Tata Nano becomes CarBQ in Mumbai

Car fires are nothing new, but when it happens to the world's cheapest car on its way to its new home, the Tata Nano tends to lose its allure.

According to our friends at IndianAutosBlog, Satish Sawant, a Mumbai-based (irony alert) insurance agent, took delivery of his $2,500 hatchback, and while being chauffeured back to his house (Sawant doesn't have a license yet), a motorcyclist overtook him and pointed to the rear of his new baby. At which point, the driving duo noticed flames coming from the rear. Says Sawant, "I have no idea what happened... The engine was behind me and I did not realize the car was on fire."

This is apparently the second incident of a Nano catching fire, which, along with a recent spate of electrical issues, has some questioning the quality of the budget runabout. Naturally, today's lesson is: You get what you pay for.

[Source: IndianAutosBlog]

Land Rover confirms two-door LRX for production

Land Rover has today confirmed what we've long expected – the popular LRX Concept from the 2008 edition of the Detroit Auto Show is headed for production. The British-born automaker doesn't actually say the new 'ute will be called the LRX when it hits the market in 2011, but it will definitely be wearing a Range Rover badge and therefore likely be marketed as a premium vehicle.

No details are given about the coupe-like SUV's powertrain, but Land Rover does say the it "will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced." Previous reports have suggested the production LRX will share underpinnings with the LR2 (a.k.a. the Freelander) and will be offered with an optional all-wheel-drive hybrid powertrain that may use an electric motor to power the rear wheels and a transverse engine underhood driving the front wheels.

Judging from the lone rendering released with this announcement, the basic shape from the LRX Concept should survive mostly intact, perhaps gaining a slightly more pronounced front fascia to go along with the production-necessary external door handles. Expect more details to filter out at the beginning of 2010

[Source: Land Rover]



PRESS RELEASE

SMALL RANGE ROVER CONFIRMED FOR PRODUCTION

Gaydon, Warwickshire, 24 September 2009 – Land Rover has confirmed today that a production version of its exciting LRX concept car will be built. The new car will debut next year and join the Range Rover line-up in 2011.

Designed and engineered at Land Rover's state of the art Gaydon facility, the new Range Rover will be the smallest, lightest and most efficient vehicle the company has ever produced.

The new car will be built at the multi award-winning plant in Halewood, on Merseyside, subject to quality and productivity agreements and will be sold in over 100 countries around the world.

Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover said: "The production of a small Range Rover model is excellent news for our employees, dealers and customers. It is a demonstration of our commitment to investing for the future, to continue to deliver relevant vehicles for our customers, with the outstanding breadth of capability for which we are world-renowned."

"Feedback from our customer research also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet their expectations." Phil added.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover design director said "The new vehicle will be a natural extension to the Range Rover line-up, complementing the existing models and helping to define a new segment. It will be true to the concept and have many recognisable Range Rover design cues including the signature clamshell bonnet, the floating roof and the solid 'wheel-at-each-corner' stance."

More details of the new small Range Rover will be released next year.

Tata Nano Review

Good things come in small packages
No single car by the Tata Motors car manufacturers has been talked about as much as the Tata Nano. Even before its release we had the people talking about it and eagerly anticipating it’s released. Much to the deliverance of the public it was finally revealed at the 9th annual auto expo in the first half of january 2008 in the city of New Delhi. This is a highly democratic car as the promotional tag line suggests it to “the people’s car”. Tata Motors have claimed it to be the world’s cheapest car. With a price of Rs 100,000 the standard version of the Nano costs just a little bit more than a decent motorbike.

Classified as being part of the new breed of 21st century cars the Nano symbolizes the new age philosophy of smaller, lighter and cheaper cars. The Tata Nano is without a doubt the leader in terms of causing a world wide trend of producing smaller cars. The interesting name actually has the very essence of the concept behind the car in its meaning. Nano is derived from the Greek word nanos which means dwarf. The word also means “small” in Gujrati which happens to be the mother tongue of the Tata owners.

The project was initiated in the year 2003 to construct a small sized car in the range of one hundred thousand rupees. This was done after considering the fact that India had a considerable number of families that were being forced to drive around on two wheelers due to the lack of finance for a four wheeler. This was the basic motive behind creating the Nano which was also encouraged with the company’s successful attempt at producing a low cost four wheel truck in 2005.

Many people were skeptical of the new Nano as they believed that it was not possible to create a good quality four wheel in the budget that was administered by Tata Motors. The results were quite the contrary to the negative public perception as the Nano turned out to be a properly designed and built car. Tata Motors once again collaborated with I.D.E.A of Italy to produce the smallest and most affordable four wheel ride. Together they have managed to integrate such features as the rear mounted engine to maximize interior space. The Nano sports a 623 cc rear engine and is rear wheel drive as well. The car is highly fuel efficient and it complies with the international emission standards as well.