By on March 23, 2009

As the Nano is a city car, Tata has made low-speed acceleration a priority. The sprint from 0-60mph takes an epic 30 seconds and top speed is a mere 65 mph, but the very short first and second gears ensure it covers 0-40 mph in a much more acceptable 10 seconds.”

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20 Comments on “Quote Of The Day: You Get What You Pay For Edition...”


  • avatar
    like.a.kite

    0-40 in 10, 40-60 in 20? The mind, it is boggled.

  • avatar
    superbadd75

    Wow, that thing’s got Honda torque!

  • avatar
    GS650G

    wow, a car that is actually slower than the Honda CM400A automatic I had. It had a top speed of 78, also better than a nano.

  • avatar
    Garak

    I had a van with that kind of gearing once, it worked pretty well. My current (really old) MB 200 diesel also accelerates pretty much like that.

    The top speed is also suitable for India, as their highest speed limit is 100 km/h.

  • avatar
    Colinpolyps

    I guess it does not come equipped with turn signals.

  • avatar
    LXbuilder

    Given that the price of this thing is less than a golf cart, I think its performance is pretty impressive. Unless someone has golf cart that can top those numbers.(No Hemi powered Jesse James type golf carts allowed)

  • avatar
    Lumbergh21

    Colinpolyps :
    March 23rd, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    I guess it does not come equipped with turn signals.

    They are not needed; afterall, how often do you see people using them anyway?

  • avatar
    Robert.Walter

    How fast without the massive tail-wind?

    Can’t wait to see a Eu-NCAP test on this baby … after that, 100 will seem “ballsy”…

    Oh, and was this the first one ever made? Looks like it has 10 years of road grime on it already…

  • avatar
    like.a.kite

    Yeah but don’t be dissin ‘er too much. This is a BIG deal for India. I think most wouldn’t care if it topped out at 30mph. It’s still a car, and for the most part it still beats walking.

  • avatar
    meefer

    Unless you can find a really speedy elephant, Nano it is.

  • avatar
    TireGuy

    If you ever have been to India, you know that nearly all streets are countryside streets with a lot of holes. When going by Bus, my average run around 35 – 40 km/hour! Going by car without stops is possible generally at a max speed of 60 km/h. Yes, there are now a few highways, where you could go faster (I have NEVER seen a road like in the film). But for the general usage in India, the specs of the Nano are just fine.

  • avatar
    Scorched Earth

    The Nano is perfect for Bombay roads. For the US? Not so much.

  • avatar

    Next, you’ll see footage of Americans crapping their pants at gas stations as affordable oil-burning cars come available for the BILLION PEOPLE in India, sending gas prices absolutely through the roof.

    I think this proliferation of the automobile is going to have some serious effects on the oil market, I don’t see how it couldn’t.

  • avatar
    menno

    There is no reason whatsoever for people to not enjoy a car instead of jamming Mrs and 3 children onto a tiny scooter, as now happens in India with all too much regularity.

    Kazoomaloo, we can’t say ANYTHING about any nation wanting to join us in automobiling; we’ve had it our way for 113 years.

    As for oil, we already hit peak oil last year worldwide.

    We’ll be needing to cut back but good stewardship of resources is NOT the end of the world.

    Besides, the President of GM himself, stated that he thought the “minimum price” for gasoline should be $4 per gallon in the US.

    I’m going to guess that he’ll be right, once the economy starts to do better.

    And then the $4 per gallon will do what it helped to do last year, and will kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (the remaining viability of the US economy).

    It’ll come to equilibrium, though.

    And guess what? The likelihood is, that we’ll start to find substitutes for oil.

    I’ve been writing about several for a long time, some of which I’ve found years ago.

    http://www.butanol.com

    http://www.changingworldtech.com – yes, oil from garbage, sewage, offal…. we’ve got PLENTY of that in the US.

  • avatar

    they’re planning a mid year upgraded model called “The Wagoner”…it’s rumored to only run in reverse, can’t turnaround, and is greatly overvalued even with the standard external cup holder shaped like a hand. however they will allow you to stack your GM Card points with available Retired Rickshaw Runner Rupee Rebate. as an added bonus you get Slumdog Rick’s hand sewn, embroidered “RIR” on the custom COWHIDE interior, especially developed by GM’s marketing staff after extensive consumer research on the Indian purchasing public.

    savvy shoppers will of course hold out for the eventual and inevitable Red Dot Sale.
    __________________

  • avatar
    zerofoo

    For all those complaining about a billion more people now able to buy and drive a car. Why should the west get to determine who drives a car?

    Let the market sort it out. If gas prices go to $4.00/gal again, you can be damn sure that lots of people will stop driving. You have to be able to afford the car AND the fuel.

    I actually enjoyed driving a bit more when gas prices spiked. Less people on the road made my driving quite enjoyable.

    I know a couple of people who stopped commuting an hour and moved closer to work when gas spiked. It actually improved their home lives dramatically.

    Cheap gas makes us do some irrational things (like live 90 minutes from work). If gas becomes expensive, it may actually improve things for those of us who enjoy driving and for those of us who do not.

    -ted

  • avatar

    menno, I absolutely agree with you on your point that we’ve had it our way for a mighty long time, and as an Eagle Scout and all around hippy-dippy I’m 100% in favor of good stewardship. It just occurred to me today as I read all the “WOW THIS IS BREAKING NEWS” stories this morning about the Nano going on sale that this many new drivers is gonna wallop the world oil markets and cause a lot of consternation. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.

    My guess: India drinks up the rest of the world’s oil by 2011 and Volt sales go crazy bananas & GM becomes the worlds richest, most successful and beloved corporation. Bailout bux are returned 1000fold and we use it to fund a workable nationalized healthcare system, which everybody in the country agrees on and there’s no arguing. Tra-lala-lala!

  • avatar

    I bet they sell a zillion of them… over there.

    This thing has no aim on the US market, at all. But it is correct for a lot of the rest of the world. Ever wonder why you don’t see a lot of US-market cars anywhere else? That is why.

    So to sit here casting stones while their auto industry is ascending (because they build cars people want) and ours is collapsing (because they can’t build cars people want) is just a tad … lame.

    More power to ’em I say.

    –chuck

  • avatar
    GS650G

    Lumbergh21 :
    March 23rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    Colinpolyps :
    March 23rd, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    I guess it does not come equipped with turn signals.

    They are not needed; afterall, how often do you see people using them anyway?

    It must have a horn, anyone that’s been to India knows the car does not move without blowing the horn,

  • avatar
    rednomad

    This car is perfect for traffic conditions and road conditions in India. Highway travel is minimal (people use trains and buses – imagine that!) so this car is ideal for cities where its crowded and traffic laws are a mere suggestion. If you ever visit India, you will realize how unsafe it is when you see a very regular sight – a small Vespa scooter or 80cc Honda motorcycle with mom, dad and 2 kids riding together. Dad gets the helmet.

    Nano has much better emissions than even the scooters and other 2-stroke 2-wheeled transports that are ubiquitous.

    Also, you have to realize that Americans enjoy a very low gas price (~$1.89/gallon currently). In India, and most of the world, gas prices are very high. Currently, a gallon of gas costs $5.15 in India. . So people are very careful about how much gas they spend. Cars with a single driver is quite rare and you don’t just go out to get one gallon of milk in your 2000lb car to drive 1/2 mile to the local grocery store.

    I think this will help with mobility and help the Indian cities be less concentrated as it is today due to travel restrictions. Cities can grow out a little more and ease the strain on local resources.

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