Tata Motors' $2,500 1-Lakh car gets detailed

Remember that uber-cheap, almost entirely plastic car that India's Tata Motors was working up? Turns out, the still codenamed 1-Lakh automobile is expected to launch in mid-2008 and get around 15 miles-per-liter, which should give the Maruti 800 some serious competition in the budget car arena. According to R. A. Mashelkar, a nonexecutive director on Tata Motors' board, it should provide ample room in "both the front and rear" for a six-foot individual, and he also noted that a "new kind of welding" would be used instead of bolts in a variety of locations on the motorcar. Still, there's just something about the idea of riding in a brand new $2,500 vehicle that doesn't sit well with us -- probably something to do with the dearth of safety features, but who knows.

[silverblackvoid @ Dec 29th 2007 6:11AM]

well this is groundbreaking in terms of automotive engineering. just think of the possibilities this car could provide. a lot of people would be able to afford it and this is meant for the masses in India. TATA motors have done a very commendable job and they should be praised to the fullest.

[rento @ Dec 29th 2007 6:46AM]

Agreed

[j.d.ripper @ Dec 29th 2007 6:46AM]

Ummmm... Shouldn't you wait until you see the final product before you say "have done a very commendable job" ?

[Elevator @ Dec 29th 2007 7:02AM]

...but will it blend? Yes, it does!

Back to reality...
I would like to know what the crash/saftey ratings are going to look like on this thing.
Is getting into a head-on collision while on a motorcycle going to be safer? Probably.

[Rohit Kapur @ Dec 29th 2007 8:56AM]

@ silverblackvoid:

Praised? Tata should be praised? Hardly.

Don't get me wrong; I think that it's a great thing that they're making four wheelers available to the "lesser income" families, but let me tell you, the day that this car launches will be a dark, dark day for Indian traffic indeed. As it stands, getting from A to B is an incredibly harrowing experience, if you live in any metropolitan in India. I myself live in the Big Daddy of the lot - New Delhi. After this car launches, let's say about 40% of the people on scooters and bikes will switch. That adds 40% more cars on the same roads that are in no condition to handle the current load, let alone an influx of more. So along with a lot more cars on the roads, we'll also have more parking problems, more pollution problems, more accidents, etc, etc, etc. . .

Unless Tata also either takes on the responsibility of improving the road infrastructure (not their job at all - but if they're gonna launch this car, they have to at least lobby for it), or pushes the government to do so, they are condemning travel in India.

Think I'm kidding? I just travelled 20 kilometers (about 12.5 miles), and it took me over an hour. On days when I'm lucky and there's little traffic, I make the trip in half an hour at most.

Welcome to India - It's crowded. :)

[Harkeerat Bedi @ Dec 29th 2007 6:01PM]

^ I agree!

[Kunal @ Dec 29th 2007 6:35AM]

i'll let u know some details about this car. this wud b a 600CC car basically a two-seater one and no AC. It will be a lure to to the present bikers to convert themselves into a car owner because in India it is a status symbol to own a car(even if you own a second hand one).

[Johan S @ Dec 29th 2007 6:45AM]

People raising the issue of safety .. the buyers of this car are probably going to be former motorcycle owners .. so the risk is somewhat calculated.

Traffic in the city in India is horrible. Driving at 20 miles per hour is considered fast. So while the car may be unsafe for driving on the highway, within the city the speed are so excruciatingly slow that the car only needs to survive a low speed collision.

Don't believe me? Google .. here is a link:

http://www.mastek.com/content/mastekpapers/30November2006.asp

[Jimmy Hoffa @ Dec 29th 2007 6:48AM]

"miles per liter"? Who the hell measures things in miles per liter?

Anyways, isn't 15.5 miles per liter just shy of 60 miles per gallon? That's better than a Prius.

[Elevator @ Dec 29th 2007 7:05AM]

who uses liters?

most of the world. We US'ers are the backward ones. Too bad too many hippies didnt want to change back in the 70/80's. We almost changed.

[nxtiak @ Dec 29th 2007 7:05AM]

Yes 15.5 mpl is around 60 mpg

[Jimmy Hoffa @ Dec 29th 2007 7:14AM]

I think you missed my point. Who uses both liters and miles? Miles-per-gallon and kilometers-per-liter I can understand, but miles-per-liter?

