.
  • Its 12 inch wheels only need 3 lug nuts.
  • Small 12 inch tyres are cheaper because they use less material.
  • The 624cc two-cylinder gasoline engine only has a single balance shaft.
  • Does not pass US emission or safety standards.
  • Bosch’s 35 amp generator is lighter than the usual 40 amp model.
  • Bosch used a motorcycle starter motor.
  • Bosch Value Motronic ECU removes 700 of the Motronic’s 1,000 functions, and the chip and housing itself has been shrinked.
  • ECU sensors are smaller and lighter and fewer – 4 instead of the usual 7 or 8.
  • Throttle position sensor is half its usual size because the pressure plate uses more sensitive material.
  • It looks like a hatch but isn’t a hatch – the rear is welded shut and cannot be opened, this means the engine bay which lies under the rear seats also can only be accessed from inside the car.
  • Drum brakes all-round instead of front discs.
  • The basic 1-lakh model does not even come with a brake booster or servo.
  • Reduced NVH materials, instead sheet metal frequencies were designed to control boom and vibration.
  • Seats have a built in headrest and do not recline.
  • No glovebox.

That’s basically the laydown of what cost-cutting measures Tata have taken to bring the Tata Nano’s price down to slightly more than 1-Lakh. Would you buy the Tata Nano if it was available in Malaysia?

Related Posts:
More photos of the Tata Nano
Tata Nano – the name of the Tata 1-Lakh car

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More photos of the Tata Nano

January 12, 2008 at 5:34 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata Nano

Here are more photos of the new Tata 1 Lakh Car, the Tata Nano. The photos include some of the car’s interior, which is so basic that its seats do not have reclining functions, and the instrument panel lacks an RPM meter.

The red car in this post with the unpainted black bumper is the basic version, which does not include air conditioning. As you can see, its very basic with steel wheels and etc. The yellow car is the more “luxurious” version, if the word may be stretched this far. It includes alloy wheels, climate control and other features.

View all photos after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Tata Nano: The name of the Tata 1-Lakh Car

January 10, 2008 at 4:57 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata Nano

Tata has unveiled its 1-Lakh Car at the 2008 Delhi Motor Show, and its officially been christened the Tata Nano. The model at the motor show was powered by a 33 horsepower 624cc two-cylinder gasoline engine mated to either a stepless CVT transmission or 4-speed manual transmission. A diesel version will soon follow. The car will initially available with the manual, with the CVT to be available later.

The 4-seater (5 if you squeeze) Tata Nano uses 5 litres of fuel per 100km and meets all Indian local crash test and emissions guidelines. It was also designed to pass international side offset and side crash tests as well as Euro 4 emissions tests. It has a length of 3.1 metres, width of 1.5 metres and height of 1.6 metres

The two-cylinder engine, which uses Bosch’s Value Motronic fuel injection and engine management is mounted at the rear of the car together with the battery. There is a small boot at the front where a person would normally expect the engine bay to be.

The car has no power steering, but being so light I don’t think you’d really need one anyway, plus at its 1 Lakh price point you really can’t complain. It also lacks an RPM meter, with its instrument panel consisting of only a speedometer, a fuel gauge and an oil light. The car will be priced at 100,000 Indian rupees, or 1 Lakh, but customers will pay slightly more than 1 Lakh at the dealers because of taxes and other charges.

This 1 Lakh price tag is for the standard car, which does not have air conditioning. The two deluxe models will cost more. 1 Lakh Indian Rupees is roughly RM8,350.

Tata expects to sell 500,000 units of the Tata Nano, and the car will go on sale in the second half of 2008.

