Fiery protest over Tata's Nano

The Tata Nano, burning in effigy.

(Credit: Strdel/AFP/Getty Images))

Tata Motors is billing its tiny, ultracheap Nano as the "people's car," but some people would just as soon not see it get built--at least under current conditions.

The Tata Nano made an outsized splash at its debut Thursday as the world's automotive press disseminated details and photos of the $2,500 car, which the giant company ($7.2 billion in revenue for its most recent fiscal year) said it designed to give Indian families an alternative to overcrowded scooters and to "set a new benchmark among small cars." The Nano is roughly half as expensive as the next lowest-priced car on sale in India.

But while the bright lights of the New Delhi Auto Expo were trained on Tata's minicar, activists near Kolkata were burning the car in effigy. The Trinamool Congress, a West Bengal opposition group, torched a mockup of the Nano in protest over land rights at the factory location. "Until farmers get back their land forcibly acquired for the Tata Motors small car plant at Singur, we will not allow the company to manufacture cars there," opposition leader Partha Chatterjee decreed, according to The Economic Times of India.

In New Delhi, a small group of protesters made a less dramatic showing, but their T-shirt slogans were bold, The Times of India reported: "The ($2,500) car has Singur people's blood on it."

Pundits in the Indian media, meanwhile, debated whether the Nano offers more in the way of marketing hype than real consumer value.

Tata Motors makes cars, trucks, and buses for both the domestic market and for export, and has tie-ups with Italy's Fiat and Korea's Daewoo.

[acktracker]

Tata motors

Tata is also in disucussions with Ford motor Co. to purchase the Jaguar and Land Rover division from Ford @ and estimated $4 bil. dollars.

[acktracker]

Tata motors

Tata is also in disucussions with Ford motor Co. to purchase the Jaguar and Land Rover division from Ford @ and estimated $4 bil. dollars.

[Commander_Spock]

Damn: "Tata Nano"!

How about some shrink sized "AIRBUS 380's" to fly H1B high tech workers between the United States and India. Also, a "quieter" Concorde engine could be yet another project for these dudes from/in India. ;-) !

[Commander_Spock]

Next Steps!

Bringing the "WARP ENGINES" back online to start the "Journey Back To the Stars". ;-) !

[csg7]

Why do you care if its not for you

This car is designed for people who can't afford even the regular cars. If its not for you just lay off and work on you big size ego.<br />Tata is going to buy Jaguar and Land Roover and already has a number of good cars in Asia and Europe market. I see it as a good move by them to widen their range. But what i don't understand is why some are talking about this car in the same league as say civic or corolla. <br />You get what you pay for !

[vedavin]

You cant take it

Well those H1B high tech workers can afford to travel in Jumbo Airbus.... you dont have the skill....accept it and go back to ******** again!<br /><br />As far as the 'Tata Nano', Kudos to Ratan Tata...

[Commander_Spock]

Damn: "Tata Nano"!

How about some shrink sized "AIRBUS 380's" to fly H1B high tech workers between the United States and India. Also, a "quieter" Concorde engine could be yet another project for these dudes from/in India. ;-) !

[csg7]

Why do you care if its not for you

This car is designed for people who can't afford even the regular cars. If its not for you just lay off and work on you big size ego.<br />Tata is going to buy Jaguar and Land Roover and already has a number of good cars in Asia and Europe market. I see it as a good move by them to widen their range. But what i don't understand is why some are talking about this car in the same league as say civic or corolla. <br />You get what you pay for !

[vedavin]

You cant take it

Well those H1B high tech workers can afford to travel in Jumbo Airbus.... you dont have the skill....accept it and go back to ******** again!<br /><br />As far as the 'Tata Nano', Kudos to Ratan Tata...

[Commander_Spock]

Next Steps!

Bringing the "WARP ENGINES" back online to start the "Journey Back To the Stars". ;-) !

