Re: The World's Cheapest Car

[Guest guest]

It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market likes it, then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens if there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars as competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different classes, but Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

In a message dated 1/10/2008 3:23:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702220,00.html

The World's Cheapest Car

A lot is riding on the the world's cheapest car. In the words of Ratan Tata, chairman of the company behind the upstart econobox, India's "People's Car" will be a "safe, affordable, all weather vehicle for a family which is today traveling on a two wheeler." The entry level model is ticketed at just over $2,500 — or the equivalent of 100,000 rupees or one Lakh — a revolutionary price where the average lower middle class income is $200 a month. (For comparison's sake, in the early 1970s, Honda introduced affordable, good quality Civics at about $2,200, which adjusted for inflation would now be nearly $10,500.)

The car emerged at a much-anticipated launch on Thursday: a cute, short thing, with four doors, tiny wheels placed out at the far corners of the body and what looked like plenty of room inside. The Nano has just enough space for a briefcase or small bag under the hood. The engine — all two cylinders, 624cc and 33 horsepower of it — is in the back, just like the Volkswagen Beetle of old. The speedometer and other instruments cluster in a central pod in the middle of the dashboard rather than directly in front of the driver, the easier (and cheaper) to offer both left- and right-hand versions when Tata Motors starts exporting the car to Southeast Asia and Africa in a couple of years. The top third of the oversized headlights act as the turn signals (indicators) and look like cheeky yellow eyebrows above the main lights. "Car companies are in probably the most emotive business area that one can find apart from fashion," company chairman Ratan Tata told TIME a day before the big launch. "There will be people who say it looks like a toy, but if you consider the value proposition I think the car is great."

Tata hopes the Nano will help millions of poor people around the world — the "Bottom of the Pyramid" in developing world marketing-speak — switch from two wheels to four. Environmentalists, city planners and even some competitors, on the other hand, warn that the new vehicle will clog up India's crowded roads and add clouds of pollution to its already filthy air.

Ratan Tata emphasized that the new car complies with India's emissions laws and even with Europe's much stronger Euro 4 standards. Emissions, Tata says, are "lower than a scooter's today". The company claims the car will also deliver 50 miles per gallon, or better than 20 kilometers per liter, which would make it one of India's most efficient vehicles, and vastly more efficient than the average in the U.S. Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, said recently that he was "having nightmares" about the low-cost car. "Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares," said Ratan Tata at today's unveiling. "For us it's a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country."

But with India's road infrastructure struggling to keep up with explosive growth in car sales, won't the new Tata just add to the country's road hassles? That's a problem the Indian government has to deal with, not manufacturers, Tata said. "We'd certainly be concerned if our vehicle created absolute chaos all across India," he told one questioner who complained that his morning journey of a few miles across Delhi took over an hour. "But if you had chaos today and it did not include our vehicles, then I would suggest the problem has to do with something else besides the presence or absence of our vehicles." India, he agreed, "does desperately need mass transit systems... both within cities and between cities." But poor Indian families also have a right to what millions take for granted elsewhere in the world. "Should they be denied the right to independent transport?"

Eventually, Tata Motors hopes to sell a million Nanos a year. Even before it goes on sale, though, it has become an important symbol of an emerging trend in the developing world, a new brand of innovation that makes more out of less and engineers clever but cheap fixes to problems that Western companies might throw expensive technology at.

The head of the Nano team says Tata Motors has applied for 34 patents on various components and design features on the new car, though he was short on specifics. The car reportedly uses super strong glue rather than welds in some joints — a technique that a handful of other car makers have used before, though perhaps never as extensively. Tata Motors' cost-cutting drive was relentless: the windshield has just one washer rather than two, the metal steering column was hollowed out to save on steel, cheaper bearings — strong enough to perform well up to (70 kph) but fast wearing beyond that — may be used rather than more expensive components. "It's a very tight package," Ratan Tata said. Given the steep rise in the cost of steel, rubber and other inputs in the past few years, it's possible that the entry level Nano might not break even, though Tata made a point of saying the "one lakh" price tag in India will stay because "a promise is a promise". The car, the company says, will make money across its various models.

