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cheapest car ever produced (pg. 3)
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| quote: | Originally posted by zokissima
As much as I can appreciate strength construction, roll cages, and composite materials, there are still physics that indicate otherwise. No matter how strongly the Smart or other mini cars (Yaris, whatever) are built, you can only imagine what would happen to one were it in an accident with say...a Chevy Tahoe, Ford F-150, Hummer, etc. |
still better off then if you were on a motercyle/scooter/bicylce/foot ;) |
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| TeMPo.fLUx |
| quote: | Originally posted by UmmiE
Its like TATA people added another row of backseats to a Rickshaw,plus gave it hard roof,doors with an extra tire in the front and called it a Car LOL
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rofl.. i had the same thought when i first saw the thing roll out on tv..
| quote: | Originally posted by Abercrombie
I'd pimp dat ride f'it wuz mine, yo.
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omgwtfbbqsauce!??!?!?! |
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| monishb |
| quote: | Originally posted by Euphorica
i doubt its as safe as a smart car(and as Jem point out) yes smart cars ARE safe.
and I bet that thing would rock in the snow. with those super skinny tires. it would cut right through the snow. (yes skinnier tires are better in winter) |
yes but its safer than people on bikes and scooters in india with like the whole family on them , and besides they are only going to sell it in india for now, dont think its going to come here. and what i heard from back home people are booking the car like crazy for that price! |
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| Skipper |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cosmic Fur
Yeah , I can imagine the increase in the demand for oil if a billion Indian people could suddenly afford cars. |
India's strain on oil is going to be largely driven by population increase, not because Tata introduced some car.
Despite the hype about the car itself it's not actually that profitable of a product for Tata...yet. This will be an interesting story to watch in the next few years. |
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| Abercrombie |
TATA or current family car;
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| monishb |
| quote: | Originally posted by Abercrombie
TATA or current family car;
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yeah thats what i meant its better than a whole family on that thing i would say its safer than having no cover at all. |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Does A $2,500 Tata Nano in India Mean Higher Gas Prices and More CO2 Everywhere Else?
By Chuck Squatriglia
As the hype surrounding the Tata Nano subsides, we're seeing a sharper picture of what a $2,500 car means for the environment and global energy demand. It doesn't look good.
The world's cheapest car is a marvel of engineering and ruthless cost-cutting sure to bring greater mobility to people throughout the developing world. And that is what makes it so troubling.
The Nano doesn't go on sale until fall, but already environmentalists say it will bring big increases in carbon dioxide emissions and pollution. "This car promises to be an environmental disaster of substantial proportions," Yale environmental law professor Daniel Esty told Newsweek. Some energy experts say all those new cars will increase demand for gasoline, with one telling CNN, "we'll get into a situation where we'll have to compete with them for gasoline, $4, $5 a gallon. Who knows how high we could go?"
It would be easy to denounce the naysayers as western do-gooders with no moral standing to criticize India. But the most vocal critics include Indians who say the Nano will deepen the country's critical pollution, infrastructure and traffic woes.
Could the Nano really be so bad?
At first glance it looks like an eco-friendly ride. It has a 623 cc engine that produces 33 horsepower, gets close to 50 mpg, meets Euro III emissions standards and according to the Economist should be able to meet tougher Euro IV standards "with a bit of tweaking."
But the prospect of tens or even hundreds of thousands of Nanos on the road worries environmentalists. India's Economic Times says the Nano potentially could expand the country's auto market by 65 percent and spur a 20 percent increase in auto sales in its first year. Honda, Toyota and Fiat are among the companies developing competitors to the Nano. The proliferation of cheap vehicles could prompt as much as 25 percent of the 50 million people who ride scooters to buy cars, the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi says.
India is the world's fourth-largest overall producer of the greenhouse gas (it ranks far lower in per-capita terms). Its carbon emissions are expected to triple by 2020, according to the United Nations, and climate experts are only beginning to ponder what the "Nano effect" may mean for the global environment.
"In none of our reports did we assume there'd be a car like this," Judi Greenwald, a researcher with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, told Newsweek. "This is a new category. It will effect everybody's projections."
The Center for Science and Environment warns more cars will only exacerbate congestion and smog-related illnesses in a country where 57 percent of cities already face critical levels of air pollution.
Tata counters that the Nano is cleaner than the scooters it will replace and claims the car's catalytic converter cuts emissions by 80 percent. The Nano supposedly emits 30 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, well below the 160 g/km average of Europe's cars and far less than the 130 g/km standard the European Union will adopt in 2012. Even if half a million Nano's hit the road and each of them travels 5,000 miles a year, they will be responsible for less than 8 percent of India's annual CO2 emissions, Economic Times reports.