[mbjesq]

India's Missed Opportunity

The "people's car" is a wonderful example of India's mid-20st Century mindset and its squandered chance at 21st Century development. My short essay on this can be read at <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/india-going-nowhere-fast/" target="_newWindow">http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/india-going-nowhere-fast/</a>.<br /><br />MBJ<br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com" target="_newWindow">http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com</a>

[mbjesq]

India's Missed Opportunity

The "people's car" is a wonderful example of India's mid-20st Century mindset and its squandered chance at 21st Century development. My short essay on this can be read at <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/india-going-nowhere-fast/" target="_newWindow">http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/india-going-nowhere-fast/</a>.<br /><br />MBJ<br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com" target="_newWindow">http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com</a>

[Leria]

This is just stupid

Things are changing in India, and people don't like that they are changing. Whether India likes it or not, the days of the 'self-sufficient farmer' are coming to an end all over the world.<br /><br />Pretty soon, the only people who are planting on their own will be people who want a little garden and their own organic plants.<br /><br />The people of India just do not want to change with the times, and they are getting left behind like they should.

[Leria]

This is just stupid

Things are changing in India, and people don't like that they are changing. Whether India likes it or not, the days of the 'self-sufficient farmer' are coming to an end all over the world.<br /><br />Pretty soon, the only people who are planting on their own will be people who want a little garden and their own organic plants.<br /><br />The people of India just do not want to change with the times, and they are getting left behind like they should.

[saumyatha]

Jerks

MARUTI CAR MANUFACTURERS PISSED IN THEIR PANTS WHEN THEY CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRICE SLASH. MARUTI DOES NOT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, THEY DONT WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE A CAR. THEY ARE JUST BOTHERED ABOUT THE LOSS THEY WILL FACE, HOW WILL THEY PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES IF THEY FACE LOSS. SO ALL THIS IS BECOS OF MONEY. BUT THIS TIME MARUTI IS NOT HAVING A FOREIGN COMPETITION BUT ITS FROM THEIR OWN COUNTRY, SO ITS GOING TO BE A TOUGH ONE. MARUTI BETTER OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT RATHER THAN PAYING TO THOSE FEW CHUNKS OF PEOPLE TO BURN THE CAR OR GIVE HUGE ALIMONIES TO THE POLITICIANS. THAT WONT HELP BABY, YOU GOT TO GET UP FROM SLEEP AND FACE THE COMPETITION AND STOP CRIBBING LIKE A CHILD ABOUT THE POLLUTION. WHO THE H--L CARES ABOUT POLLUTION. PEOPLE ARE NOT FOOLS EVERYONE KNOWS ITS A MATTER OF MONEY LOSS!! SAME OLD THING, MAN I AM BORED OF THESE STORIES..

[shoffmueller]

I remember this car from 1985 ....

... when it was called the Yugo.

[savagesteve13]

There was nothing really wrong w/the Yugo

It just wasn't suited for the western market. It darn sure was more reliable than the crappy first generation of Hyundai excels that hit American shores.<br /><br />Is india ready for so many cars on the road, only time will tell. Toss a few million cars into an already crowded nation and it could be a formula for havoc.

[shoffmueller]

I remember this car from 1985 ....

... when it was called the Yugo.

[savagesteve13]

There was nothing really wrong w/the Yugo

It just wasn't suited for the western market. It darn sure was more reliable than the crappy first generation of Hyundai excels that hit American shores.<br /><br />Is india ready for so many cars on the road, only time will tell. Toss a few million cars into an already crowded nation and it could be a formula for havoc.

[krosavcheg]

This is just brilliant

This is superb! www.cheapindiancar.com The idea is fantastic! It will revolutionize the small car industry

[krosavcheg]

This is just brilliant

This is superb! www.cheapindiancar.com The idea is fantastic! It will revolutionize the small car industry

[adityamp]

They are wrong--and right!

Tata Motors may pride itself on this innovation...and the farmers are over-reacting-a little bit...there is the mistake of Tata too in this...anyways,check out my detailed blog at <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com</a>

[adityamp]

They are wrong--and right!