[Abuzar @ Dec 29th 2007 7:14AM]

Yeah but mostly people would measure in Kilometers per liter wouldn't they? I though they used kilometers in India.

[DAZA @ Dec 29th 2007 8:21AM]

I believe the point is why are we measuring in imperial in one unit and metric in another. On a side note, I have tried to find out why America still uses imperial but have failed to find an answer, can anyone shed light on why the switch to metric has not happened (and will it ever happen?).

[Abuzar @ Dec 29th 2007 8:57AM]

This is their reasoning:

Look we've been doing our own thing this whole time and we're pretty much the worlds strongest nation. Why should we change?

[Jeebus @ Dec 29th 2007 9:46AM]

"can anyone shed light on why the switch to metric has not happened"

Because there's no real compelling reason, and certainly no reason that's worth the cost.

[Argot @ Dec 29th 2007 10:06AM]

"Look we've been doing our own thing this whole time and we're pretty much the worlds strongest nation. Why should we change?"

Yeah, keep using your old masters imperial english system.

Can't get any easier than this, now can it?

Inch
Link = 7.92 inches
Foot = 12 inches
Yard = 3 feet
Rod, Pole or Perch = 25 links = 5½ yards
Chain = 22 yards = 66 feet = 100 Links
Furlong = 10 chains = 220 yards
Mile = 8 furlongs = 1760 yards = 5280 feet

God damn metric mumbo jumbo!

1 cm
10 cm = 1 dm
10 dm = 1 meter
1000 m = 1 km
10 km = 1 mile

[Steve Lawrence @ Dec 29th 2007 11:04AM]

Who uses Links, Rods, Chains or Furlongs anyway?

1 Foot = 12 Inches
1 Yard = 3 Feet
1 Mile = 1760 Yards

Seems easy enough to me.

[Temple @ Dec 29th 2007 11:02AM]

>>That's better than a Prius.

Toyota themselves built kei-cars(ultra-light Japanese city cars) that have better mileage then a Prius. But they are unfit for most highway driving conditions and produce about 50-64hp from 660cc engine and have little creature comforts.

These 1-lakh cars are likely similar; as is the Maruti 800 (power-steering isn't even standard). However, they are design for a different driving environment.

[Abuzar @ Dec 29th 2007 12:25PM]

We call it the Mehran in Pakistan. Last time I was there they could be had for 2 lakh Rupees(that's 128,846 Indian Rupees).

[Irfan @ Dec 29th 2007 12:48PM]

Actually I thought the rest of the world used "L/100Km" ??? not mpl, mpg, km/l, etc.

Also, if you make cars affordable to the masses, the already snails pace traffic will just worse. I havent been to mumbai/chennai/delhi or other major cities in india, what is their public transportation like? non existent aside from buses and taxis? more cars arent gonna solve that problem, thats for sure.

its nice more people can afford cars now, but they may have to implement daily restrictions on when you are allowed to drive. mexico city did that , i dont know if they still do.

[Matt @ Dec 31st 2007 1:45AM]

Actually, I find Metric measurements for weight, length, and temperature to be very convenient. It's volume I have an issue with.

In metric, you have a Liter, Deciliter, and Milliliter. In English units, you have teaspoon, tablespoon, cup, pint, quart, and gallon. It's much more useful for measuring ingredients when cooking.

I've been told by a couple of European folks that in many countries where metric is used, people use arbitrary units for cooking and use proportions. They have a mug or container that they use, and know it's three container of flour to one container of sugar.

Even as such, I'd gladly switch. It's better to measure cooking ingredients by weight anyway :D

[Rex @ Jan 4th 2008 6:07AM]

"@Abuzar
@ Dec 29th 2007 12:25PM

We call it the Mehran in Pakistan. Last time I was there they could be had for 2 lakh Rupees(that's 128,846 Indian Rupees)."

