$2,000 For a Brand New Vehicle–Coming Soon?
In a selfish way, I think there is a glimmer of good that has come from our automotive industries economic problems. With the Governments involvement, there is at least pressure on the industry to change its ways and produce vehicles that get decent gas mileage, and by decent, I expect higher miles per gallon (mpg) than a Toyota Prius. There is no reason that in 2009 we are paying top dollar for vehicles called hybrids that only compete in mpg with my 1995 Dodge Neon. We have made advances in so many different fields, but have lost years of productivity in the automotive world. Check out the following automotive experiment from Tata Motors in Indiana, which could change the way American car companies do business–hopefully.
The car is called Nano produced from a Company called Tata; it’s a four door/four passenger vehicle that is supposed to go on sale in India sometime this summer. Amazingly, the car will sell for about 100,000 rupees, which translates to about $2,000 U.S. dollars. Can you believe that? $2,000 for a brand new car, granted, it’s not going to have all the bells and whistles of what we have become accustomed to, but if you’re like me, you don’t care about these accessories. It’s been said many times, but a car is to get you from point A to point B, it’s not an object that proves you make more money than your neighbor. No matter how fast it is, it won’t change the speed limit and not matter how fancy it is, you still store it in the same place as you do your garbage—the garage.
The general concept behind the Nano is that you only get the barebones necessary to get you around. The Nano has the ability to be less polluting than scooters and should be capable of getting 50 miles per gallon with a two-cylinder 33 horsepower diesel engine. The vehicle is offered so cheap, in part, because its missing main features that we are more than used to like power steering and a trunk that actually opens (the Nano’s trunk is assessable by folding down the seats). Interestingly, the Nano will have the engine in the rear, which helps provide more interior room in an already tiny vehicle. Also, the vehicle will be a rear wheel drive, which means if you live in a snowy area, you’ll likely have major problems. Of course, a manual transmission would be standard, which already disqualifies 90% of the U.S. from owning one. The acceleration isn’t all that bad either; it should go from 0-43 MPH in 14 seconds (ok, that is pretty bad).
Who knows how long it will take to get an affordable car like the Nano into the United States. I realize to get this vehicle up to the U.S. safety standards etc., it will likely cost more than the version going on sale this summer in India, but if one goes on sale soon here, the manufactures probably couldn’t keep up with the demand. This could ultimately produce an unintended side effect however, if vehicles do come on the market this cheaply, traffic could end up being a bigger problem than it already is. Whatever happens, I hope the U.S. starts using its brainpower and produces vehicles that in reality, we should already be driving.
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Comments
Ah, sounds like it’s good for small city travel in the southern states–like most smart cars on the roads today.
Amusing that the logo closely resembles Toyota’s logo. I wonder if Toyota will have any beef about that.
I don’t see any mention of how it performs in crash tests, which is the primary reason for me to avoid them. I spend a couple hours on the road a day to get to and from work (all attempts at working remotely have been declined) and vehicle safety is one of my top concerns (that and MPG). Definitely not plausible for us yokels.
the peoples car, havent we heard that before some where,oh yeah! their somewhat sucessful now,and they own a rather upmarket vehicle manufacturer, so dont dismis it!
do u no how much pullotion that is going to be wat r u like a coumputer who dosnt need air to breath!!!!!!!
Well, it sounds really very good and I think this will be better for small city travel in the southern states like the most smart cars on the roads today.
Hello! Thanks for the post. It is really amazing! I will definitely share it with my friends.
That car would be brilliant for people with not a lot of money to invest on expensive cars. It will be perfect for running a local business and delivery work. The only issue is the finish at the front made from plastic. But good car nonetheless.
As a matter of fact I will share it with friends on my facebook site. For that price its not bad at all
The Europeans have been building smaller cars for years. Take a walk down any street in London and you will see cars that aren’t made here in the US – even by companies we know, like Ford. This is something that continues to bother me. I don’t understand how they say they can’t build better, smaller, more fuel efficient cars – and I live in Michigan not too far from the land of “The Big Three.” I drive a Honda, however. I don’t like seeing how the car companies failures is putting so many folks out of work, but I do hope that this will be the catalyst for change. I hope the Nano is wildly successful – and other cars just like it!