The Tata Nano, designed to be the world’s most affordable
car, will be on view at
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum through April 25,
2010. Unveiled last year in
India by Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile
manufacturer, the Tata Nano is targeted to families
who had not previously been able to afford a car. Billed as
“the people’s car,” the base model starts at
$2,500 in India and can accommodate up to five adults. A
bright, sunshine yellow Nano will be on
display in Cooper-Hewitt’s Great Hall, along with diagrams
and photos describing its concept,
development and production.
The name “Nano” connotes high technology, small size and
low price. This ultra-cheap compact
car contributes to the world of affordable motoring, and
like its predecessors, Henry Ford’s Model T, the
Volkswagen Beetle, Citroen 2CV and the original Fiat 500,
the Tata Nano continues the tradition of
inexpensive cars made in large numbers. Conceived by
Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, the
Tata Nano is intended as an all-weather form of personal
transportation that provides a safer and cleaner
alternative to the two-wheelers that are pervasive in India,
where often entire families ride clinging to a
motorbike or a scooter.