Sorry but no, maybe an old one, but a brand new Mehran VX (basic model) costs PKRs. 325,600, according to:
http://www.pakwheels.com/pricelist.asp

according to this site, pakistan is already breaking the 1-lakh limit; check this:

TMC BAY PICK - UP w/o CNG Rs. 166,750
TMC ALIF CAR w/o CNG Rs. 172,500
TMC BAY DELIVERY VAN w/o CNG Rs. 189,750

these are PKRs, in indian rupees, (according to xe.com)
the cheapest comes out to be 105,582.79 INR, or very near the limit...
ofcourse, it's a whole different question when it comes to looks... :-)

[Sujay Rao Mandavilli @ Jan 17th 2008 7:00AM]

indians always measure in kilometres a liter
A Toyota corolla gives Ten kilometeres a litre
A small 800 cc car gives 20.

A typical conversation in India.

How much mileage does your car give you ?
or
How much does your car give you ?
(There is no word such as kilometerage)

Ans) It gives me 10. (kilometres a litre is implied)

[Joe Maki @ Dec 29th 2007 7:04AM]

$2500! I haven't paid that much for a car in years :)

[Scott @ Dec 29th 2007 7:28AM]

It's actually miles per litre.

Litres are part if the S.I. (Systeme Internacionale) measurements developed in France. Therefore the spelling is -RE as in litre or metre.

Whilst on the subject, pigmentation is described as colour, not color.
The season between Summer and Winter is Autumn, not Fall.

[pranav @ Dec 29th 2007 8:16AM]

some more information about TATA one lakh car.well, tata one lakh car will give milage of 25km/litter. it is having rear engine. the desel virsion will also be introduced in the leter stage.
the patrol engin contains boush's kit. and the desel version will be having 660 cc engin ( crdi) made by boush( german company). well, the car will be having different different vesion starting from base model( non ac) to ac, power stairing ..
tvs will provide electrical parts in tata one lakh car model. sona kayo will provide staring systems . . and yes it is four door car..
i can't wait now.. i wanna book this car yar asap.

[Jeebus @ Dec 29th 2007 9:50AM]

You should be old enough by now to understand that Americans have different words and different spelling than "proper" English. It's nothing new, and insisting that English English is "correct" and American English is "not real" English is both wrong and, frankly, getting a little tiresome.

[thethirdmoose @ Dec 29th 2007 10:42AM]

Especially because we can kick your ass.

[Simon @ Dec 29th 2007 1:45PM]

Why do you care if they will change? The US is slowly grinding itself to the ground.
"Kick your (the rest of the worlds) ass" ... hardly, you already have more problems than you can handle and you spend much more money than you make. Your goverment is a joke and your people are dumb as bread. Happy New Year.

This car is, like any other car, just a product to make money. It's not a wellfare gift and it surely is not to better mankind. It will increase fuel comsumption and polution, two things we have more than enough already.

[mac @ Dec 29th 2007 6:26PM]

Good to know we're upbeat today.

[D_T @ Dec 29th 2007 8:49AM]

Heres a picture of the car(not my blog)

http://bp1.blogger.com/_KtOEsggF1tY/R3Codam2srI/AAAAAAAAAN0/omUpRV4qpcI/s1600-h/tata+1lakh+5door+car.JPG

[Ian @ Dec 29th 2007 9:58AM]

I'm assuming you know that "1 Lakh" refers to 100,000 rupees, which is roughly equivalent to $2,500. So it's redundant to say "2,500 1-Lakh" car. (Also, for readers of these Indian stories, 1 "crore" is 10,000,000 rupees, or about $250,000.

I also fear this car. I live in Chennai, and my Toyota Sequoia can intimidate all the motorcycles and rickshaws out of my way. They know I can bounce them off the road. I can too with the 1-Lakh car, but people will be more emboldened nevertheless. And in a country of one billion people, you won't find a lot of self-preservation instinct on the roads.

[Che @ Dec 29th 2007 9:50PM]

So you try to get through traffic by threatening to kill people? Do you also avoid the effort of working by mugging old ladies? You sound like a really nice person.

[Ian @ Dec 29th 2007 8:34PM]

Indeed, I get through traffic by trying to kill people. You read the post exactly correct. Good job, Captain Obvious. (Although some could argue that I "crush dreams" as part of my job, but that's a necessary part.)

Traffic rules are slightly different outside North America -- for the most part, they don't exist. Try leaving your home town sometime.

Indian roads are clogged enough with four people on a motor scooter. Put each of them in a car, an it's that much worse.

