Tata's Two-Grand Runabout Hits the Streets

No factory? No radio? No air conditioning? No power steering? No air bags? No problem.

Tata Motors is beginning to roll out its much anticipated Nano runabout, the world's cheapest car, despite not yet having a factory dedicated to producing it.

The 33-horsepower, 10-foot-long, five-seat, four-door car, with a sticker price of just 100,000 rupees ($2,000), is being delivered to dealers across India over the next 10 days. For now, sales will be limited to India.

Tata owner Ratan Tata's goal is to lure millions of Indians to swap their motorcycles for his new car. But Condé Nast Portfolio technology writer Kevin Maney has written that the Nano represents the first 21st century car, and could have as dramatic an impact on this century as Henry Ford's Model T had on the last one.

Tata was undeterred by protests that forced it to abandon plans for a Nano factory in eastern India. It squeezed reduced production into other plants while seeking a new home for its new car. The change will limit production to about 50,000 cars a year for now.