Denver, Colorado (January 17, 2012) – Innovation is always exciting… usually somewhat terrifying… and not always fully understood up front. Think Apple.
Two years ago this month, we had the opportunity to work on Tata Technologies “Better Innovation” campaign which was meant to introduce the Tata Nano to North America. The Nano, a $2,500 four passenger car, was designed to change transportation for Indian families. In India, it is not uncommon to see families of four or more riding on a single motorcycle in thick, I mean bees on honey thick, traffic. It is scary to witness. Now, for about the price of that motorcycle, the same family can drive safely in a car that gets about 70mpg.
It was a story worth telling. How can you safely design a car that costs so little? Designers from around the world collaborated on the concept. They didn’t accept “it can’t be done” thinking. Even bringing the car to the US was a challenge. As an Indian car, you couldn’t simply import it and drive it from place to place in the US. We had to come up with innovative ways of bringing the car to the US legally – even involving transporting it on a 747! Creativity, imagination, and a spirit of doing more, not less carried the day. The interest generated by national media including The Today Show, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and others attested to the level of interest in true innovation.
This month at the North American Auto Show, Tata Technologies once again is showing the world what innovation can be. Now, they’ve actually designed and BUILT their own concept vehicle, the eMO, which looks really interesting. See for yourself!
Nice work!!