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Rumors have been surfacing in India about dangerous problems with the Tata Nano. One unit of the ultimate entry-level car reportedly burst into flames while being driven in Mumbai. While being driven home in his new Nano just after taking delivery, Satish Sawant noticed a motorcyclist signaling there was a problem with his car. Indian Autos Blog reports that the biker furiously pointed to the rear of the car, which was apparently in flames. "I have no idea what happened," Sawant said. "The engine was behind me and I did not realise that the car was on fire." The driver and passenger got out of the car safely. Firefighters successfully extinguished the flames, and police in the city have begun an investigation. Vehicles of all types and brands catching fire on their own is nothing new. However, stories of other Nanos have recently surfaced about smoke emerging from the car's steering column, wheel bearings that spike in temperature, and general overheating. With the engine in the Nano's rear, it leads one to wonder if the car has the same design flaw as the original Abarth 500. Owners of the original Abarth 500 had to use a stick to keep the trunk propped open to keep the car from overheating.

Toyota Motor said on Friday it would roll out eight compact car models tailored for emerging markets by 2015 in an attempt to catch up to front-runners such as Volkswagen (VW) and General Motors (GM). Toyota, which lost the crown as the world's top automaker last year, is looking to reduce its dependence on the mature North American, European and Japanese markets. It wants to shift more of its weight to growth markets such as China, India and Brazil, where Volkswagen, GM and Hyundai Motor have taken the lead. The Japanese automaker aims to sell half of its vehicles in emerging markets by 2015, up from around 45 per cent last year and 18.6 per cent in 2000. 'In emerging markets, there are four or five automakers vying to take the lead in sales volumes,' Toyota executive vice-president Yukitoshi Funo told reporters. 'Particularly in the South-east Asian region, Volkswagen and others are looking to challenge our lead so we can't be resting on our laurels,' he said. Including the Etios model that it launched in India in December 2010, Toyota plans to introduce eight compact cars by 2015, targeting combined annual sales of more than one million vehicles in over 100 countries during that period. The upcoming cars will be priced around 1 million yen (S$16,000) or higher and produced in local markets such as India, Brazil and China. Toyota said it would aim to procure 100 per cent of the cars' components locally to lower costs - a move that would require a stronger research and development function in those markets. By 2013, production capacity in emerging markets will rise to 3.1 million vehicles a year, from 2.38 million in 2010, matching the level in Japan, Toyota said. Mr Funo dismissed a report published in Japan's Asahi newspaper on Thursday that Toyota was working on a car priced around 500,000 yen (S$8,000) for the Indian market, to be sold under a new brand from around 2016. 'We won't go to the 500,000 yen segment - it's not our category,' Mr Funo said. 'We want to beef up our presence in segments where we can be competitive. There are many other options for customers looking in that price range, including used cars.' Mr Funo added that the cheaper segments were the territory of subsidiary Daihatsu Motor, which has expertise in smaller, lower-cost vehicles. Carmakers such as Nissan Motor and Hyundai are considering ultra low-cost cars, potentially tapping a huge base of consumers trading up from motorcycles. Toyota's cheapest car is the Etios, which sells for about US$9,000 (S$11,500) in India, or double the price of market leader Maruti Suzuki India's Alto. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/Motoring/Story...ory_803064.html