Saturday, July 2, 2016

1992-2000 Tata Estate

With yesterday's Tata Indigo Marina, the company had previously had experience producing station wagons. More successful that its successor, the Tata Estate would probably be labeled a crossover today and my guess far more successful. Of course, it was a stone-age design when released.

"Driving is believing." Uh...yeah.



Tata's very first passenger car, the Estate was a Mercedes ripoff. Or should I say inspired by? That ought to keep the lawyers at bay for, what, two seconds? To me, there are Range Rover and Volvo design cues to the exterior design.

Ready for the rough roads of India.
Technically, this is an SUV, as its built on a truck platform. But it wasn't marketed or perceived that way. Sadly, it was less than reliable throughout production and that explains why there aren't that many still around.

The transmission choice was limited to a notchy, feeling-free 5-speed that was lashed to a 68 hp 1.9 diesel.

Hey, it was the 90s when this car came out. Chillax.
I was unable to figure out what the MSRP. If you stumble across it, please let me know.
Posted by K2

5 comments:

  1. Tom WorleyJuly 2, 2016 at 7:53 AM

    I can see what you were saying about these cars leaping forward, generation to generation, like the Koreans. We're sold a bill of goods in this country that other places don't have the desire or capability to move forward.

    ReplyDelete
  2. NessaJuly 2, 2016 at 9:15 AM

    This car reminds me of the ARO 244. What could have been, if they'd successfully brought that vehicle to this country....

    ReplyDelete
  3. WD40July 2, 2016 at 5:58 PM

    Stone age simple and tough. We need more of that.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownJuly 3, 2016 at 7:57 AM

    All true, you guys. I'd think this sort of vehicle would be a hit with hipsters and folks who want tough and simple.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousOctober 17, 2016 at 12:26 AM

    Tata had a close relationship with for almost 60 years.

    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Mercerdes-exits-6-decade-old-pact-with-Tata-Motors/articleshow/20039460.cms

    Mercedes owned a 5.34% stake in Tata until 2010.

    If you look at alot of old Tata products... you can see the Mercedes design language in them, and the first vehicle they launched was a Mercedes diesel truck.

    http://india100yearsback.blogspot.com/2008/12/journey-of-tata-from-first-mercedes.html

    ReplyDelete

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