If this car were to come to the US it would not be as cheap as in India. There is the fact that there are no safety features whatsoever and adding them would make the price in the US above $5K for sure. Though it's only competition would be from the Smart Car and it would still be about half the price of those so it would be in good shape. More info about the Nano story here, http://www.newsy.com/videos/world_s_cheapest_car_hits_market/
Another thought was I live in Minnesota, this is not something I would drive in a bad snowstorm! That would be an accident waiting to happen. And I am sure I would have to be pried out of it in an accident with a can opener. There are people in my area of town who have the Mini Cooper and the littl electric cars. But on snow days they are all driving their other vehicles. So maybe as a nice summer day second car. Cannot imagine going long distance in it either.
These are such strange times! One day the "experts" say that our economy is better than ever; the next day everyone is worried about loosing their jobs. WOW!
That thing looks like a deathtrap to me. If this thing starts selling in the US, you are going to see a lot of them underneath Expeditions and Hummers.'
With car prices so high, and the fear that any vehicle I get for my (nearly) 16 year old will end up piling as many friends as she can into my mini-van, I'm really digging this car. Too bad there's no way to get one before she's out of the house and gone.
Thanks Guest for mentioning your tip from the paramedic friend about programming local dispatch numbers into the cell phone. I have been following the technology relating to 911/E911 and there are federal mandates to deal with the tech set-ups of wireless users but local agencies are still in the process of integrating them so it makes sense to check with local providers as every community will be different, and constantly changing...though in general becoming better able to serve wireless customers.
I still have people who want to send or receive faxes, and have a fax machine at work. I have also used an office supply store for faxing (of course that eats into your savings associated with ditching the landline). I haven't used it but I noticed that Skype has a fax capability.
The nano in India has a 623cc 2 cylinder engine, and a top speed of 65mph. Add the airbags and other safety features, and a desire for a top speed a little higher, and the engine will have to be bigger.
I foresee a $7,500 car with 42mpg highway, and I think it would sell well. The Kia Rio of 5-10 years ago was angling for the same market, with a similar feature set, lower fuel economy, and retail price of $8,895.
The times that i had less money in my life, i found that i had less worries too and so i was alot happier. I seemed to have alot more abundance in my life then aswell. I think when we find ourselves too attach to money, the problems begin. Unfortunately we live in a world were wealth and happiness come hand in hand. I would love to see the world function with out all its material possesions and 'wealth'. We'd colapse! We need to look deep with in for our happiness, instead of constantly looking outside of ourselves.
In Europe, standards for fuel efficiency are much higher. Check out the VW Bluemotion, which does a fuel-sipping 62mpg. Way more expensive though, but it's a VW, not a Tato Nano.
We sometimes feed our starter with whole wheat and haven't had any problems.
Most recently, we fed our starter some whole-grain rye flour. Bubbles had been making bread that was rather less sour just lately, and I'd read that rye was particularly likely to have a diverse population of wild yeasts and lactobascilli. So I figured a feeding with rye flour could kick up the sourness of the bread a bit. We're now eating the first loaf since we did that and I really like the results.
Or the fact that many companies just have their employees type in the info into the same system the customer would be using if they went online to order the product.
(steve sent me. funny thing too; i've been taking pics and getting ready to write my own blog posting about sourdough bread being NOT FINICKY. ;)
I've been doing the King Arthur Flour Whole Wheat Cookbook whole-wheat starter and haven't noticed any rancidity. I will say it seems much more forgiving than what i've heard about white flour starters - you should give it a try! Equal parts flour to water to starter seems to work well; you want to keep it stiffer than a white starter. I also love baking in a lidded dish/dutch oven, slashed and spritzed with water, at closer to 450º for a nice artisan bread.
I want to second the "it doesn't matter" aspect; i started out baking bread thinking every single step was vital and have since learned if I screw something up the bread still tastes fantastic. :)
Someone I know used to manage online and phone sales for a major department store, and he thought that credit card info was more safe online relative to over the phone. While they did background checks on all of their employees, they would occasionally have call center employees stealing credit card numbers from customers.
He did think that most of those cases got caught, with the employees being fired and charged for whatever crime applied.
Tata Nano will be a sure boon for all middle class families in India. Apart from that it will also induce a cost cut by other manufacturers.But it remains to be seen how long the Tata can sustain its 1Lakh Car tag.
We've recently killed our Voip line to move to cell phones only. However, we ported the voip/home number to an additional cell phone for the house (at $10/mo.). This has let us make the transition immediately without having to take several months to get everyone switched over to our new home number.
We've also looked into the option of picking up the GE Cell Fusion cordless handset system. This comes with bluetooth. You come home and put your cell on the charger next to the GE base. Your phones pair with the base, and all calls are routed to the cordless handsets throughout the home. This also works for making calls.
In addition to all of this, we're fortunate enough to have a line through Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral), so we are updating our number in everyone's system to our GV number as the home line. We forward the new cell to the GV number, and it rings all our lines.
The Nano that goes to the Europe and the US will be fitted with airbags and ABS and it will cost more than $2000. At present the nano available to the India market will be in three variants. One without aircon and two version with aircon. Nano will have more variants when it arrives in the US; like hybrid and Biofuel varaints.
