[benbsb29]

As already pointed out, this could mean a disaster for highway commuters. Imagine one of these vehicles doing lousy speeds on the highway, and as is usually the case, occupying either track of the highway. Good roads would all amount to no good then. The Bombay-Pune express highway open only to 4 wheelers will be accessible to these slowcoaches thereby spelling danger and inconvenience to others.

For city commuting, would mean more traffic jams.

[tushky]

one of my friend saw the car in tata motors Pune Plant. he said that the car looks awesome. somehow look like Matiz n Zen Estilo. the car is taller than current indica. size is same as Indica. made of Fibre body. front lamps are bit same as zen estilo.

[alexrabbi]

I think we should wait till the launch. Tata may not dissappoint people with very low standards of safety.

Still we can't expect more from 1 lac.

More importantly many can afford to own a car with that price bracket.

I agree with those who are concerned with safety features , performance and traffic chaos.. but then everything is not possible

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by tushky

one of my friend saw the car in tata motors Pune Plant. he said that the car looks awesome. somehow look like Matiz n Zen Estilo. the car is taller than current indica. size is same as Indica. made of Fibre body. front lamps are bit same as zen estilo.

Must be one of the earlier prototypes since the recent reports suggest that the car will have a steel body. At one stage, Tata did discuss the possibility of sourcing plastic body panels from GE:

The Hindu Business Line : Tata's Rs 1-lakh car may come with 600cc petrol engine

I wonder what kind of pulling power the 600 CC engine would have considering that the car is meant to seat 4 to 5 persons and its higher trim versions are supposed to have AC and power steering. 700-800 CC would have been better.

[suren181]

I am of the opinion that if this move could get the people of 2 wheelers to move on to cars why worry about safety? As it is, the roads are so congested that its a crawl and that relates to lesser accidents, as in serious ones, whereas being on a 2 wheeler even a standstill fall and hit on the head can take its toll. Keep the 1 lakh car coming and more families are safe. I wonder if most of us have or have not seen families of 4 and five (including kids) all huddled up on 2 wheelers weaving through the traffic to get to their destination. It'd be a boon to that segment, they need it, let them have it.

[speedin' angel]

Originally Posted by suren181

I am of the opinion that if this move could get the people of 2 wheelers to move on to cars why worry about safety? As it is, the roads are so congested that its a crawl and that relates to lesser accidents, as in serious ones, whereas being on a 2 wheeler even a standstill fall and hit on the head can take its toll. Keep the 1 lakh car coming and more families are safe. I wonder if most of us have or have not seen families of 4 and five (including kids) all huddled up on 2 wheelers weaving through the traffic to get to their destination. It'd be a boon to that segment, they need it, let them have it.

Hey Suren,
I somehow fail to understand your point of view here. Safety??? Wot safety are we talkin about here? A fall from a standstill on a 2-wheeler can be fatal u say . . . but that is if the person is not wearing his/her helmet. I can show u people survivin wackiest crashes at 120km/h on a karizma wer d bike has been totaled and the guy has escaped without a scratch. And dis is not once but many.

Secondly, how much safe do u think this puny people's carrier is gonna be? Haven't u ever come across auto-rickshaws turned turtle or smashed by some goods carrier or a bus on our roads? say for example at New-mumbai and suburbs.

I agree upon the point that bigger families that currently commute on 2-wheelers overloadin them and riskin their loved ones lives. For them this car would be definitely a good option.

But i wud doubt how safe the car wud be once any of these families decide to take it out on our disastrous highways and face the barbarian attitude that the fellow traffic follows !

[ajayclicks]

This reminds me of that Indian carb story. Fortunately for a lot of us here, Tata did what he did when he decided to launch "Indica".

How much engine cc does a autorickshaw has? The passenger carrying ones have 170cc as per a website. So 600cc on this car shouldnt be bad.

Sure, there are autorickshaws turning turtle, but then on the route from Mumbai to Roha, I have seen countless trucks too turned turtle. That was due to the trucks being overloaded, and not being able to negotiate the median on the roads etc etc (besids the usual culprits- nite driving, drunk drivers). There are buses that have fallen into rivers and canals... Cant just say ban the trucks and ban the buses.

There is an interesting signature used by a member here. I wont quote verbatim, but it goes like: If you drive slower than me- ur an idiot, faster than me, your rash.

So, my car will not contribute to pollution, conjestion, and I am the safest driver in the whole world... but the rest are morons who should be locked away.

