Poking fun at the Tata Nano
Tata’s Nano was launched last week to much fanfare and very high expectations for the success of the diminutive vehicle, but almost immediately has become the brunt of jokes by motor fans worldwide. While a lot of this criticism might be unfair (at least until the vehicle has actually been driven by independant testers), some of it is quite funny nonetheless.
I found the following particularly offensive and hilarious.
Full article here.
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There are many people, particularly in the US still claiming that the Nano is unsafe. The Nano is actually safer than the best selling US SUV - the Ford Ranger (or F150). The Euro NCAP crash tests prove it beyond any shadow of doubt.
Americans have this strange idea that driving a big SUV makes them safer. Nothing could be further from the truth. SUVs lack a monocoque cage structure that protects occupants and allows effective crumple zones to be provided. Also, it is the design of the vehicle and not its size that has the biggest impact on vehicle safety.
Compare the crash test video. See how the Ford Ranger’s cabin folds up on the offset test. The Nano cabin remains intact and protects the driver. The tests are carried out at 35-40mph and take into account occupant protection and deceleration forces that occupants are subjected to. Basically, in a 35-40 mph crash, the Nano is safer than a Ford Ranger SUV.
At higher speeds, occupants of neither is likely to be safe, but those in the Nano will still be safer than those in the Ford SUV. In real world crashes with other vehicles, the Nano will do much better safety wise in comparison to the Ford SUV than in the EuroNCAP tests where it is crashed into a concrete block. This is because the difficulty in designing small cars the Nano is in the limited crush depth available. They need to employ clever design and extensive computer and real crash testing to achieve the necessary safety rating. However when crashing into another vehicle, the other vehicle’s crumple zone adds to the Nano’s crumple depth, making for a much safer crash than crashing into a concrete block.
The tests don’t lie, and they prove once and for all that the Tata Nano is safe for US roads, and in fact safer than most SUVs driving on US roads.
Ford Ranger 2008 - EuroNCAP rating - 2 Star
http://www.euroncap.com/tests/ford_ranger_2008/342.aspx
Crash Test:
http://www.euroncap.com/Player.aspx?nk=d204eaa3-b2dd-4da6-bbb9-0c7b7ffc3133
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtsZyfll5uk
Tata Nano - 2009 Testing - Expected EuroNCAP Rating - 4 Star
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1FckXItYbo