

Tata launches the $2500 car - zhyder
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2688727.cms

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Alex3917
"In terms of overall pollutants, it has a lower pollution level than two-
wheelers being manufactured in India today."

In Southeast Asia today there are currently 100 million motorcycles and
scooters powered by two-stroke engines. Each one produces as much pollution as
50 cars. The car might be good on emissions, it might not, but this quote
certainly isn't very reassuring.

The 54mpg might be good on CO2 emissions, but that isn't going to do you much
good if you are one of the tens (hundreds?) of thousands who die prematurely
each year from the fine particulates that get lodged in your lungs.

~~~
zhyder
They claim it meets Bharat Stage III (and Euro IV) emissions standards, which
is as good as any other car in India. That statement is in response to fears
that as people move up from scooters/motorcycles to this car, the emissions
problem would get worse.

The only thing that will get worse is the traffic problem. But that's
everyone's "fault": no reason why the poor should sacrifice their safety
(relative to carrying a family of 4+ on a scooter) to save commute time for
others.

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nreece
By the way, for those who are not aware of Tata, its a group of companies
based in India - who has also been in talks to buy Ford's Jaguar and Land
Rover units (
[http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acGt...](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=acGtIBWwyqT4&refer=home)
)

Here's another intersting read: The Ultra-Lite Car From Tata (TTM): Why Not
For US? - <http://www.247wallst.com/2008/01/the-ultra-lite.html>

~~~
zhyder
It's also India's largest conglomerate, with revenues equaling 3.2% of India's
GDP. Tata Consulting Services is also India's largest IT firm with 100,000
employees.

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zhyder
Hmm... the previous link seems to be dead. How do I update it?

[http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/World_watches_Tata_Motor...](http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/World_watches_Tata_Motors_Nano_unveils/articleshow/2691032.cms)

[http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/tata-nano-the-
wor...](http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/tata-nano-the-worlds-
cheapest-car/?hp)

------
uuilly
Anyone remember this:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugo>

~~~
zhyder
I don't think you're looking at it from the point of view of the target
market, low income people who so far could only afford a two-wheeler for the
whole (large) family.

[http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_02/b40660330...](http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_02/b4066033073739.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives)

~~~
uuilly
I wasn't criticizing it. The Yugo's reputation as a POS was at least partially
undeserved. As great as it is that poorer families will get cars, I seriously
doubt its long term reliability.

~~~
zetatios
Another underrated small car was the geo metro - more than 50 mpg in the
cheapest configuration, and very reliable (the early ones were made in Japan,
and could easily make it to 200k miles if the driver wasn't very heavy).

That said, in the USA you would almost certainly be better off buying a ~10-15
y/o honda or toyota - slightly worse mileage, but probably much more reliable.

~~~
ojbyrne
I drove a Suzuki Swift (same car as the Metro) for a decade. Cost me $10k
(Canadian back when they were cheap), never spent a cent to maintain it. Gas,
I never noticed actually spending money on it ;-) It wasn't the cheapest
configuration, though, it had 4 cylinders (as opposed to 3) and 14" inch tires
instead of 13".