Tata Motors may pride itself on this innovation...and the farmers are over-reacting-a little bit...there is the mistake of Tata too in this...anyways,check out my detailed blog at <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com</a>

[adityamp]

They are over reacting

Tata Motors may pride itself on this innovation...and the farmers are over-reacting-a little bit...there is the mistake of Tata too in this...anyways,check out my detailed blog at <a href="http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com"></a>

[adityamp]

They are over reacting

Tata Motors may pride itself on this innovation...and the farmers are over-reacting-a little bit...there is the mistake of Tata too in this...anyways,check out my detailed blog at <a href="http://www.nanocar.blogspot.com"></a>

[Commander_Spock]

Are These Retrograde Steps BY TATA Or What!

What on earth is a nation of over one billion people doing with the development and manufacturing of "nana" motor cars in this day and age of "High Speed Railways. Read the subject line. :-( <br /><br />Take a look at - The Acela Express, USA<br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/amtrak/" target="_newWindow">http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/amtrak/</a>

[Chithra KarunaKaran]

The Rise of the Car Nazis: Ratan and the Tata Wannabes

The Rise of the Car Nazis:<br />Ratan and the Tata Wannabes<br />Chithra Karunakaran, Feb 09, 2008<br /> <br /><br />Ratan Tata has made an illegal Left turn in a no-car zone. The Nano is a no-no.<br />The Nano is bad for India, bad for the developing world, bad for the poor, great for entrepreneurs without a social conscience.<br /><br />Can industry-hungry West Bengal help to rethink the Nano 'personal car' project and instead develop into a manufacturing hub for MASS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION? Do we need more cars OR more and better public use transport -- buses, subway trains, rail? With the proposed launch of the Nano car, every central and local government in the developing world is off the hook -- they will no longer have to commit political will and infrastructure funds to provide public mass transit. A cheap car? Cheap for the environment?<br /><br />The people of India and I am one of them, do NOT need a mis-named people's car. We need a People's Bus, A People's Mass Transit, a vastly expanded People's Railway, we need PUBLIC MASS TRANSPORTATION that is ecologically sustainable and delivers a public convenience that meets the needs of our underserved Indian URBAN AND RURAL masses and is the envy of, and a model for, the entire world. I proudly count myself among these masses, even though I teach in the US and live and work in India only about six months of the year.<br /><br />Q.Why did Ratan Tata and the Tata Group choose to put their wholly admirable "frugal engineering" expertise into a private car and not into making buses and mass transportation vehicles? A.Corporate greed and personal ambition.<br /><br />The Tata Group has decades of engineering knowhow in the heavy truck sector. Why didn't they build on this experience and come out with buses and other mass transport innovations? Again the answer is corporate greed and selfish personal ambition. Ratan Tata has absolutely no stake in the Greater Collective Good (GCG). Tata is all about profit. Tata is all about a narrow self-serving short term view in which he and Tata Group can make a quick buck and now unfortunately the India Govt. has awarded Ratan a Padma Vibhushan. That PV should have gone to Medha Patkar the Narmada Bachao Andolan actvism pioneer, (now active in Singur, West Bengal) and she would have probably declined it. She would be right to do so. No point accepting a Padma Vibhushan from a Govt. that is committed to predatory capitalism against its own people.There are only a handful of folks like Patkar, Arundhati Roy, Anna Hazare, P. Sainath and a few others who cannot be bought and sold by corporate interests and criminalized politicians.<br /><br />What many Indians (especially the avidly consuming, politically apathetic and ethically indefensible middle class in India) fail to appreciate is that a fabulous city like New York where I live about six months a year is heavily invested in mass public transportation. NYC has been heavily invested in mass transit for over half a century.<br /><br />I don't own a car either in the U.S. or India. And I don't plan to own one, certainly not the Nano. I walk. It's smart not to be an obesity stat. I ride the buses and trains in India and I am proud to say that I adamantly refuse to ride in a car in India.<br /><br />In New York, I do have a bicycle. Tens of thousands like me in New York ride our magnificent, er often tardy and continually underfunded subways of the NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). I can get all around town and all the outer boros and to JFK airport for $2 and then I am happy to pay another $5 to get me on the public mass transportation called the AirTrain right into the airport terminals. We ordinary folks (mainly the middleclass and the aspiring middleclass of New York City) fought long and hard at public hearings and through legislative lobbying, for the funding of mass transit in preference to car-choked highways -- and we got it. We didn't get everything we wanted but there's always a next time at a public hearing or a court testimony.That's participatory democracy.<br /><br />Even our Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg rides the subway everyday to work. It's a great feeling to get on a train that runs under New York and to know that we are contributing zero pollution to our wonderful city. That is precisely what we need in India. NOT crazy Ratan ("I have no watan") Tata and his no-no Nano.<br /><br />Let's get real. India cannot afford to manufacture and dispose a paper cup, let alone produce yet another private car. We should not be following the U.S. model of predatory capitalism. The U.S. model of endless consumption is ecologically unsustainable. It is emphatically not the model for India.<br /><br />Both the centre and the states in India must urgently invest in public mass transit which they have criminally neglected and disproportionately taxed.<br /><br />The Nano represents a vivid test case for our civil society and the need for urgent development of a Critical Environmental Studies in schools and colleges to research such complex issues. I have presented the above ideas in India during conferences on Environmental Sustainability and will not rest until such proposals gain policy implementation.<br /><br />The Gandhian post-revolutionary democratic Indian nation-state deserves a lofty vision, mission and policies that affirm the public trust. Public mass transportation that is ecologically sustainable is part of that noble public trust.<br /><br />Note: in a subsequent blog I have cut and pasted all or nearly all of Tata's own comments ("From the Chairman's Desk") on the Nano.<br /><br />Let the reader perform her/his own critical analysis of whether the Nano serves the Greater Collective Good (GCG).<br /><br />Dr. Chithra KarunaKaran<br />City University of New York (CUNY)<br />www.ethicaldemocracy.blogspot.com

