Tata Motors' Nano city car is once again making headlines in India, but not for the reasons you might think. Following three separate cases in 2009 when owners of the Nano in Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Delhi reported seeing smoke and flames coming out of their vehicles' dashboard, another Nano caught fire. Only this time, Tata's much-vaunted 'world's cheapest car' literally went up in flames.

According to Indian news sites, the particular Nano was owned by insurance agent Satish Sawant who had just bought the car from a dealership in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, that provided him with a chauffeur as he -surprise, surprise- didn't know how to drive.

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Daimler AG, the company that owns Mercedes-Benz, today sold its entire 5.34% stake in India's Tata Motors ending a relationship that stretches back more than five decades.

The German firm said that the sale of 25.6 million shares will generate approximately €300 million (US$401 million) of cash and earnings before interest and taxes, with around €265 million (US$362 million) to be accounted for in the first quarter of 2010.

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The former boss of General Motors Europe, Carl-Peter Forster, has been hired by India's largest automobile manufacturer, Tata Motors, as the group's Chief Executive Officer with overall responsibility of Tata Motors Operations globally, including Jaguar and Land Rover, the company announced.

Up until November of 2009, the 55-year-old executive was the head of General Motors Europe, where he looked after Opel/Vauxhall, Saab and the European activities of Chevrolet.

Forster stepped down as the company's president after objecting to GM's decision to reverse a sale of its European operations to a Magna-led consortium.

Prior to joining General Motors in 2001, Forster worked for the BMW Group for 13 years holding various positions including that of Managing Director of BMW South Africa and was also on the Managing Board of BMW responsible for manufacturing.

In an official statement, Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Indian company said, "Tata Motors expects that Mr. Forster's induction will greatly facilitate its ambition towards being a truly international company."

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