Consumerist Jan. 16, 2010:
Back in the early ’00s, I saw Smart cars zipping around my neighborhood in France and thought, “Europe is so weird! They’d never sell those in the US.” But I was wrong. And the relative success of tiny cars like the Mini Cooper and, the Smart fortwo has led to the inevitable. The world’s cheapest car, India’s Tata Nano, is coming to America and Europe in about three years.
The Nano sells for about $2,500 USD in India, and will be more robust and safer before it shows up on the American and European markets. But it’ll still be tiny, and cheaper than a base-model Hyundai Accent, currently the cheapest new car on the US market.
FYI, the Hyundai Accent lists for about $13,000, so will they price the Tata Nano for less than 10 grand?
Good, practical form of transport. It would be well received in urban areas here in the US.
In my mostly republican Highland Park neighborhood, even today I see smart cars parked underneath their Humvee’s.
Odd but I see more guys driving Smart cars to gyms, grocery stores, etc. It’s now the wife that uses the Humvee to haul her ass to the mall.
I know folks in the USA can have a problem with small cars, and I can think of two reasons offhand:
1) Some seriously crappy small cars, such as the Ford Pinto or AMC Pacer, have given you the impression that small cars are crappy by definition. Doesn’t have to be that way.
2) Safety, especially when it comes to freeway motoring. The situation has improved dramatically e.g. find the video of a Smart car hitting a concrete wall at 70 mph. I don’t know what can be done about the risk of getting flattened by an 18-wheeler, except keeping them separate from local traffic i.e. a road policy matter. It doesn’t make sense that all cars have to be big and heavy solely for “safety” reasons.
Try and put a 250+ lb. fellow behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper. There is a tendency for tech blogs to focus on urban living. Between the coasts there are people that have to drive long distances to get groceries and other supplies. It took my wives parents 45 minutes to get to the nearest town from their farm, over an hour to get to a place big enough to have a Home Depot.
It looks like one big fart would blow that thing to pieces. I would be thrilled to have a collision with a F250 in it.
3. “Try and put a 250+ lb. fellow…”
Merely because some people can’t drive it (such as myself) does not mean that no one can drive it. There are plenty of people in the US who can fit in Mini Coopers, which is why they sell so well.
This car will never by marketed to your hypothetical obese guy, who will always buy over-sized trucks.
I disagree. These are solutions in search of a problem in the US market.
Owning a tiny car because of space limitations is not an issue in the US. Outside of a small number of dense cities (NYC, SF), space is not an issue in the US like it is in Europe.
Owning a tiny car to save fuel isn’t the answer either. For the money, a Prius is a better deal and gets better mileage than the Smart Car.
Owning a dirt cheap car (like the Tata) isn’t really a solution either. For the money, you can get a reliable, safer used car. Does anyone remember the Yugos?
I heard on Autoline daily that the MSRP for a Nano in the USA would be $8500. Europe slightly less, probably less shipping expense.
I’ve been driving a small car for the past ten years and really enjoy driving it. But when the snow starts to pile up the Miata gets put away and the Jeep comes out… also fun to drive. Small cars and big snow banks don’t mix.
#4 I find it’s the 5’4″ skinny guys that usually buy the oversize trucks.
GIVE ME A BREAK!
I guess if you’re a bike messenger then this is your after work rig! heck if a 1988 Escort hits this thing your dead!!
I dare you to drive over the Mackinaw Bridge, let alone around town! I’d rather get 10 MPG less in a 1998 jetta and be 100x safer!! 2 words…. Death Trap!
8. “I dare you to drive over the Mackinaw Bridge…”
For those not familiar with your reference…
Environmentalist have long considered people to be the greatest offender to their god – the planet. In a clever attempt to remedy that problem they have introduced this new and quite stylish population reduction device disguised as a car.
You can get yours in gravedigger green and blood red.
How soon we forget the Yugo.
This is the first Yugo of the 21st century.
11. “You can get yours in gravedigger green and blood red.”
Oooh… oooh… I’ll take green!
If it is made in India, it will be reliable and easy to repair.
Small cars are great especially if they’re manual. Great around town, easy to park, easy on the pocket, and more fun to drive.
Too bad the MythBusters couldn’t do a show about small cars verses SUVs.
