You say Tata, and I say Nano

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This is the world’s cheapest production car. It’s called the Tata Nano and has a list price the rough equivalent of $2,500. Its actual price is 100,000 rupees, as the Nano is for sale only in India.

How so cheap? Well, it has a rear-mounted 625-cc twin-cylinder engine that wheezes out 33 horsepower and nudges the car to a top speed of 43 mph. Luxury features include wind-up windows and proper door handles, but don’t expect power steering or air conditioning. Although the latter would have been a godsend in Calcutta.

Some body parts are made of plastic, but the Nano is claimed to comply with India’s emissions and crashworthiness regulations (however stringent they might be). This is a chance for many people to buy into the Great Indian Dream, by getting a four-door five-seater that measures 10 feet long, five feet wide and five feet high.

So why should we care? It just so happens that Tata, one of India’s biggest manufacturing operations, is set to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford. And another thing, we get our clothes and sneakers from countries with low labor costs. Who would bet against a similar situation happening with cars?

-- Colin Ryan