Cheapest new car ever, 2cyl, 33hp, 50 mpg! (Tata Nano)

[cfg83]

Silveredwings -

Originally Posted by Silveredwings

Aw shoot. Ah thank ah'll git me one uh them there spare cars and hang it off the back of mah hummer on davits.

Ha ha. I was thinking that for $2500, you could use it as a base for an aero-kit car. Kind of like a "new-beetle" platform in the spirit of the original beetle. Hmmmm, I wonder if the drivetrain would fit into a beetle platform?!?!?!?

Here's another picture with a few specs :



CarloSW2

[Peter7307]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

The Model T comparison is appropriate in the big picture, in terms of getting a chunk of the population into cars that weren't in them before - with all its implications.

But the Nano will offer much more performance than the T.

60 mph vs. about 45
50 mpg vs. about 25

Oh - and you don't have to use a hand crank to start it! (Though at 0.6L, a kick starter wouldn't be out of place.)

(Disclaimer: of course, can't vouch for the accuracy of the Nano's figures.)

Actually the car which first came to my mind was Citroen's 2CV built for exactly the same purpose in France after WWII.
Two cylinders , air cooled , four speed gearbox , one instrument , seated four / five and could , literally , traverse a ploughed field carrying a basket of eggs and not have one crack. It could also take a pig to market and was designed to be bought by people who had never owned a car previously.

Cheers , Pete.

[bennelson]

Does anyone know what it would take to have something like this imported and licensed?

It really would make a great starting point for some sort of custom modified.

I am guessing import on something like this is a nightmare.

Does anyone have experience importing a car from Mexico or overseas?

[igo]

I very plain/ very cheap car that will take you from a to b. It will shurly add pollution and would oil demand if it is a hit.

Here is some interior pictures:

[bennelson]

I love plain and cheap! A to B is all I ever really wanted. My first car was a Geo Spectrum! (it did get 47mpg)

Can you please explain how this car will pollute more? Do you just mean that it would allow more people to have cars, and more cars on the road means more pollution?

[igo]

They say it meets euro emissions so the car will be fairly clean. I mean there is so many people living in India if they start driving more it will become a congestion nightmare.

[MetroMPG]

I'll tell you what I like most about the Tata Nano: it makes my Firefly look like an extravagantly powerful, well appointed, high-tech status symbol.

And having said that, I'm intrigued, and would sure like to try one.

[bennelson]

I agree with you there.

More cars on the road isn't a good thing. But then, that raises a number of moral and economic questions.

SHOULD cars be very expensive to help cut down on pollution and congestion? (Or maybe just really high gas prices?)

If so, then will only the rich have cars?

Is a very in-expensive car going to mean that people will just get a new one and throw the old one away instead of fixing it? Don't laugh, when was the last time you had a VCR fixed? Consumer electronics would be a TERRIBLE model for automobiles.

If a person thinks that more cars on the road pollute more and add to congestion, then is the only morally right thing to do for that person to reduce or eliminate car use?

These are all serious questions. I really do believe that transportation issues are very important right now.

Best use of global resources (including oil), human condition including health (due to pollution) even food prices (ethanol quadrupled the price of torillas in some parts of Mexico) are the sorts of things wars are fought over.

My personal answer to the above questions are that maybe gas SHOULD cost a little more, I hope cars don't become even more disposable than they already are, and that a person does have a moral responsibility to not waste resources, although exactly how he uses them is a personal choice.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by bennelson

Is a very in-expensive car going to mean that people will just get a new one and throw the old one away instead of fixing it?

If they can afford to throw away a broken car, they wouldn't be buying a Nano in the first place. No, I suspect that there is a thriving fix & repair culture/economy in India the likes of which we haven't had in North America for generations. There will be no broken Nanos abandoned on the side of the road. For now.

If a person thinks that more cars on the road pollute more and add to congestion, then is the only morally right thing to do for that person to reduce or eliminate car use?

Maybe we need the automotive equivalent of the One Laptop per Child program, where a North American/Westerner goes from a 20 mpg SUV to a 50 mpg Nano, and buys a second one for an Indian. So... no net fuel/pollution increase (from use).

[Peakster]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I'll tell you what I like most about the Tata Nano: it makes my Firefly look like an extravagantly powerful, well appointed, high-tech status symbol.

LMAO!!!

And having said that, I'm intrigued, and would sure like to try one.

Somehow, the car does in fact have some unexplainable seductive look to it. It reminds me of a super-compact Prius!