I have been seeing more and more Smart Cars but so far none in accidents. Unfortunately, I have seen plenty of SUVs in accidents with a few where the SUV flipped over.
If a SUV hit a Smart Car, the SUV might end up on its roof and the Smart Car will be shot across the roadway. All the people would be slightly injured.
Um, in some communities you have people running around the back streets in electric golf carts. In crowded cities where finding parking space to store your machine is a huge issue or just as a second car for very short trips I don’t see the problem as long as the thing is reliable. It is certainly going to be safer than a motor cycle, scooter, or moped with more cargo/passenger space.
Is everybody going to want one? No! Then again not everybody wants one of any make or modal vehicle on the road.
Let the market decide.
#16. nice theory. SUVs skip compulsory crash accident testing because of some kind of commercial heavy vehicle exclusion clause.
This isn’t the kind of car most people could ever use. How is a family of 4 supposed to fit in it? How are you supposed to carry a ton of groceries in it? Certainly I could never use it, I have to routinely transport large quantities of materials that would never fit. In fact, I don’t think that anyone I know would find any use in such a small car. I think people are engaging in a lot of wishful thinking that these will take off and become a major impact on the American automotive market.
It’ll be a niche, just like the Smart cars, just like most really tiny cars. The number of people who want them, outside of the magical dream world of liberals, is minimal.
If everybody (except IPCC executives and government officials) is forced to drive a small car, crashes won’t be much of a problem. Look to the future.
In urban environments, there need to be fewer automobiles not more even though the vehicles themselves might be smaller.
Tata may be trying to sell this as a commuter car. That’s all this Nano can be right now … no trunk space, luxuries etc. It will probably find a niche and might be a leader in a new market segment.
There is a video of a head on collision between a Smart Car and a Mercedes-Benz, both made by Daimler-Benz. The Smart Car is lifted UP and goes BACKWARD. Can you imagine the g’s – deceleration, stopping and then backwards? The Nano is probably lighter and will turn into a pinball in real world accident scenes. There shouldn’t be such a larger variance in mass for automobiles.
Also there needs to be good pavement wherever that car is driven.
Considering that the executives at the big Three are of the same crop as the NBC executives I wouldn’t be surprised at all.
I have to chuckle every time I see a Smart car. They look like a Tonka Toy.
Hmmm, interesting comments from all the Americans.
The Ford F-Series is the number one selling vehicle in the US:
– 225 million Americans live in urban settings, 60 million in rural
– I’m guessing some of those trucks aren’t for construction and farming
– Blue books show the F-Series depreciates $7,000 to $10,000 when you drive it off the lot (varies by state)
– The 5 year maintenance and fuel costs are 6 times higher than a Corolla
– Let’s not even talk insurance and financing
– The new F-Series has heated cup holders. Couldn’t make it to the soccer field with out that…
You can drive whatever you want, but don’t tell me there’s rational reasons for driving that much steel.
Small things amuse small minds. Which explains why so many of the denier / right wing nut crowds are amused.
Mr Fusion, I’m guessing “compensation”. 😉
#24=qb-You can drive whatever you want, but don’t tell me there’s rational reasons for driving that much steel.
What does it matter if there is a rational reason or not? If you you can afford a F-Series whose to say you can’t drive it?
Certainly not me.
#2 The Smart car demonstration you saw was on “Top Speed.” The car did not fold up like a pretzel, but the occupants would still be dead. Ram an SUV into a jersey wall straight on at 70 mph and the result would be the same. When a car comes to a sudden halt due to an immovable object the consequences are usually severe.
#5 Assume that making it street legal in the U.S. adds 5k to the cost. A $7500 car would have many buyers. Cars have become stupidly expensive, mostly due to extra size that Americans seem to love. There is plenty of room at the lower end of the spectrum. There are a lot of people who live in big cities.
#12 I don’t think we know for certain how this car is engineered, but I wouldn’t assume poor reliability. As a car gets bigger it tends to be more unreliable. Size matters, big vehicles tend to have many more reliability issues because the parts are subjected to so much stress.
Asian car companies have been making small cars and dominating for decades. American car companies have tried to jam SUVs down consumers’ throats. Guess who is winning? Any reason to assume the trend won’t continue?
And your point Dodd?
pedro, death by snu snu?
How can anyone with measurable self-respect drive one of these pieces of shit? Fine for non-American peasants, but come on – get serious about life, please.