[Greenbuilding] [BULK] Re: Tata reveals the world's cheapest car

[Lawrence Lile]

Yes, Kieth, you have nailed the environmental argument against these
cars on the head.  

India and China are going to suck up the last drops of oil at an
increasingly accelerating rate, no matter what we do here.  

Are you perhaps talking about a two-stroke, vs. a two-cylinder, engine?
Two-strokes are definitely bad news, but I haven't seen anything
indsicating these are actually two-strokes.  

This article:
http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/21/tata-claims-2-500-car-will-be-th
e-cleanest-in-india/

Seems to indicate that the Tata will be cleaner than the average Indian
car, but still won't meet US standards, which says a lot about the
average Indian car.  

This is interesting to follow, and now that a car company has achieved
moore's-law level cost reduction, this will really shake up the car
industry.  

Lawrence Lile, PE, LEED AP
Project Solutions Engineering

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Winston [mailto:keith at earthsunenergy.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 9:37 AM
To: Lawrence Lile
Cc: Greenbuilder list
Subject: [BULK] Re: [Greenbuilding] Tata reveals the world's cheapest
car
Importance: Low

Great, a cheap 2 cylinder car. Ridiculously polluting, and now everyone 
in India can afford a car. Don't get me wrong, the line between cultural

imperialism and environmental conscientiousness can be close sometimes. 
But it's like you took a big country with lots of cars, and then 
subsidized oil -- it would drive up emissions vastly. Oh that's right, 
that's the US.

There is a big difference between a hybrid and a 2 cylinder car. To my 
knowledge, it's impossible to build a clean-burning 2 cyl engine.

Keith


Lawrence Lile wrote:
> Here is a $2500, 50MPG car that seats five (presumably five people who
> haven't been binging on twinkies).  Environmentalists are howling, yet
> we are also lauding the Prius, which gets the same mileage and costs
ten
> times as much.  I could really see using one of these as a commuter
car.
>
>
>
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080110/ap_on_bi_ge/india_ultracheap_car;_yl
> t=AnwOyroENom8KMTDQoI1bYOs0NUE
>
>   
>> Tata reveals world's cheapest car
>>     
>
> By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer 30 minutes ago
>
> NEW DELHI - For millions of people in the developing world, Tata
Motors'
> new $2,500 four-door subcompact - the world's cheapest car - may yield
a
> transportation revolution as big as Henry Ford's Model T.
>
> The potential impact of Tata's Nano has given environmentalists
> nightmares, with visions of the tiny cars clogging India's
> already-choked roads and collectively spewing millions of tons of
carbon
> dioxide into the air.
>
> Industry analysts, however, say the car may soon deliver to India and
> the rest of the developing world unprecedented mobility.
>
>
>
> The basic model, expected to roll off assembly lines later this year,
> will sell for 100,000 rupees, or about $2,500, but analysts estimate
> customers could pay 20 percent to 30 percent more to cover taxes,
> delivery and other charges.
>
>
>
> In terms of performance, it doesn't offer much more than the Model T.
> The Nano has a two-cylinder 0.6-liter gasoline engine with 33
> horsepower, giving it a top speed of about 60 mph, according to Tata.
It
> gets 50 miles per gallon.
>
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