Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, is in celebratory mood. It is elated about its extensive fan base on Facebook through which it has accumulated 1 million likes. Since, it’s not every day that a Facebook page gets 1 million likes; Tata Nano wishes to thank its Facebook users. So, how does it plan to say thank you? The cheapest car company is organizing a social road trip across India in which four teams get to participate.

These teams have to drive Tata Nanos for 20 days and overcome obstacles and hurdles. In the meantime, the 1 million Facebook fans vote the best team and the devoted fan gets a Tata Nano. Some sources reveal that this is a strategy by Tata Nano to attract and capitalize on India’s young market potential. Apparently, about 42% of Nano owners are in the 18 to 34 age group!!

The company is leaving no stone unturned in attracting more youth to boost its sales. The social road trip is conducted in collaboration with MTV – a channel that is already popular amongst youngsters for the Roadies show! So, does the lethal combination of Tata Nano + Facebook + MTV have the potential to attract young buyers of Tata Nano cars in 2012? We have to wait and watch. Read more for what we think really matters to young car buyers.

Is the Nano Alluring Youngsters?

A quick look at the car’s features raises certain doubts about its compatibility with youngsters! Generally, youngsters prefer cars that can zoom past smoothly, that have jazzy features, and of course an awesome appearance.

In the case of Tata Nano, a motorcar enthusiast Aneesh Shivanekar blogs “it’s a cute lil’ car that yelps the moment you take the roundabout on your way back home at 40 kph so it’ll need some amount of preparation to make it go around corners without tumbling over.”

What’s more, the basic model of the Tata Nano has no radio, no power windows, no air conditioning, no anti-lock brakes, no remote locks, and no power steering! So, it could be quite boring for most youngsters to drive across town without tuning into their favorite radio channel, and having to manually lock doors (very rare in cities these days), while allowing the wind to make a mess of their hair (when most basic car versions come with air-conditioning)!

Tata Nano’s Advantage

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Having said that, we cannot totally rule out the cheapest car’s plus points! The car boasts of an unbeatable petrol mileage of 25kmpl, an SUV-like high ground clearance (which is very essential for Indian roads that are riddled with pot-holes, humps, and uneven surfaces), and an affordable, ex-showroom, price of Rs.151284 for the Nano BS III model (in Bangalore)!

So, if you want to participate in the social road trip (winners get a Tata Nano), please register at http://mtv.in.com/drive/. You might also want to click the Like button on http://www.facebook.com/TataNanoPage because an ardent fan also gets to win the cheapest car in the world . Here is wishing you all the very best !