The Indian magnate, who has hinted he will soon retire, sees the Nano as an evolution rather than a revolution. "What is revolutionary anyway?" he asked TIME before the launch. "If you asked me would it be possible to build a lower cost car than this — a car say for 50,000 rupees [$1,300] — I might be driven to say, 'Yes, it might be possible.'" He pauses for a few seconds. "I don't think anything's impossible." The half lakh car anyone?

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market likes it, then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens if there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars as competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different classes, but Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

In a message dated 1/10/2008 3:23:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702220,00.html

The World's Cheapest Car

A lot is riding on the the world's cheapest car. In the words of Ratan Tata, chairman of the company behind the upstart econobox, India's "People's Car" will be a "safe, affordable, all weather vehicle for a family which is today traveling on a two wheeler." The entry level model is ticketed at just over $2,500 — or the equivalent of 100,000 rupees or one Lakh — a revolutionary price where the average lower middle class income is $200 a month. (For comparison's sake, in the early 1970s, Honda introduced affordable, good quality Civics at about $2,200, which adjusted for inflation would now be nearly $10,500.)

The car emerged at a much-anticipated launch on Thursday: a cute, short thing, with four doors, tiny wheels placed out at the far corners of the body and what looked like plenty of room inside. The Nano has just enough space for a briefcase or small bag under the hood. The engine — all two cylinders, 624cc and 33 horsepower of it — is in the back, just like the Volkswagen Beetle of old. The speedometer and other instruments cluster in a central pod in the middle of the dashboard rather than directly in front of the driver, the easier (and cheaper) to offer both left- and right-hand versions when Tata Motors starts exporting the car to Southeast Asia and Africa in a couple of years. The top third of the oversized headlights act as the turn signals (indicators) and look like cheeky yellow eyebrows above the main lights. "Car companies are in probably the most emotive business area that one can find apart from fashion," company chairman Ratan Tata told TIME a day before the big launch. "There will be people who say it looks like a toy, but if you consider the value proposition I think the car is great."

Tata hopes the Nano will help millions of poor people around the world — the "Bottom of the Pyramid" in developing world marketing-speak — switch from two wheels to four. Environmentalists, city planners and even some competitors, on the other hand, warn that the new vehicle will clog up India's crowded roads and add clouds of pollution to its already filthy air.

Ratan Tata emphasized that the new car complies with India's emissions laws and even with Europe's much stronger Euro 4 standards. Emissions, Tata says, are "lower than a scooter's today". The company claims the car will also deliver 50 miles per gallon, or better than 20 kilometers per liter, which would make it one of India's most efficient vehicles, and vastly more efficient than the average in the U.S. Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, said recently that he was "having nightmares" about the low-cost car. "Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares," said Ratan Tata at today's unveiling. "For us it's a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country."

But with India's road infrastructure struggling to keep up with explosive growth in car sales, won't the new Tata just add to the country's road hassles? That's a problem the Indian government has to deal with, not manufacturers, Tata said. "We'd certainly be concerned if our vehicle created absolute chaos all across India," he told one questioner who complained that his morning journey of a few miles across Delhi took over an hour. "But if you had chaos today and it did not include our vehicles, then I would suggest the problem has to do with something else besides the presence or absence of our vehicles." India, he agreed, "does desperately need mass transit systems... both within cities and between cities." But poor Indian families also have a right to what millions take for granted elsewhere in the world. "Should they be denied the right to independent transport?"

Eventually, Tata Motors hopes to sell a million Nanos a year. Even before it goes on sale, though, it has become an important symbol of an emerging trend in the developing world, a new brand of innovation that makes more out of less and engineers clever but cheap fixes to problems that Western companies might throw expensive technology at.

