2012 Tata Nano America Additional Features

The consensus of those who've driven the basic Nano is that it's a "proper" car and thus all the more impressive in view of its world-beating price. It may be slow and lacking in amenities by Western standards, but it is surprisingly spacious, comfortable in town traffic, reasonably quiet, and not flimsy feeling.

After sampling one in India, Steve Cropley of Britain's Autocar magazine reported "the Nano just felt safe and predictable. It also feels admirably rigid and durable." Clive Hickman, Tata Motors' head of research and development, told Cropley the goal was not simply an ultra-cheap minicar "but to determine the needs of an entirely new breed of consumer, and then to devise solutions for problems others in the motor industry would have deemed insoluble." Mr. Tata himself reportedly guided the project at every stage and "consistently refused easy solutions such as making the Nano a 2-door..."

So it would seem that Tata has done what conventional wisdom said was impossible. Autocar's Cropley decided the reason was that "no one else but the Indians could have made this car work. The Americans would never have perceived a business case. Germans would have packed it with technology and shied away from cost-saving measures...In fact, built by any other manufacturer, the Nano would have suffered from mission creep and missed its target market." Considering that market's enormous potential size, it's no wonder The Economist hailed the Nano as "no small achievement."

The 2012 Tata Nano America may not seem so impressive by Western standards. But it is undeniably different, and that alone may be enough to ensure decent U.S. sales. If nothing else, the Nano signals India's arrival as a major player on the world's automotive stage, and that strikes us as no less significant than the car itself.

A Notable Feature of the 2012 Tata Nano America

The entire Nano package could be considered a "notable feature," but there's one item on the horizon that could be huge: An engine that runs on compressed air. Though Tata isn't talking about this yet, the New York Times reported in early 2008 that the company had signed a licensing deal with MDI Enterprises, one of several engineering firms that's been pursuing the technology.

Here's how it works. Air is compressed to 300 times atmospheric pressure for storage in onboard tanks. The air is then heated and fed into a piston engine at sufficient pressure to drive the pistons. There's no combustion, so there's no emissions, though an article on the Motor Authority website states that some fossil fuel might be burned to make electricity for preparing the compressed-air tanks. But it might not be much, as the article also notes that an air-powered Nano would need just $3 of electricity to drive 124 miles. Other articles we've seen indicate the air tanks could be topped-up at service stations as easily as pumping up a tire. Pretty cool, eh?

While it's unclear when compressed-air engines will be ready for prime time or how much Tata would charge for one in a Nano, we gather the technology will be practical for mass production in the not-too-distant future. And that would be one very good thing. As Motor Authority observed, the compressed-air engine "will have environmentalists breathing a collective sigh of relief after concerns that the Nano could be the 'beginning of the end' for the environment as millions of new drivers in India start to adopt cars."