[Che @ Dec 29th 2007 10:01PM]

I have traveled a bit and seen people who drive in different ways in different places, but the fact remains that if you use the bulk of your vehicle to intimidate smaller vehicles (and probably pedestrians too) out of your way, as you say you do, you're not a nice person, no matter where you live.

In some places, say, China, wealth grants more impunity than in others and people who can buy larger cars may feel entitled to threaten the lives of poorer people because they know they can get away with it, but that doesn't make it OK.

If you're so worried about congestion, why don't you get out of your Sequoia and get on a scooter yourself? Or are you the only one that should be allowed to drive a four-wheeled vehicle?

You're right about one thing, my comment was obvious. You made it pretty clear yourself that you're a bit of a self-important jerk.

[Jagannath A @ Dec 30th 2007 5:58AM]

well I am a native resident of Chennai. you can intimidate whoever you want on the road but everyones a bitch for MTC Bus and the Water Tanker. so watch out.. there's a bigger bully for ya :)

and dont think that you can intimidate ppl with your Big SUV. Its just the feeling of sitting inside the SUV. no one cares really. and in Chennai you are the one who has everything to loose. just imagine an autorickshaw kissing your door. your intimidation their ass.

I guess you are new to Chennai.

[sherryfriedrichs @ Dec 29th 2007 10:49AM]

It would be nioce if the price of cars would come down in the US to something reasonable... maybe they can export them over here... Just because something is inexpensive doesn't mean it's a bad product or not safe. The company just might not be greedy.

[Bryan @ Dec 29th 2007 1:21PM]

Greed had nothing to do with it. It's safety standards and emissions requirements that seem to get in the way. Not to mention that whole creature comfort thing.

[Bobby @ Dec 29th 2007 10:55AM]

This is Daewoo Matiz also made as Chevrolet Spark.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Matiz
The poverty again allowed to abandon not only comfort but also safety issues.

[morcheeba @ Dec 29th 2007 12:03PM]

Remember, these are the people who stole the BodaciousTatas.com domain name because, obviously, the porn site was trying to trade in on the good Tata Group name: http://www.bodacious-tatas.org/ (SFW)

[Jay @ Dec 29th 2007 12:28PM]

Why should it be Tata's fault for pushing the envelope on a crappy transportation infrastructure. That's the govts fault.

As a capitalist do gooder , I'd want to make cheap cars and fill the roads to capacity and get some quiet kickbacks from transportation/construction companies once the govt decided we need to have wider roads.

I still commend tata on coming up with something at this price, granted I wouldnt want to be caught dead in it!

[Akhan Almagambetov @ Dec 29th 2007 12:42PM]

Anyone remember the Trabi?

Or the Soviet-made Lada? (my favorite)

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658030,00.html

[Henk @ Jan 23rd 2008 4:31PM]

Hi Akhan,
Yes I do, I owned a Trabi once and the Lada was no more then a Fiat (Italian) 1100. Clever itas sold their entire production plant to the moskies when it had become virtual scrap to them.

By the way, I have a new way a city commuter should look but cannot find a manufaturer for it. Any ideas?

[Dennis Mendonca @ Dec 29th 2007 1:51PM]

I'm from Bombay and agree with the comments of others from India. Tata should acknowledge their social responsibility and not sell this car in the metro cities of India where traffic is already a total mess.

[tm @ Dec 29th 2007 1:55PM]

As avg speed in city area is ~20kmph most ppl don't use 5th gear. After this 1 lac car hit the road, we may have do away with the 4th gear as well:)

[Jagannath A @ Dec 30th 2007 6:02AM]

haha I guess you are driving a petrol car.. I'm on a diesel and cant go beyond the third :D

[Rahul Kumar @ Dec 29th 2007 2:43PM]

In India safety is rarely given thought, and with the low prices money will be the number factor for someone buying a car. Plus, there are good chances this will be a nice car since Tata Motors is set to acquire Jaguar AND Land Rover from Ford. Got to be up to the mark.

[skulldriveshaft @ Dec 30th 2007 6:14AM]

whatever happened to the FORD FESTIVA?

[arzan @ Dec 30th 2007 7:12PM]

You seem to have used the old Tata motors logo. This was the logo when Tata Motors was part of TELCO....

The new logo is on their website.