The head of the Nano team says Tata Motors has applied for 34 patents on various components and design features on the new car, though he was short on specifics. The car reportedly uses super strong glue rather than welds in some joints — a technique that a handful of other car makers have used before, though perhaps never as extensively. Tata Motors' cost-cutting drive was relentless: the windshield has just one washer rather than two, the metal steering column was hollowed out to save on steel, cheaper bearings — strong enough to perform well up to (70 kph) but fast wearing beyond that — may be used rather than more expensive components. "It's a very tight package," Ratan Tata said. Given the steep rise in the cost of steel, rubber and other inputs in the past few years, it's possible that the entry level Nano might not break even, though Tata made a point of saying the "one lakh" price tag in India will stay because "a promise is a promise". The car, the company says, will make money across its various models.

The Indian magnate, who has hinted he will soon retire, sees the Nano as an evolution rather than a revolution. "What is revolutionary anyway?" he asked TIME before the launch. "If you asked me would it be possible to build a lower cost car than this — a car say for 50,000 rupees [$1,300] — I might be driven to say, 'Yes, it might be possible.'" He pauses for a few seconds. "I don't think anything's impossible." The half lakh car anyone?

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market likes it, then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens if there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars as competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different classes, but Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

In a message dated 1/10/2008 3:23:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702220,00.html

The World's Cheapest Car

A lot is riding on the the world's cheapest car. In the words of Ratan Tata, chairman of the company behind the upstart econobox, India's "People's Car" will be a "safe, affordable, all weather vehicle for a family which is today traveling on a two wheeler." The entry level model is ticketed at just over $2,500 — or the equivalent of 100,000 rupees or one Lakh — a revolutionary price where the average lower middle class income is $200 a month. (For comparison's sake, in the early 1970s, Honda introduced affordable, good quality Civics at about $2,200, which adjusted for inflation would now be nearly $10,500.)

The car emerged at a much-anticipated launch on Thursday: a cute, short thing, with four doors, tiny wheels placed out at the far corners of the body and what looked like plenty of room inside. The Nano has just enough space for a briefcase or small bag under the hood. The engine — all two cylinders, 624cc and 33 horsepower of it — is in the back, just like the Volkswagen Beetle of old. The speedometer and other instruments cluster in a central pod in the middle of the dashboard rather than directly in front of the driver, the easier (and cheaper) to offer both left- and right-hand versions when Tata Motors starts exporting the car to Southeast Asia and Africa in a couple of years. The top third of the oversized headlights act as the turn signals (indicators) and look like cheeky yellow eyebrows above the main lights. "Car companies are in probably the most emotive business area that one can find apart from fashion," company chairman Ratan Tata told TIME a day before the big launch. "There will be people who say it looks like a toy, but if you consider the value proposition I think the car is great."

Tata hopes the Nano will help millions of poor people around the world — the "Bottom of the Pyramid" in developing world marketing-speak — switch from two wheels to four. Environmentalists, city planners and even some competitors, on the other hand, warn that the new vehicle will clog up India's crowded roads and add clouds of pollution to its already filthy air.

Ratan Tata emphasized that the new car complies with India's emissions laws and even with Europe's much stronger Euro 4 standards. Emissions, Tata says, are "lower than a scooter's today". The company claims the car will also deliver 50 miles per gallon, or better than 20 kilometers per liter, which would make it one of India's most efficient vehicles, and vastly more efficient than the average in the U.S. Chief U.N. climate scientist Rajendra Pachauri, who shared last year's Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, said recently that he was "having nightmares" about the low-cost car. "Dr. Pachauri need not have nightmares," said Ratan Tata at today's unveiling. "For us it's a milestone and I hope we can make a contribution to the country."

But with India's road infrastructure struggling to keep up with explosive growth in car sales, won't the new Tata just add to the country's road hassles? That's a problem the Indian government has to deal with, not manufacturers, Tata said. "We'd certainly be concerned if our vehicle created absolute chaos all across India," he told one questioner who complained that his morning journey of a few miles across Delhi took over an hour. "But if you had chaos today and it did not include our vehicles, then I would suggest the problem has to do with something else besides the presence or absence of our vehicles." India, he agreed, "does desperately need mass transit systems... both within cities and between cities." But poor Indian families also have a right to what millions take for granted elsewhere in the world. "Should they be denied the right to independent transport?"

