Tata Nano
You read my last post and you think I am crazy huh? I think anyone who denies that there is a serious problem with the environment we need to survive in really needs to do some research.
We have raped the world for long enough. If we don’t stop, we will die along with it.
I am browsing with interest on the website of the Tata Nano. Google it 
This little car is currently the cheapest in the world. It seats 4 people and has a maximum speed of 105kmh 65mph. It gets about 20kml 47mpg, which means you get about 300km 185 miles on its 15L 4 gallon tank.
This thing is basic. It’s no race car either, it comes with a 4spd manual floor shift with a 2 cylinder 624cc 38ci EFI engine. It is fuel efficient, small, cheap and almost devoid of creature comforts. The upper model of the 3 offered does come with A/C and front electric windows though. It doesn’t come with a CD player, or even a radio!
What it can do very well though is carry 4 people to work in the daily traffic, economically and efficiently. One day in the next ten years, I am sure, you will be able to buy electric cars very similar to this one. Spartan but functional, cheap to run and ecofriendly. Not only will you be able to buy them, but you may find you don’t have any choice. The days of the personal behemoth are dead and gone. Times are a changing my friend….
THIS is what car makers need to spend money on. Creating cars which actually do what cars should be doing.. provide easy, fast and efficient personal transport. My personal tastes certainly don’t run to a car which doesn’t even have a radio and I am guessing will struggle uphill with 4 people aboard, but my point is that this kind of car is a step in the right direction. It is built the way it is because at US$2500 its the worlds cheapest new car. You can’t achieve that by adding such luxuries as a radio I guess!
We need to think more about what we expect from a car, and compare that with what we actually need. I drive a Kia Cerato.. It has a few standard tricks I like, like A/C, power windows, cruise control, but its no luxury car. It is quite economical to run though, performs well and is capable of double the legal speed limit anywhere in Australia. Why on Earth would I need a V8 with 500HP?
I see cars in the future as being of similar equipment and performance levels to the Kia (but much lower top speed) lighter, smaller externally but probably with even more usable cabin space, and running on alternative fuels such as solar, battery, Hydrogen cells etc.
In the meantime, I am waiting for Kia to unveil the secret Hydrogen cell 2010 model of the Cerato…… please Kia?????
Just a quick further note..
I also see it being illegal to travel with less than 3 people in the car within CBD areas without permit. What on Earth do you and your neighbor both need to drive your car 30 minutes to work every day for, when you both work the same hours and within 2 blocks of each other? Car pooling will become a legal requirement within CBD areas, not just an excuse to use the extra lane on the freeway. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see many CBD areas ban traffic altogether, and instead have interchange hubs out of the city where people could drive to, park their cars and travel by tram, tram or bus to the CBD.