I'm not so sure there's one way that's better than the other. You made it fairly clear that there are pros and cons to both approaches; however, I feel like if you're fairly confident with what you're signing up for, save yourself the time and just do it online.
We buy used cars. We've always bought used cars. To be able to afford a new car, any new car, is way cool. Since my husband needs a car for work, a small efficient vehicle is a great option for him. The only down side. Can it handle a couple of kids, plus a baritone horn, two gym bags, and two backpacks?
Traditionally I was a pro-internet guy. But recently have had a few purchases going sour (still waiting on a dog collar ordered 8 weeks ago) and so I'm losing faith in the system.
When it comes to customer service I prefer to try and resolve the issue via email. That makes it so I don't have to set aside a block of time to work on the problem. If it doesn't work I will call, which many times works just fine. I'm a big fan of hitting "0" a million times until an operator picks up.
so you are wondering about the environmental impact? Let's say there's latent demand for 15 million Nanos in India. at current projected production limits, it will take Tata 47 years (!!!) to make that many Nanos.
And that's just over ONE year's automobile sales in the USA (was around 12 million per year - a majority being gas-guzzling SUVs, pickup trucks and luxury sedans - before the recession hit.. probably be 10 million this year).
so, green warriors, chew on that!!
See, I already know how to do that - I found out the hard way that you don't throw a 9 volt battery in a junk basket that contains steel wool. :) The smoke pouring out of the kitchen cabinet was my first hint. The friends that came over an hour later to watch a movie were very pleased that we have many blankets as the house had to be aired out afterwards and it was the end of October so was just a touch chilly.
Having said that, this site is fascinating. I predict that I will be glued to it for days...
Generally, there is a fee to make an electronic transaction, but, sometimes, the "cash discount" is given because the retailer is dodging their sales tax obligations.
They simply don't report the sale, and avoid paying sales tax. Unfortunately, the stereotype is that Chinese immigrants play this tax cheating game.
Also, with online sales, the use-tax dodge will be going away in the future (if you can even get it today). States will be motivated to add, and enforce their use taxes, and will create online methods of payment. Ecommerce software will come to support bookkeeping for state use taxes.
If this car were to come to the US it would not be as cheap as in India. There is the fact that there are no safety features whatsoever and adding them would make the price in the US above $5K for sure. Though it's only competition would be from the Smart Car and it would still be about half the price of those so it would be in good shape. More info about the Nano story here, http://www.newsy.com/videos/world_s_cheapest_car_hits_market/
Another thought was I live in Minnesota, this is not something I would drive in a bad snowstorm! That would be an accident waiting to happen. And I am sure I would have to be pried out of it in an accident with a can opener. There are people in my area of town who have the Mini Cooper and the littl electric cars. But on snow days they are all driving their other vehicles. So maybe as a nice summer day second car. Cannot imagine going long distance in it either.
They are planning on adding a spinning cutting blade on the bottom for future American models so people can cut their lawns with it.
These are such strange times! One day the "experts" say that our economy is better than ever; the next day everyone is worried about loosing their jobs. WOW!
Thanks,
Nate
That thing looks like a deathtrap to me. If this thing starts selling in the US, you are going to see a lot of them underneath Expeditions and Hummers.'
Just sayin'
With car prices so high, and the fear that any vehicle I get for my (nearly) 16 year old will end up piling as many friends as she can into my mini-van, I'm really digging this car. Too bad there's no way to get one before she's out of the house and gone.
Thanks Guest for mentioning your tip from the paramedic friend about programming local dispatch numbers into the cell phone. I have been following the technology relating to 911/E911 and there are federal mandates to deal with the tech set-ups of wireless users but local agencies are still in the process of integrating them so it makes sense to check with local providers as every community will be different, and constantly changing...though in general becoming better able to serve wireless customers.
I still have people who want to send or receive faxes, and have a fax machine at work. I have also used an office supply store for faxing (of course that eats into your savings associated with ditching the landline). I haven't used it but I noticed that Skype has a fax capability.
The nano in India has a 623cc 2 cylinder engine, and a top speed of 65mph. Add the airbags and other safety features, and a desire for a top speed a little higher, and the engine will have to be bigger.
I foresee a $7,500 car with 42mpg highway, and I think it would sell well. The Kia Rio of 5-10 years ago was angling for the same market, with a similar feature set, lower fuel economy, and retail price of $8,895.
The whole question of wether or not an inexpensive vehicle is good for Indians is for individuals there to decide for themselves.
The whole question about wether or not such cars should be available presumes its our right to control what choices others have.
The times that i had less money in my life, i found that i had less worries too and so i was alot happier. I seemed to have alot more abundance in my life then aswell. I think when we find ourselves too attach to money, the problems begin. Unfortunately we live in a world were wealth and happiness come hand in hand. I would love to see the world function with out all its material possesions and 'wealth'. We'd colapse! We need to look deep with in for our happiness, instead of constantly looking outside of ourselves.