Previous Posts on the Tata 1-Lakh Car:
Tata 1-Lakh car to use Bosch Value Motronic ECU
Artist’s Impression: Tata Abarth 1-Lakh Car
More details on the Tata 1-Lakh Car
Tata set to launch US$2,500 car in mid-2008

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Tata 1-Lakh Car to use Bosch Value Motronic

January 8, 2008 at 10:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata

Tata 1-Lakh Car
Artist’s Impression – Click to enlarge

Bosch’s new Value Motronic is a new engine management platform for gasoline-powered engines, aimed to provide maximum functionality at minimum cost. What Bosch has done is cut down the use of sensors, injectors, and other hardware, instead using more intelligent software to make up for the reduction in sensors.

The Bosch Value Motronic is one of the key items to scale down the cost of the new Tata 1 Lakh car, which Tata calls the People’s Car. The cheap, no-nonsense car will be built using re-engineered plastics and modern adhesives, and is aimed at converting India’s many motorcycle users to something with 4 wheels and a roof, which will ultimately benefit them as it is much safer.

The car’s 660cc engine (expect to produce 30 to 35hp) will not only use Bosch’s Value Motronic ECU but sources say the engine itself will be built by Bosch, who has just setup Bosch India by investing Rs 850 crore (RM 710 million) into its Indian operations previously known as Mico Bosch. Total investment in India by the German automotive technology company will reach Rs 2,650 crore (RM 2.2 billion) by 2010.

Those who have seen the 4-seater car describe it as a small jellybean shaped car, and our very own talented Theophilus Chin has whipped up a very nice artist’s impression (shown above) which will have to do until the car is unveiled at the Delhi Motor Show on Thursday!

Related Posts:
Tata set to launch US$2,500 car in mid-2008
More details on the Tata 1-Lakh Car
Tata Abarth 1 Lakh Car

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Tata invests in car powered by compressed air

January 8, 2008 at 2:52 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, India, International News, Tata, Technology

MDI Air Car

Guy Negre was a Formula One motor racing engineer. The Frenchman has been looking for 15 years for backers for his invention – a car that runs on air – and he now has the backing of Tata, who have invested 20 million Euros in his project.

Negre’s car uses compressed air to move pistons, which in turn also helps compress the air again in a reservoir. The car also has an electric motor, which also compresses air. This electric motor uses batteries that need to be charged. The compressed air can also be filled up at service stations in a matter of minutes.

His company Motor Development International based in France has developed an entire series of engine and car prototypes, some of which include fuel engine options together with the compressed air system. The fuel engine is used to extend the car’s range when not in reach of a special power point or a service station.

The car will be built in India and pre-production will start this year. It is protected by 50 patents, and the car will cost between 3,500 to 4,000 euros (RM17,000 to RM19,400). It weighs not more than 330kg and goes up to a top speed of 150km/h. Projected range is about between 160 to 320 km, depending on traffic conditions.

“It is clear that with oil at $100 a barrel this will force people to change their use of fuel and pollute less. My car is zero pollution in town and almost no pollution on the highways,” said Negre.

Look after the jump for a video on how the engine works.
[Read more...]

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Artist’s Impression: Tata Abarth 1-Lakh Car?

December 21, 2007 at 1:48 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Fiat, India, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata 1-Lakh Car
Artist’s Impression – Click to enlarge

LATEST DELHI 2008 UPDATE: Tata has unveiled the Tata 1-Lakh Car and has named it the Tata Nano. Click here for the latest details on the new Tata Nano.

Tata Abarth 1-Lakh Car
Artist’s Impression – Click to enlarge

This is a little bit of imagination going wild here… but something I think is interesting nonetheless. Most of you know that Tata is developing a 1-Lakh car (USD2,500), and we’ve seen an artist’s impression of it when I wrote about the car back in October.

Now, Tata currently has a JV with Fiat, and Fiat’s plant at Ranjangaon, Pune is making both Fiats and Tatas. Tata even uses Fiat diesel engines for its Tata Indica and Tata Indigo. Now, what if Fiat uses the Tata 1 lakh car as a baseline budget model, and a pure styling-enhanced Abarth model is created from it?

Seems like a long shot… but doesn’t stop the very generous Theophilus Chin from flexing his Photoshop muscles and creating something at a request from another paultan.org reader, who had this crazy idea in the first place.