Eventually, Tata Motors hopes to sell a million Nanos a year. Even before it goes on sale, though, it has become an important symbol of an emerging trend in the developing world, a new brand of innovation that makes more out of less and engineers clever but cheap fixes to problems that Western companies might throw expensive technology at.

The head of the Nano team says Tata Motors has applied for 34 patents on various components and design features on the new car, though he was short on specifics. The car reportedly uses super strong glue rather than welds in some joints — a technique that a handful of other car makers have used before, though perhaps never as extensively. Tata Motors' cost-cutting drive was relentless: the windshield has just one washer rather than two, the metal steering column was hollowed out to save on steel, cheaper bearings — strong enough to perform well up to (70 kph) but fast wearing beyond that — may be used rather than more expensive components. "It's a very tight package," Ratan Tata said. Given the steep rise in the cost of steel, rubber and other inputs in the past few years, it's possible that the entry level Nano might not break even, though Tata made a point of saying the "one lakh" price tag in India will stay because "a promise is a promise". The car, the company says, will make money across its various models.

The Indian magnate, who has hinted he will soon retire, sees the Nano as an evolution rather than a revolution. "What is revolutionary anyway?" he asked TIME before the launch. "If you asked me would it be possible to build a lower cost car than this — a car say for 50,000 rupees [$1,300] — I might be driven to say, 'Yes, it might be possible.'" He pauses for a few seconds. "I don't think anything's impossible." The half lakh car anyone?

Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

Good point actually. I doubt that they would be road worthy in the US, but in India and other parts of the world, that isn't an issue, yet. It will be interesting to see how safe they are and if that issue arises later one.

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it hadconvertable casket handles.KimStart the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

Good point actually. I doubt that they would be road worthy in the US, but in India and other parts of the world, that isn't an issue, yet. It will be interesting to see how safe they are and if that issue arises later one.

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it hadconvertable casket handles.KimStart the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

Good point actually. I doubt that they would be road worthy in the US, but in India and other parts of the world, that isn't an issue, yet. It will be interesting to see how safe they are and if that issue arises later one.

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it hadconvertable casket handles.KimStart the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

>

>

> It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market

likes it,

> then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens

if

> there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars

as

> competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different

classes, but

> Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

>

>

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it had

convertable casket handles.

Kim

[Guest guest]

>

>

> It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market

likes it,

> then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens

if

> there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars

as

> competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different

classes, but

> Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

>

>

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it had

convertable casket handles.

Kim

[Guest guest]

>

>

> It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market

likes it,

> then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be what happens

if

> there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see this line of cars

as

> competing with US cars simply because they are in completely different

classes, but

> Chinese rip off copies of cars could be.

>

>

I was listening to talk radio and someone asked in jest if it had

convertable casket handles.

Kim

[Guest guest]

I can agree that using more oil will only cause more competition for the resource and will drive up prices and cause it to run out faster. I don't think that fuel economy will have any impact on them, certainly no lasting impact. As time goes on and if their wealth grows, they will be demanding bigger cars that are less efficient.

I think the big question will be who will be the first to develop an effective alternative for oil to fuel cars and the rest. We are going with ethanol and that is a waste of time and resources.

As for being shoddily built, no telling yet if they are or not. Time will tell, a year or two out should be enough time for the maintenance records to be available.

In a message dated 1/11/2008 2:39:44 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

On the one hand, we don't need more cars burning fossil fuels. These types of cars are affordable to many people living in third world countries, and so we can expect sales of these to be strong.But on the other hand, they are small and fairly fuel efficient, so it would be a good thing to have cars of this nature ingrained in the mindsets of those who use them so that they continue to purchase modest, fuel efficient cars throughout their lifetimes. I just hope they are not shoddily built, because if that is the case, then all sorts of resources are being pout into a product that is going to wind up in the junkyard really fast. TomAdministratorStart the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

On the one hand, we don't need more cars burning fossil fuels. These

types of cars are affordable to many people living in third world

countries, and so we can expect sales of these to be strong.

