Nano car bursts into flames, raising safety fears

[FarCenter]

By ERIKA KINETZ
AP Business Writer

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Satish Sawant was proudly driving his first car home from the showroom: A brand-new silver Tata Nano, draped with a celebratory garland of marigolds.

Then there was smoke. And then there was fire.

Minutes after the software engineer's wife and five-year-old son clambered out of the back seat, smoke from the engine, located in the Nano's rear, erupted into flames that engulfed the tiny car.

His ordeal showed just the latest problem with the low-cost Nano - raising fresh questions about safety and quality as top Indian carmaker Tata Motors sets its sights on global expansion and aims to ramp up production of the Nano with a new factory next month.

"My wife now doesn't want to buy any car," Sawant said by phone from his home in northern Mumbai on Thursday. "She doesn't even want to go for a Mercedes."

Starting around $2,500, the Nano has been heralded as the world's cheapest car, and was meant to usher in a safety revolution, which would get millions of families off dangerous motorbikes and into the cool comfort of an affordable car.

Tata Motors, which also owns Jaguar and Land Rover, plans to start selling versions of the Nano in Europe in 2011, and later, in America.

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[FSogol]

1. I'm guessing the floor mats are the problem. n/t

[snooper2]

3. ROFL

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[baldguy]

5. But will Tata ignore the problem & lie about it for 7 years?

[Richardo]

8. !!

:rofl:

[HopeHoops]

13. It just needs a little metal shim in the gas pedal - that's all (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

[unhappycamper]

2. Sweet.

We can always use another train wreck in the good ole US of A.

[Romulox]

4. It's only a C-O-N spiracy that keeps these cars off the US market!

(And the SMART car gets crappy gas mileage because of GM, somehow...)

[TwilightGardener]

6. I really only expect three things from a car: I can steer it where I want to, I can

go when I want to, I can stop it when I want to. Now I'll add a fourth: does not spontaneously combust. That's pretty important.

[guitar man]

7. Terrorism!!

We were warned about exploding tata's weren't we?

:rofl:

[DainBramaged]

11. +1,000

[mrcheerful]

9. I suggest we replace the republican motor pool with these Nano's asp

[DKRC]

10. Running around with their hair on fire

for a good reason.

For a change.

:evilgrin:

[guitar man]

12. Does Tata make buses?

Maybe we could all chip in and buy a new bus for the Tea Party Express!!

:rofl:

[mrcheerful]

14. There you go