Above is the result, along with a new artist’s impression of the Tata 1-Lakh car, looking alot better than the previous version I posted. The original 1-Lakh car is a 5-door, while the “Abarth” is a 3-door version.

Related Posts:
More details on the Tata 1-lakh car

17 Comments    

More details on Tata 1 Lakh Car

October 7, 2007 at 5:17 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata 1 Lakh Car

LATEST DELHI 2008 UPDATE: Tata has unveiled the Tata 1-Lakh Car and has named it the Tata Nano. Click here for the latest details on the new Tata Nano.

Tata Nano

Here are some supposed details of the Tata 1 Lakh Car (Rs 1 Lakh is equivalent to USD2,500) that is supposed to be ready by July 2008. A design sketch of the Tata 1 Lakh car has been shown to selected members of the media sometime earlier and is said to resemble a egg shaped car with a tall roof.

Now Overdrive reveals that the Tata 1 Lakh car will resemble a production version of Tata’s 1998 Zing concept car. It will be a 5-door hatchback but there will be very little space behind the rear seats for a boot. In fact, even rear bench space is expected to be at a premium, making the car a 2+2 of sorts.

Definitely a pure A to B city car with the distance between A to B limited to short journeys where you do not need to carry any luggage. Not a balik kampung car, definitely. The car will be built on a rear engine rear wheel drive platform and will be powered by a two-cylinder engine.

Two of these two-cylinder engines will be offered – a 660cc 2-cylinder petrol and the world’s first low-cost 700cc two-cylinder common rail diesel engine with a special low cost common rail system developed by Bosch. Bosch will also apply a fuel injection system called “value motronic” for the 660cc petrol unit.

Apparently in internal company tests, the petrol version managed to achieve a fuel efficiency of 26 km travelled per litre of fuel consumed. The diesel version is expected to be even better.

As for the car’s name – sources in Tata say the current most favoured name within the company is the Tata Jeh, named after Tata’s previous chairman, Jehangir Tata.

Related Posts:
Tata 1-Lakh Car to use Bosch Value Motronic ECU
Tata set to launch US$2,500 car in mid-2008
Tata Abarth 1 Lakh Car

Source

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Tata set to launch US$2,500 car in mid-2008

September 27, 2007 at 2:42 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata LogoLATEST DELHI 2008 UPDATE: Tata has unveiled the Tata 1-Lakh Car and has named it the Tata Nano. Click here for the latest details on the new Tata Nano.

While countries around the world are competing to see who will play host to the tallest building in the world, something similiar is happening in the automotive industry: with every new small economical car announcement the target price level is being set lower and lower, with the latest being Tata Motors Ltd’s planned US$2,500 (RM8,600) car.

Tata’s head of sourcing for this project E. Balasubramoniam says the new project will redefine the concept of an entry-level car and targets a million of these US$2,500 cars sold annually. Tata is still working on the car and a target launch date is July net year. Bala says the final price must be kept at the US$2,500 level or the business case for the car will collapse.

Previously, sketches have been shown to the media that seemed to resemble a small egg-shaped car with a high roof. These ultra-entry level cars are intended for developing countries and might even find a place in countries like ours – where the cheapest brand new car currently still costs more than RM20,000.

Source

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Possible Tata Indica local assembly

April 13, 2006 at 1:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, Local News, Tata

small_indica.jpgTata Sons Executive Director Alan Rosling says Tata Motor is looking at various markets including Malaysia and is likely to set up an assembly line in Malaysia to assemble Tata passanger vehicles like the Tata Indica here in Malaysia.

Tata Motors is in talks with DRB Hicom which are already assembling Tata commercial vehicles here in Malaysia.

The Tata Indica is a small city-going hatchback that has enjoyed success including a partnership with Rover where Rover rebadges the Tata Incida under a Rover badge. It’s a 995kg car available with a 1.4 litre turbodiesel or a 1.4 litre petrol engine.

Source

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