Another Bold Attempt At The $6000 Car...

NSTG8R said:

At least tech support for the Nano is a local call.

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ZING! Good one! :-)

NSTG8R, ya made my night with that one! I'm sitting here losing it! :-D

hawg_ryder said:

Because it is a car and as such has to meet all the U.S. safety and emissions regulations... From WIKI...
Tata Motors also developed an air powered car that was kind of interesting but hasn't yet become available for the public...

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That's very interesting. Fireless locomotives used to be a fairly common thing for switching at industries and compressed air locomotives were common in mines, but this is the first time I've ever heard of an attempt at compressed air motive power for a car. Wonder how many quarters you'd have to plug into one of the air "dispensers" at a gas station to get anywhere?

BilgeRat said:

That's very interesting. Fireless locomotives used to be a fairly common thing for switching at industries and compressed air locomotives were common in mines, but this is the first time I've ever heard of an attempt at compressed air motive power for a car. Wonder how many quarters you'd have to plug into one of the air "dispensers" at a gas station to get anywhere?

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It's possible that compressed air could be a better option than batteries as a means of storing energy from the power grid to use for automotive power. With a little more development pneumatic motors could be very efficient, there is virtually no weight to the fuel, no carbon emissions, no rare minerals as with batteries, you get out 100% of the energy you put in, no fire danger, and you'd be carrying enough compressed air that you wouldn't have to pay at the gas station to air up your tires. On the down-side, big tanks of compressed air are bulky and would have to be at pretty high pressures to get any range out of such a vehicle. Oh, and air conditioning would be no problem, that air coming out would be FRIGID.

Don't know if anyone noticed, but the Nanos crash test rating was a big fat Zero out of 4 stars. I don't think I want to chance it, even for 55 mpg, and priced lower than the Elio. I'm thinking Yugo all over again! Great price, great mileage, great death trap!

Karg said:

I come we have not seen the Tato Nano made in India here yet?

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As much as I like the little things, they probably haven't arrived here for the same reason the VW bus isn't manufactured anymore. It's a sheet of metal, resting on a frame, set on a chasis! Tatas are really cool, quirky little machines but I tend towards driving those machines that at least provide a modicum of safety, it doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles.

Karg said:

I come we have not seen the Tato Nano made in India here yet?

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the NANO does not meet our safety standards. In India it just has to avoid hitting a cow!

The Nano is failing in it's own home country of India.
Though Tata is huge and diversified (Jaguar, Land Rover, Daewoo, Buses and Heavy Equipment) the Nano gave it a serious financial double-take.
I don't think you'll ever see a version in the States.
That dream has "poofed"

carzes said:

It's possible that compressed air could be a better option than batteries as a means of storing energy from the power grid to use for automotive power. With a little more development pneumatic motors could be very efficient, there is virtually no weight to the fuel, no carbon emissions, no rare minerals as with batteries, you get out 100% of the energy you put in, no fire danger, and you'd be carrying enough compressed air that you wouldn't have to pay at the gas station to air up your tires. On the down-side, big tanks of compressed air are bulky and would have to be at pretty high pressures to get any range out of such a vehicle. Oh, and air conditioning would be no problem, that air coming out would be FRIGID.

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With carbon fiber technology, I would imagine that a very light, very high pressure air tank would not be a too difficult thing to do, and A/C wold certainly not be a problem! A home compressor would not be stretching any technical barriers either, as it wouldn't have to be high capacity to charge the tank overnight. The fireless locos were an interesting duck. What looked like the boiler was actually a "thermos bottle", and they filled it with superheated water from a stationary boiler, not just steam. As they operated, the pressure dropped and the water would boil, so it could actually operate for a considerable period of time between recharges.

Norahsbed said:

Don't know if anyone noticed, but the Nanos crash test rating was a big fat Zero out of 4 stars. I don't think I want to chance it, even for 55 mpg, and priced lower than the Elio. I'm thinking Yugo all over again! Great price, great mileage, great death trap!

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Safety?!? Is there anything you guys DON'T expect from a cheap vehicle that gets supe-high mpg? Be a little real, you're gonna have to give up something somewhere. I think the Elio is trying to strike a better balance than most other options. But let's face it, if I wanted to drive something that gets 75 mpg and costs under $7k today, I would be driving a motorcycle with a tiny little engine. What was the crash test rating on a motorcycle again? Somewhere between organ-doner and Dead-man-rolling as I recall. Why is it that on two wheels we are the Bold knights of the open road who defy all convention, sneer at the mediocre masses, and boldly look into the cold eyes of fate and challenge him to a duel...... But put some windows around us and suddenly we're comparing crash-test ratings and counting airbags? What gives?