India's Tata Motors unveils US$2,500 car

[Praxius]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080110/Tata_Motors_090110/20080110?hub=World

The world's cheapest car, with a meagre price tag of US$2,500, was unveiled in India today by Tata Motors.

The compact four-door car, called the Tata Nano, can fit as many as five people in a squeeze. While higher-end models are planned, the current version has been built without a radio, air conditioning or passenger-side mirror.

Tata Motors says it eventually hopes to export the car but for now it will only be sold in India.

The Nano is expected to make owning a vehicle a real possibility for tens of millions in the country.

But critics of the cheap car fear it will lead to millions more vehicles on the already jam-packed roads of India -- adding to air and noise pollution problems.

Chief UN climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, said in December that he was "having nightmares" about the vehicle.

Company chairman Ratan Tata, who unveiled the car at an auto show in New Delhi Thursday, said the Nano will meet domestic and European emission standards.

He also said it would average about 20 kilometres per litre of gasoline.

"Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares,'' said Tata. "For us it's a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country.''

In 2005, vehicles in India released 219 million tons of carbon dioxide.

By 2035, the number is projected to jump to 1,467 million tons -- supported by the expanding middle-class and the rise of low-cost cars, says the Asian Development Bank.
"The cheaper and cheaper vehicles become, the quicker those pollution levels will increase,'' Jamie Leather, a transport specialist with the bank, told The Associated Press.
In an effort to compete, French auto maker Renault SA and its Japanese partner, Nissan, are trying to determine if they too can create a car for less than $3,000.

Sorry, no music while driving makes Prax go crazy. And you'd think they could slap another $70 to the tag to add that other mirror.

 

[lone wolf]

Sorry, no music while driving makes Prax go crazy. And you'd think they could slap another $70 to the tag to add that other mirror.

Dunno what the dash layout is (hafta check it out online) but at a savings of at least ten grand over it's closest competition, and with space for (almost) two in the back seat area, you have room for one huge kick-azz aftermarket Blauplunkt....

Woof!

 

[karrie]

I could definitely afford an iPod set up with what I'd save buying that car Prax. I wonder what the crash test ratings are. lol.

 

[lone wolf]

I could definitely afford an iPod set up with what I'd save buying that car Prax. I wonder what the crash test ratings are. lol.

My money's on the Peterbilt....

Woof!

 

[jimshort19]

So, the Indians have re-inventred the car. At $2,500 USD, that's got to be a popular re-invention. Think Model 'T' in a billion man America.

The useless types effectively add that that the new car would be more ideal at ten times the price. I think not. It wouldn't be news. It is good news. The bad news is that we have a pollution problem. That's not news. And it's getting worse fast. That's not news either. We aught to give up our SUVs before the Indians give up their re-invented motorcycles, and we'll have to, won't we?

 

[karrie]

My money's on the Peterbilt....

Woof!

Not a lot of peterbilts kicking around Edmonton streets at speeds I would need to worry about. :smile:

 

[lone wolf]

Not a lot of peterbilts kicking around Edmonton streets at speeds I would need to worry about. :smile:

How about Crown Vic taxicabs?

Woof!

 

[#juan]

I could definitely afford an iPod set up with what I'd save buying that car Prax. I wonder what the crash test ratings are. lol.

Crash test ratings?................All the pieces will end up in the same general area with the driver and passengers......I think....:roll::smile:

 

[karrie]

Just being small doesn't necessarily make a vehicle unsafe. Lack of airbags, crumple zones... that makes a vehicle unsafe. But just being small, not so much. This one doesn't look much less safe than my Geo Metro would have been.

 

[#juan]

Just being small doesn't necessarily make a vehicle unsafe. Lack of airbags, crumple zones... that makes a vehicle unsafe. But just being small, not so much. This one doesn't look much less safe than my Geo Metro would have been.

No, being small doesn't by itself make a vehicle unsafe. This vehicle is slated to be sold for $2500.00. It will presumably cost less than that. There is no money for air bags, crush zones or safety beams in the doors. Parts of the body are glued on. Your Geo Metro could probably drive through this car.

 

[karrie]

It's a pity we can't just wipe the slate clean and move everyone on to smaller vehicles. Set up distinct trucking routes, and personal transportation routes, so that neither need to meet on a regular basis. There could be so many options for moving people about a city, yet you need to contend with Hummers and pickups and the like. It's frustrating.

 

[lone wolf]

Guess what.... It doesn't have a block heater either. 2 cyl air cooled ... so it's not a winter beater....

Woof!

 

[karrie]

I wouldn't expect any car built in India to have one :smile:

Start selling it here though, and I'll likely expect that they'll have thought about a redesign. lol.

 

[lone wolf]

Last cars I remember with an air-cooled motor were the Corvair and the Volkswagen - neither of which were very good in the heat department (alhough you could get a gas heater for the bug)

Woof!

 

[#juan]

At the time the Corvair was one of the best engineered cars GM ever produced. The rear drive swing axle could be a bit of a problem in some situations and Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at any speed" caused GM to lose their nerve and scrap it even though the VW beetle had the same set-up.

 

[lone wolf]

I had a '68 Monza. Tuck-under wasn't as scary as hitting a washboard in a short-bed pick-up truck. Nader had sensationalism down to a science.

Woof!

 

[#juan]

I had a '68 Monza. Tuck-under wasn't as scary as hitting a washboard in a short-bed pick-up truck. Nader had sensationalism down to a science.

Woof!

God, you got that right. The truck could bounce itself right off the road. People who raced the Corvair dialed in a bit more positive camber and the problem went away.

 

[darkbeaver]

At the time the Corvair was one of the best engineered cars GM ever produced. The rear drive swing axle could be a bit of a problem in some situations and Ralph Nader's book "Unsafe at any speed" caused GM to lose their nerve and scrap it even though the VW beetle had the same set-up.

I had a Corvair Spyder 1965, convertable, twin carb, turbo-charged, Dad got tired of it in his yard while I was being a little slow putting it back together, one day he had the scrap yard haul it away, we had a bit of a tiff, which ended with me sprawled and bleeding in the same yard.
I thought the biggest problem Nader brought up was instability in the front end because there was no weight over the steering wheels.They would lighten up faster you went the worse they got
I didn;t have that problem with mine cuzz the engine was shot.