Tata Motors’ Nano, World’s Cheapest Car Debuts

In early 2008, we wrote about the hype surrounding India’s Tata Motors and their plan to produce the newest version of the “folks’ wagon” with their pared down Nano car, a vehicle that takes the idea of affordability to new levels with its Rs 100,000 ($2000) price tag. And while the company’s concept has been beset by criticisms from the beginning, questioning its manufacturing processes as well voicing concerns over the Nano’s safety and overall environmental impact, Tata’s vision has become a reality with today’s debut.

Time explains that the Nano’s engineers redesigned every component of the vehicle to minimize cost and weight, while maximizing comfort and performance and in light of their initial test drive, the car meets with mostly positive reviews. Still, while these innovations come at time when the auto industry is sorely in need of some, are they promoting the right kind of change? While we can’t fault Tata Motors for attempting to bring a car back to the people, just because you can manufacture something for the bottom line and sell it to a bigger audience, doesn’t you mean should. As we’ve seen time and again, cheap generally comes with its own hidden costs. In other words, automakers shouldn’t be looking for methods to build and sell more cars, instead they should find ways to make the right kind of cars – fuel efficient with less overall environmental impact – and hopefully the public demand will follow suit no matter what the price. 

[via Time]