[Commander_Spock]

Are These Retrograde Steps BY TATA Or What!

What on earth is a nation of over one billion people doing with the development and manufacturing of "nana" motor cars in this day and age of "High Speed Railways. Read the subject line. :-( <br /><br />Take a look at - The Acela Express, USA<br /><br /><a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/amtrak/" target="_newWindow">http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/amtrak/</a>

[Chithra KarunaKaran]

The Rise of the Car Nazis: Ratan and the Tata Wannabes

The Rise of the Car Nazis:<br />Ratan and the Tata Wannabes<br />Chithra Karunakaran, Feb 09, 2008<br /> <br /><br />Ratan Tata has made an illegal Left turn in a no-car zone. The Nano is a no-no.<br />The Nano is bad for India, bad for the developing world, bad for the poor, great for entrepreneurs without a social conscience.<br /><br />Can industry-hungry West Bengal help to rethink the Nano 'personal car' project and instead develop into a manufacturing hub for MASS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION? Do we need more cars OR more and better public use transport -- buses, subway trains, rail? With the proposed launch of the Nano car, every central and local government in the developing world is off the hook -- they will no longer have to commit political will and infrastructure funds to provide public mass transit. A cheap car? Cheap for the environment?<br /><br />The people of India and I am one of them, do NOT need a mis-named people's car. We need a People's Bus, A People's Mass Transit, a vastly expanded People's Railway, we need PUBLIC MASS TRANSPORTATION that is ecologically sustainable and delivers a public convenience that meets the needs of our underserved Indian URBAN AND RURAL masses and is the envy of, and a model for, the entire world. I proudly count myself among these masses, even though I teach in the US and live and work in India only about six months of the year.<br /><br />Q.Why did Ratan Tata and the Tata Group choose to put their wholly admirable "frugal engineering" expertise into a private car and not into making buses and mass transportation vehicles? A.Corporate greed and personal ambition.<br /><br />The Tata Group has decades of engineering knowhow in the heavy truck sector. Why didn't they build on this experience and come out with buses and other mass transport innovations? Again the answer is corporate greed and selfish personal ambition. Ratan Tata has absolutely no stake in the Greater Collective Good (GCG). Tata is all about profit. Tata is all about a narrow self-serving short term view in which he and Tata Group can make a quick buck and now unfortunately the India Govt. has awarded Ratan a Padma Vibhushan. That PV should have gone to Medha Patkar the Narmada Bachao Andolan actvism pioneer, (now active in Singur, West Bengal) and she would have probably declined it. She would be right to do so. No point accepting a Padma Vibhushan from a Govt. that is committed to predatory capitalism against its own people.There are only a handful of folks like Patkar, Arundhati Roy, Anna Hazare, P. Sainath and a few others who cannot be bought and sold by corporate interests and criminalized politicians.<br /><br />What many Indians (especially the avidly consuming, politically apathetic and ethically indefensible middle class in India) fail to appreciate is that a fabulous city like New York where I live about six months a year is heavily invested in mass public transportation. NYC has been heavily invested in mass transit for over half a century.<br /><br />I don't own a car either in the U.S. or India. And I don't plan to own one, certainly not the Nano. I walk. It's smart not to be an obesity stat. I ride the buses and trains in India and I am proud to say that I adamantly refuse to ride in a car in India.