The start of 2008 brought great hilarity for those of us who keep a keen eye on the motoring industry – and especially those among us who sneer at anything less than a supercar. First, the joy of the internet and email meant I received a picture of a garden shed on wheels (yes, an actual shed) – with a clever fake press release heralding the launch of the new Daewood car! Very funny.

 

Then, in India, Tata Motors launched the world’s cheapest new car…the $2,500 Nano. Wizened industry-watchers heralded the apparent “breathtaking innovations in manufacturing technology in the global automobile industry based on severe cost-cutting”. Others were not so open-minded, with one United States media presenter describing the car as “a golf cart crossed with a jelly bean.”

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