In Europe, standards for fuel efficiency are much higher. Check out the VW Bluemotion, which does a fuel-sipping 62mpg. Way more expensive though, but it's a VW, not a Tato Nano.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/volkswagens_pol.php
We sometimes feed our starter with whole wheat and haven't had any problems.
Most recently, we fed our starter some whole-grain rye flour. Bubbles had been making bread that was rather less sour just lately, and I'd read that rye was particularly likely to have a diverse population of wild yeasts and lactobascilli. So I figured a feeding with rye flour could kick up the sourness of the bread a bit. We're now eating the first loaf since we did that and I really like the results.
Yes.... I know it's archaic, but I still have companies (not my choice, but through work) that ask for a fax or mail... NOT e-mail.
What can you do for Fax?
Or the fact that many companies just have their employees type in the info into the same system the customer would be using if they went online to order the product.
(steve sent me. funny thing too; i've been taking pics and getting ready to write my own blog posting about sourdough bread being NOT FINICKY. ;)
I've been doing the King Arthur Flour Whole Wheat Cookbook whole-wheat starter and haven't noticed any rancidity. I will say it seems much more forgiving than what i've heard about white flour starters - you should give it a try! Equal parts flour to water to starter seems to work well; you want to keep it stiffer than a white starter. I also love baking in a lidded dish/dutch oven, slashed and spritzed with water, at closer to 450º for a nice artisan bread.
I want to second the "it doesn't matter" aspect; i started out baking bread thinking every single step was vital and have since learned if I screw something up the bread still tastes fantastic. :)
Someone I know used to manage online and phone sales for a major department store, and he thought that credit card info was more safe online relative to over the phone. While they did background checks on all of their employees, they would occasionally have call center employees stealing credit card numbers from customers.
He did think that most of those cases got caught, with the employees being fired and charged for whatever crime applied.
Just one thought.
Tata Nano will be a sure boon for all middle class families in India. Apart from that it will also induce a cost cut by other manufacturers.But it remains to be seen how long the Tata can sustain its 1Lakh Car tag.
We've recently killed our Voip line to move to cell phones only. However, we ported the voip/home number to an additional cell phone for the house (at $10/mo.). This has let us make the transition immediately without having to take several months to get everyone switched over to our new home number.
We've also looked into the option of picking up the GE Cell Fusion cordless handset system. This comes with bluetooth. You come home and put your cell on the charger next to the GE base. Your phones pair with the base, and all calls are routed to the cordless handsets throughout the home. This also works for making calls.
In addition to all of this, we're fortunate enough to have a line through Google Voice (formerly GrandCentral), so we are updating our number in everyone's system to our GV number as the home line. We forward the new cell to the GV number, and it rings all our lines.
I really wish we'd made the transition sooner.
The Nano that goes to the Europe and the US will be fitted with airbags and ABS and it will cost more than $2000. At present the nano available to the India market will be in three variants. One without aircon and two version with aircon. Nano will have more variants when it arrives in the US; like hybrid and Biofuel varaints.
I'm not so sure there's one way that's better than the other. You made it fairly clear that there are pros and cons to both approaches; however, I feel like if you're fairly confident with what you're signing up for, save yourself the time and just do it online.
We buy used cars. We've always bought used cars. To be able to afford a new car, any new car, is way cool. Since my husband needs a car for work, a small efficient vehicle is a great option for him. The only down side. Can it handle a couple of kids, plus a baritone horn, two gym bags, and two backpacks?
Traditionally I was a pro-internet guy. But recently have had a few purchases going sour (still waiting on a dog collar ordered 8 weeks ago) and so I'm losing faith in the system.
When it comes to customer service I prefer to try and resolve the issue via email. That makes it so I don't have to set aside a block of time to work on the problem. If it doesn't work I will call, which many times works just fine. I'm a big fan of hitting "0" a million times until an operator picks up.
so you are wondering about the environmental impact? Let's say there's latent demand for 15 million Nanos in India. at current projected production limits, it will take Tata 47 years (!!!) to make that many Nanos.
And that's just over ONE year's automobile sales in the USA (was around 12 million per year - a majority being gas-guzzling SUVs, pickup trucks and luxury sedans - before the recession hit.. probably be 10 million this year).
so, green warriors, chew on that!!
See, I already know how to do that - I found out the hard way that you don't throw a 9 volt battery in a junk basket that contains steel wool. :) The smoke pouring out of the kitchen cabinet was my first hint. The friends that came over an hour later to watch a movie were very pleased that we have many blankets as the house had to be aired out afterwards and it was the end of October so was just a touch chilly.
Having said that, this site is fascinating. I predict that I will be glued to it for days...
Generally, there is a fee to make an electronic transaction, but, sometimes, the "cash discount" is given because the retailer is dodging their sales tax obligations.
They simply don't report the sale, and avoid paying sales tax. Unfortunately, the stereotype is that Chinese immigrants play this tax cheating game.
Also, with online sales, the use-tax dodge will be going away in the future (if you can even get it today). States will be motivated to add, and enforce their use taxes, and will create online methods of payment. Ecommerce software will come to support bookkeeping for state use taxes.