This is not fair. Tata should have the freedom to introduce a car under 1 lac. The RTO should conduct adequate tests to ensure road safety. And the people should be free to decide whether they wanna purchase it or not. If a 2 wheeler guy feels that he has use for this car, why not. Or as a second car for the family/ spouse.

Things like people will drive slow, give it to their bunties etc have to be countered with public education and not by discouraging guys like Tata


Cheers
Ajay

[anarchist]

Source: Rediff
Link: The incredible story of the Rs 1-lakh car

Bravo Tata....

[spadival]

Off topic.. The article says " The cheapest new car available in the U.S. is the Korean-made Chevrolet Aveo. It sports a sticker price of $10,560, quadruple what Tata Motors is aiming to hit in India."

Is Aveo really the cheapest new car in US?? What about Kias and Hyundais?

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by tushky

one of my friend saw the car in tata motors Pune Plant. he said that the car looks awesome. somehow look like Matiz n Zen Estilo. the car is taller than current indica. size is same as Indica. made of Fibre body. front lamps are bit same as zen estilo.

Bingo! That describes it almost to a 'T'.

[spadival]

Originally Posted by ajayclicks

This reminds me of that Indian carb story. Fortunately for a lot of us here, Tata did what he did when he decided to launch "Indica".

Its more like the NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) syndrome.. I remember some time back when we had load shedding and power black outs in our town and people were complaining. When a power company decided to set up a power project nearby, there was a hue and cry about pollution, land acquisition etc .. So people wanted power, but not the power plant in their back yard .

[rkg]

"Tata Motors boosts its revenue by making dies for Jaguar, Ford, General Motors and Toyota, too, just as it does by allowing the made-in-India Mercedes to be run through its paint shop".
it is in the same rediff article.

[Technocrat]

I have been reading a lot of threads where in people are comparing many new offering at lower end & also some higher priced bikes with the Tata's famed 1 lakh car. A few months back(or proly an year) I had read an article about this so called one lakh car. This is what I remember from the article:

The artcle stated that Ratan Tata never actually claimed making a 1 lakh car. It was during a pres release that Tata said about makinga car which would be cheap & when a reporter asked "Will it be priced around 1 Lakh" he said "probably yes". This was blown out of proportion by media & we know the rest of the story.

The article ad an interview with some tata top guy who said that it will be a RV which would be an alternative to current autos & the base model will not have any door, the upper model will have fiber doors & the safety & strength will improve with upper end models. As in it will be four wheeler but not really a car.

some info

Tata promises Rs 1 lakh car by 2008
Hindustan Times, June 23, 2006


Tata Motors on Friday said it would launch the much-touted Rs one lakh car in early 2008, as the company had completed its styling and designing and tested the prototypes within the plant.

Tata Group Chief Ratan Tata told shareholders that the launch of the car would create a new paradigm in low-cost personal transport, carve out a new market segment and reach a broader base of the pyramid.

"The styling and designing of the car have been completed and prototypes are being tested in the plant. It will be a rear engine, 4-5 seat, four-door car with about a 30 horsepower engine," Tata said in the company's annual report for 2005-06.

Source: Research Resources - The William Davidson Institute

Rs 1 lakh car by 2008: Ratan Tata
The Financial Express — May 7, 2005

Tata Sons chairman Ratan Tata’s dream project, the “people’s” car, is all set to become a reality by 2008. “The car should be out some time in 2008. It is in the prototype stage and protypes are running. Its cost will be somewhere between a motorcycle and a car,” Mr Tata said in an interview to ‘The Week’ magazine. The vehicle was at the proptotype stage now and the company would soon start producing it before a formal launch in 2008, Mr Tata said when asked at what stage is the Rs one lakh car.

Source: Tata Group | Media reports | Rs 1 lakh car by 2008: Ratan Tata

The whole idea about posting this thread is does the Tata's 1 Lakh car really worth comparing with any of the other car manufacturers &\or bike manufacturer's high end offering ?? I don’t think it will have any substantial urban customers.

[navdeep]

Tata 1 lakh car is getting final touches and may be named "Jeh" , named after JRD Tata.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by navdeep

Tata 1 lakh car is getting final touches and may be named "Jeh" , named after JRD Tata.

We're all keen to know your source. Spy pics would be welcome too.
Tushky, are you listening?

Incidentally, the small car mock-up displayed at the Tata stall in the 1998 Auto Expo (in which Indica was unveiled) was named ZING.