The no-frills 2,500-dollar vehicle from Tata Motors, unveiled amid huge hoopla in New Delhi on Thursday, could revolutionise how millions in India and elsewhere travel, its developer and industry watchers said.
Although the minicar which seats up to five is yet to hit the road, many in India seemed to agree, most notably a rah-rah media that, the car was a triumph of Indian engineering.
"Tata reinvents the wheel," crowed a headline in the Times of India daily. "Pulls off a one in a billion coup."
The NDTV news channel dubbed the car a "hit," although the car will only face the real test of chaotic Indian roads in the second half of this year.
Middle-class Indians seemed to agree.
"It's time now to dump my scooter," Deepak Srivastav, a government worker, told the Hindustan Times.
The Nano -- so named company chairman Ratan Tata said because it "connotes high-tech and small size" -- features a two-cylinder 623 cc, rear-mounted engine with a top test speed of 105 kilometres (65 miles) an hour.
Derived from the Greek word for "dwarf," it is also a measure that means one part of a billion in what appeared a nod to India's billion-plus population.
The car whose cute appearance defied pre-launch predictions it would be little more than a "motorised bullock cart" will get 20 kilometres to the litre or 50 miles to the gallon and will also meet strict Euro IV emission norms.
"It is green, it is global, it is Indian," lauded the Hindustan Times on Friday, speculating that the car could "turn out to be one of the more important milestones in the history of automobile manufacturing."
Animated youngsters told television channels they planned to buy the car as soon as it was available.
"I plan to own this car by December, drive around Delhi, have fun with my friends, give them a ride," college student Devika told the NDTV news channel.
"I need that car."
"It's a good-looking car, it's a great achievement," said Indian auto analyst Murad Ali Baig.
Tata himself, likened by India's media to US automobile pioneer Henry Ford, compared the importance of the vehicle, nicknamed the "People's Car", to the first powered flight by the Wright brothers or the first lunar landing.
But in spite of the reams of praise, some remained unconvinced.
The head of the UN climate panel that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year indicated he would have preferred to see Tata unveil the "People's Bus."
"In my view, this represents a bankruptcy of policy as far as transport options are concerned," said Rajendra K. Pachauri.
In many Indian cities, cars far outnumber public transport options. India's capital -- where the country's biggest car show is underway -- has 1.6 million cars and 8,000 buses for its 14 million residents. Traffic crawls at rush-hour.
"If our roads are going to be flooded with these cars by a few million each year, what is that going to do? Every car that goes on the road is going to use road space. Congestion and air pollution are twin problems," said Pachauri.
"Why not improve the quality and reliablility of buses?"
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