But on the other hand, they are small and fairly fuel efficient, so

it would be a good thing to have cars of this nature ingrained in the

mindsets of those who use them so that they continue to purchase

modest, fuel efficient cars throughout their lifetimes.

I just hope they are not shoddily built, because if that is the case,

then all sorts of resources are being pout into a product that is

going to wind up in the junkyard really fast.

Tom

Administrator

" It will be interesting to see how this goes. If the Indian market

likes it, then there will be more of them. Also interesting will be

what happens if there is a demand for the car overseas. I don't see

this line of cars as competing with US cars simply because they are

in completely different classes, but Chinese rip off copies of cars

could be. "

[Guest guest]

I have a problem seeing a car such as this making it through monsoon

season in the southern regions of India. I would think it would get

blown over in high winds and carried away in floods.

I also think it would be easy to steal in urban communities, and I

doubt it could handle deep potholes on rural and even some urban roads.

Tom

Administrator

Good point actually. I doubt that they would be road worthy in the US,

but in India and other parts of the world, that isn't an issue, yet. It

will be interesting to see how safe they are and if that issue arises

later one.

[Guest guest]

doesn't it seem odd that a country would made a gas car when the US and

other countries are on the verge of hydrogen fueled cars? It seems a

bad move and a short sighted or deliberate attempt to continue the

status quo of the earths troubles. It makes me wish the four horsemen

would get moving. (I know that is harsh but I am bothered by the

disregard for human life continuing past tomorrow) If everyone is in

such a hurry to suffer and poison themselves I wish they would hurry up

and seal themselves in airtight quarters while they do it.

[Guest guest]

Tom wrote: " ... <snip> ... I also think it would be easy to steal in

urban communities, and I doubt it could handle deep potholes on rural

and even some urban roads ... <snip> ... "

If it stalls, all you have to do is tuck it up under your arm and walk

to the next service station for repairs. Good for consumers in that

respect but bad for consumers as well as petty thieves make off with

their vehicles in the same way without setting off any alarms. LOL.

Raven

Co-Administrator

[Guest guest]

" As time goes on and if their wealth grows, they will be demanding

bigger cars that are less efficient.

" I think the big question will be who will be the first to develop an

effective alternative for oil to fuel cars and the rest. We are going

with ethanol and that is a waste of time and resources. "

Here is something else to think about: Let's say the more developed

countries figure out a new kind fuel efficient car, or figure out a

way to power a car that does not run on gasoline or petroleum

products. That would temporarily lower the cost of fuel until the

proliferation of Indian mini-cars brings the price up again. Then

what would happen is you would have rising fuel costs in all these

underdeveloped countries. That would cause their economies to crash

and make most of the mini-cars too expensive to drive.

Meanwhile, countries like the US, which have huge untapped petroleum

reserves, would rake in the dough, making up for the high price of

fuel we are paying now in oil company and refining revenues that

would get churned back into the western economy.

Tom

Administrator

[Guest guest]

" doesn't it seem odd that a country would made a gas car when the US and

other countries are on the verge of hydrogen fueled cars? It seems a

bad move and a short sighted or deliberate attempt to continue the

status quo of the earths troubles. "

I think the Indian government probably looks upon the venture as a

windfall. They have been struggling to increase the per-capita wealth

of their nation and to up the standard of living. Even though many

people might have to empty their savings to get a car, the increased

mobility may help some to get higher paying jobs. I DON'T think the

Indian government cares about the expedature of fossil fules at this

point.

" It makes me wish the four horsemen would get moving. (I know that is

harsh but I am bothered by the disregard for human life continuing past

tomorrow) If everyone is in such a hurry to suffer and poison

themselves I wish they would hurry up and seal themselves in airtight

quarters while they do it. "

I agree with you actually. So many people tend to pray for God to get

on with it. But remember, one day He will.

Tom

Administrator

[Guest guest]

" If it stalls, all you have to do is tuck it up under your arm and walk

to the next service station for repairs. "

One good thing about this car that I forgot to mention is that you can

keep it in a shoebox. Saves you the trouble of having to build a garage.

Tom

Administrator