<br /><br />In New York, I do have a bicycle. Tens of thousands like me in New York ride our magnificent, er often tardy and continually underfunded subways of the NYC Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). I can get all around town and all the outer boros and to JFK airport for $2 and then I am happy to pay another $5 to get me on the public mass transportation called the AirTrain right into the airport terminals. We ordinary folks (mainly the middleclass and the aspiring middleclass of New York City) fought long and hard at public hearings and through legislative lobbying, for the funding of mass transit in preference to car-choked highways -- and we got it. We didn't get everything we wanted but there's always a next time at a public hearing or a court testimony.That's participatory democracy.<br /><br />Even our Billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg rides the subway everyday to work. It's a great feeling to get on a train that runs under New York and to know that we are contributing zero pollution to our wonderful city. That is precisely what we need in India. NOT crazy Ratan ("I have no watan") Tata and his no-no Nano.<br /><br />Let's get real. India cannot afford to manufacture and dispose a paper cup, let alone produce yet another private car. We should not be following the U.S. model of predatory capitalism. The U.S. model of endless consumption is ecologically unsustainable. It is emphatically not the model for India.<br /><br />Both the centre and the states in India must urgently invest in public mass transit which they have criminally neglected and disproportionately taxed.<br /><br />The Nano represents a vivid test case for our civil society and the need for urgent development of a Critical Environmental Studies in schools and colleges to research such complex issues. I have presented the above ideas in India during conferences on Environmental Sustainability and will not rest until such proposals gain policy implementation.<br /><br />The Gandhian post-revolutionary democratic Indian nation-state deserves a lofty vision, mission and policies that affirm the public trust. Public mass transportation that is ecologically sustainable is part of that noble public trust.<br /><br />Note: in a subsequent blog I have cut and pasted all or nearly all of Tata's own comments ("From the Chairman's Desk") on the Nano.<br /><br />Let the reader perform her/his own critical analysis of whether the Nano serves the Greater Collective Good (GCG).<br /><br />Dr. Chithra KarunaKaran<br />City University of New York (CUNY)<br />www.ethicaldemocracy.blogspot.com

[saumyatha]

Jerks

MARUTI CAR MANUFACTURERS PISSED IN THEIR PANTS WHEN THEY CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRICE SLASH. MARUTI DOES NOT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE, THEY DONT WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE A CAR. THEY ARE JUST BOTHERED ABOUT THE LOSS THEY WILL FACE, HOW WILL THEY PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES IF THEY FACE LOSS. SO ALL THIS IS BECOS OF MONEY. BUT THIS TIME MARUTI IS NOT HAVING A FOREIGN COMPETITION BUT ITS FROM THEIR OWN COUNTRY, SO ITS GOING TO BE A TOUGH ONE. MARUTI BETTER OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT RATHER THAN PAYING TO THOSE FEW CHUNKS OF PEOPLE TO BURN THE CAR OR GIVE HUGE ALIMONIES TO THE POLITICIANS. THAT WONT HELP BABY, YOU GOT TO GET UP FROM SLEEP AND FACE THE COMPETITION AND STOP CRIBBING LIKE A CHILD ABOUT THE POLLUTION. WHO THE H--L CARES ABOUT POLLUTION. PEOPLE ARE NOT FOOLS EVERYONE KNOWS ITS A MATTER OF MONEY LOSS!! SAME OLD THING, MAN I AM BORED OF THESE STORIES..