A car or lawn mower?
Tata's Nano wonder has taken the world by surprise. It's not just the media in India, the global media too seemed to have been bowled over by the world's cheapest car.
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London-based Guardian, in its report on Nano launch, is apprehensive about the kind of environmental impact the tiny car can cause in a country like India. "The emergence of the Nano has caused concern among green campaigners, who have warned of an environmental nightmare on India's roads. Although there are just 5m cars in use in India u00e2u0080u0091 only seven in every 1,000 people own a car u00e2u0080u0091 the roads are clogged with dozens of other vehicles," says the report.
"India's Nano, Driving Like a (National) Dream": screamed a Washington Post headline on Nano launch.
"I didn't want to be the first Western journalist to crash a Nano. But I was so curious about the world's cheapest car I was willing to take that chance," Post's correspondent starts the report with these words.
"With a sticker price of about $2,000, the new Tata Motors' Nano has been mocked as a lawn mower for four," says the report, adding that "But in a country where it's not uncommon to see a family of four or five perched precariously on a motorcycle, it puts the dream of car ownership within reach of India's emerging middle- and working-classes."
"Many auto experts here have likened the Nano to the Henry Ford Model T that revolutionized American life a century ago. The down payment for a Nano is about $70."
"It won't have airbags or back-seat safety belts. There won't be power steering or an anti-lock brake system. But with a base price of 100,000 rupees, middle-class India may just stampede its way to car-dealerships when orders for the Nano begin in mid-April," says Global Post, newly-launched news wire.
"The latent demand for a low-priced car could boost the Indian car market's size by 65 percent, even in the face of a slowing economy," adds the report.
"Tata never tires of telling his inspiration for the Nano; watching a family of four perched on the back of a single motor scooter and thinking they deserved something better," says UK paper The Independent.
"The world's cheapest car will retail for just over $2,000 and can be yours u00e2u0080u0094 if you live in India and are very lucky u00e2u0080u0094 by July," announces MSNBC.com.u00a0
"People flocked to the Nanos on display Monday night like moths to light, thwacking the doors shut, testing the seats, tooting the horns, and tugging on the flexible plastic bumpers," the report talks about the euphoria and excitement about the car.
"Ratan Tata won't speculate whether this is a Henry Ford moment for India. Ford famously paid his factory workers enough so that if they saved carefully, they'd be able to buy their own Model T," added the report.
"Analysts said that if the car proves an immediate hit in its home market, Tata may struggle to meet demand," says BBC news website.u00a0
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