Most of the hand-wringing over the Nano has focused on its environmental impact, but some are beginning to ponder what the car will mean for global energy supplies. There is mounting concern that increased demand for petroleum will boost prices.
The International Energy Agency has said "alarming" growth in worldwide energy needs could, among other things, bring worldwide shortages. It said India's motor vehicle fuel consumption will triple by 2030. Growth in the U.S., by comparison, is expected to increase 40 percent.
Auto sales in India are expected to double, to 3 million, by 2015, according to J.D. Power & Associates. Although the Nano is very fuel efficient, energy policy experts see two problems, according to CNN. First, Nano buyers will be moving up from scooters, which typically get much better fuel economy. Second, the Nano - and the cheap cars that are sure to come along to compete against it - are "gateway vehicles" the automakers hope will entice customers to upgrade to larger, and less fuel efficient, cars down the line.
Not everyone is convinced a $2,500 car in India means $5 gas in Illinois. Michael Robinet, vice president of global vehicle forecasts for CSM Worldwide, notes that gasoline refining blends vary by country and the high prices we pay in the U.S. are due largely to refining bottlenecks. And, he said, if India is going to follow the West's development model, it's better that they do it in subcompact cars that get 50 mpg than SUVs that get 15. |
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/02/2500-cars-in-in.html
I'm glad some other people were thinking the same thing as me. |
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| cenik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Cosmic Fur
Actually no, there are some far uglier (and much more expensive) cars out there. |
Yep. |
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| Omega_M |
| I was in the Tata Motors R&D center near Bombay the other day and they were test driving the Nano around the campus. Looks small and pretty. :) |
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| Orko |
I saw this car last summer, but now Tata has given financial backing.
| quote: | India's Tata backs air-power car
An engineer has promised that within a year he will start selling a car in India that runs on compressed air, producing no emissions at all in towns.
The OneCAT will be a five-seater with a glass fibre body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over £2,500.
The project is being backed by the Indian conglomerate, Tata for an undisclosed sum. It says the technology may also be used for power generation.
The car will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fibre tanks.
The tanks, built into the chassis, can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes - much quicker than a battery car.
Alternatively, it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job.
For long journeys the compressed air driving the pistons can be boosted by a fuel burner which heats the air so it expands and increases the pressure on the pistons. The burner will use all kinds of liquid fuel.
The designers say on long journeys the car will do the equivalent of 120mpg. In town, running on air, it will be cheaper than that.
Analysts say the fact that the project has the backing of an internationally well known company such as Tata makes the idea much more marketable.
The Indian company - which will put the finishing touches to the engine - says it is even considering using the technology for power generation.
Parts of the country are desperately short of electricity supplies. On Tuesday officials announced that Delhi and Moscow had finalised plans for Russia to build four new nuclear power stations in India.
Breakthrough
"The first buyers [of the compressed air car] will be people who care about the environment," says French inventor Guy Negre.
"It also has to be economical."
Mr Negre has been promising for more than a decade to be on the verge of a breakthrough.
Tata is the only big firm he'll license to sell the car - and they are limited to India. For the rest of the world he hopes to persuade hundreds of investors to set up their own factories, making the car from 80% locally-sourced materials.
"This will be a major saving in total emissions," he says.
"Imagine we will be able to save all those components travelling the world and all those transporters."
He wants each local factory to sell its own cars to cut out the middle man and he aims for 1% of global sales - about 680,000 per year.
Terry Spall from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers says: "I really hope he succeeds. It is a really brave experiment in producing a sustainable car."
But he said he was interested to see how the car would fare with safety tests and how much it would appeal to a public conditioned to expect luxury fittings adding to the weight of the vehicle.
Mr Negre says there's no issue with safety - if the air-car crashes the air tanks won't shatter - they will split with a very loud bang. "The biggest risk is to the ears."
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7243247.stm |
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| Jayx1 |
I love the attitude of some people
Basically goes like this. "Great!! more people can afford cars... that means MY gas prices will go up and I will have to breathe in their pollution." This coming from people who are probably in the top 5% of the most wasteful people on earth.
I think this car is great. And as soon as we step up production of emission free cars, the better for EVERYONE including India. (and i dont mean electric unless that electricity comes from nuclear or hydro)
Also, i read something recently that said that bio deisel and ethanol is actually WORSE for the environment than oil. But hey, that cant be true. I cant imagine that people would use the environment solely as leverage to make money! Impossible!! |
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| 1dawoman |
This car looks awfully familiar.....anyone else remember this from their childhood?
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