[hondadude]

Originally Posted by panky12345

see this Rs 1-lakh car: An open letter to Ratan Tata

The whole premise of letter is based on the fact that because of this car, there will be a lot of congestion and because of a lot of congestion ...

I have a totally different view on that. I agree that there will be more traffic. However, I also believe because common man will be able to afford a car, road infrastructure will become even more important issue in elections and we might actually get better infrastructure.

[Mayavi]

Originally Posted by harshavardhan

Pics and a thorough writeup was featured in Car & Bike International just prior to the TATA INDICA launch about a decade back.

I read that article and was really amazed to learn that TATA was doing so much to ensure car safety. They had pictures of crash test dummies each of which was imported at a cost of 1 cr.
I read another article where a journalist describes his experience when he was involved in a head on crash with ambassador. The Indica was a complete wreck while nothing happened to the amby, but the author walked away from the accident scene whereas the amby driver had to be taken on a stretcher to treat broken bones.

[manikjeet]

Originally Posted by jesal

i its weird can anyone post ex showroom cost of 800 in delhi pricing. should be under 200000 right ?

the ex showroom price of a m800 standard is around 1.72 lacs in chadigarh

so its maybe couple of thousand north or south

BTW i think the traffic condition are going get worse once this cars is launched

[1100D]

Originally Posted by Mayavi

I read that article and was really amazed to learn that TATA was doing so much to ensure car safety. They had pictures of crash test dummies each of which was imported at a cost of 1 cr.
I read another article where a journalist describes his experience when he was involved in a head on crash with ambassador. The Indica was a complete wreck while nothing happened to the amby, but the author walked away from the accident scene whereas the amby driver had to be taken on a stretcher to treat broken bones.

I read that issue too.

Anyway its really very painful to see a lot of negative reactions for an auto manufacturer that is doing something which all others had till that point of initiation had shunned it as impossible. Now those claimers, that this task is impossible, are thinking about bringing some stuff which they always had in their portfolio but never thought of offering, why? Margins? Its them who should be shown the door, but fortunately for us some of them have also started showing the way in some other market segments.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by harshavardhan

This is not to demean any manufacturer / product. Let us be proud of a home grown auto giant and give credit where it is due.

I think so too.

Now, TATA's cars are not in any way my favourites, but I think the TATAs try harder, are more proactive and listen to customers more. They've reached where they are now in a pretty short time (as far as passenger cars are concerned) if you compare them to any other manufacturer in India. Regardless of the issues that it may bring with it, I think the 1L car must succeed, if only to encourage the TATAs to go where others have not had the guts to go before.

[safari_lover]

I think this would be the perfect car for my Dad and people like him who are retired and live in villages. My dad goes to the fields daily and to the nearby town once in a week. He usually uses his old bajaj scooter for the purpose. I think this would provide him a safe and better alternative.

[vikrantw1]

Personally have always trusted TATA to try hard. The improvements in Indica over the last few years are testament to that.
Of course the 1 lac car will also take a few years to iron out the issues by which time it will become the 1.5 lac car - and I am sure that maruti will pitch the 800 against that.

[Steeroid]

I think we also need to bear in mind that the easier way would've been to have an open, unlimited budget for a LARGE car.

An undertaking of this minimalist scale to provide the maximum possible at a minimal price has other spilloffs:

1. You learn to fine-tune (no, not with Boric Acid) your manufacturing process because the tolerance levels in terms of cost are so fine that you cannot afford to make mistakes.

2. You learn to extract the maximum performance and mileage out of a really small engine - you therefore develop your technical skills much more than you would have if you had a large engine with more tolerance levels.

3. You learn to innovate (not just technologies, but processses and design) - this is how the Japs became what they are today. They didnt do so by building gargantuan engines and plonking them in even bigger cars. They learn to extract maximum space from a small platform, maximum performance from a small engine.

4. For Tata specifically, they get to understand the meaning of 'weight loss', as they cannot overload this car. This will translate to other vehicles they manufacture, as time goes by.

For me this car marks the arrival of Tata Motors as a serious carmaker, rather than the Indica. The Indica succeeded despite its weaknesses - it won on size, convenience and economy despite failing on performance, refinement and quality levels.

This car will not have those luxuries. It cannot be a winner for size, it cannot be overweight like the Indica, it cannot have its issues sorted out post launch because its aimed at the Consumer market. People that use reliable scooters for transport will be a lot less forgiving than commercial operators who build in some downtime for their vehicles anyway.

The learning process from this will translate to more efficient manufacturing processes and better cars from the Tata Motors stable. Building bigger cars will be less of a challenge than it is to build a really small one.

Therefore this car is more important than its affordability tag.

[CARtik]

guys, am unable to see the pic on this post. can someone tell me where I can view it.

Thanks,

[rohan_fonseca]

Anytime a car with 4 wheels would be safer than a 2 wheeler. Am looking forward to see what the car has to offer. (hopefully not a trabant-like body ). There are however a lot of people who would rather spend 1 lakh on a good bike than on a cheap car.

[DileepKS]

There are however a lot of people who would rather spend 1 lakh on a good bike than on a cheap car

Compare the number of those people to the people who would go the other way. You will realize the difference.

Remember, our kind is an INSIGNIFICANT minority when you talk about the mainstream auto business in India.

[TURBOSAM]

hi @ the car
most prpbably it will be having twin cyl petrol engine with webber marelli/dillorto management system
rear engine rear wheel drive innocenti<fiat owned brand>
chasis is close to rikshow one with better load distribution.
it can accomodate a small 35 lit lpg tank in the engine bay tooo
and when it comes to tata ... it will be repaired everywhere toooo
it shoulg give 20 kmpl so.........
body panels will be of frp
will look like a squeezed matiz but with adiquate space for 4

[DRIVEN-TWEEL]

if tata can get the car with the shape, like the one in the picture and that too for an amazing price.... woow..!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by DRIVEN-TWEEL

if tata can get the car with the shape, like the one in the picture and that too for an amazing price.... woow..!

The one in the picture IS the actual car.

[pjbiju]