Mitsubishi have done something unusual. They have created a car that isn’t a hybrid, but is a full electronic car. It runs off power and will get you 160KM’s off an overnight charge. It even has a decent top speed at around the 130KPH mark.
The i-MiEV (i Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) is designed for the city drivers who are to lazy to ride a bike, and prefer the comfort of their car over sitting in over crowded public transport. The greatest feature of the car is the fact it will be available globally from 2010. That means we might even see it here in Australia (though Mitsubishi has only said Japan, Europe and US at the moment).
People are sceptical about how useful a car, that can drive 160 KM’s off an over night charge, can be. I believe in countries like my glorious one (it is pretty glorious you kn0w) we have a lot of density around the cities that refuse to use the shocking public transport system. They drive around in there very fuel efficient cars, but could become even more efficient if it was all electrical (and you were charging it by renewable energy). If it is as expensive as the Toyota Prius, it would have to be a miss for my shallow pockets.
For more info, click over to EcoGeek.
I am a big fan of a car for $US2500, but is it all that efficient and cheap? I’m a car enthusiast but have never worked for a car manufacture, meaning I am not the foremost authority on this subject.
The Tata Nano will succeed in India. India has a population of a billion and only 7 of every 1000 people own a car. The Nano will fill that gap, and only because that is all it is, a car. No radio, no air conditioning, no passenger side mirror. No bells and whistles to be seen (at least until you upgrade to the higher priced models).
In the developed countries there is a big number who spend what they can afford. If they are high earners they go luxury, if they are low they go for budget. The Tata, if the price was to be kept in other countries, would be a whole new level, an almost disposable level.
In Australia, to get to work and back every week I spend around $AU80 on petrel. In a year I would spend around $AU4000 not including servicing and other small costs. If I was to buy a Tata every year, with its 5litres per 100km’s efficiency, it would cost me around $AU4000 including petrol. No servicing required, just throw it out when it stops working.
That is possible if the car was to cost the labelled $US2500 all over the world, but unfortunately this can’t be done without sacrificing a lot. Different countries have different weather and road conditions. Different countries have different safety, tax’s and emission laws. The price of the $US2500 could sky-rocket, If the price was to go north to much, considerations would have to come into account, such as the cost of adding the features you would use to the car, such as air-conditioning, and reliability over other car manufactures.
On top of that, the cost of distributing a vehicle such as this in countries outside of India is going to be higher. Too train and pay a mechanic in India may be cheap, but it isn’t cheap in Australia. How about further advancement? Will they have to reply on the profits from its other subsidiaries to push the Nano’s development?
On the efficiency part of the car it is truly incredible, but efficiency is only half the battle. Whether you car uses 5 litres every 100kms or 50 litres every 100kms, it is still better to use 0. If 8 people out of that 1000 was to be finally able to afford a car, that would put an extra million cars on the road.
The Nano will change the way car manufactures do business. Lets just hope that change is for the better.
Tata, and Indian outfit, has finally announced the final name for their extremely budget car, price at a minuscule $US2500. The name, which everyone has seen before, will be Nano. Unveiled at the 2008 Delhi Motor Show, the Nano showed featured a 33 horsepower 624cc two-cylinder gasoline engine (diesel option coming) and stepless CVT transmission or 5-speed manual transmission.
The car is super basic with no power steering and the instrument panel consisting of only a speedometer, a fuel gauge and an oil light. It doesn’t skimp on safety or the environment, being designed to pass all international side offset and side crash tests as well as Euro 4 emissions tests. Efficiency wise, it will be capable of getting 100kms off 5 litres, putting it next to current hybrid cars.
Tata expect to sell 500,000 of these guys, and at the price and for what it can do, it isn’t impossible. Expect to see them hitting shelves in the second half of 2008.
For more info, click over to PaulTan.org
If you happen to be in the car market for a medium side sedan or hatch and haven’t really decided what you would like, the guys over at Australian Car Advice have done a fantastic review on the 2008 Subaru Impreza. They seems to have liked it giving the Impreza a 4 out of 5 steering wheels. They said “If you’re thinking about buying a new small-medium car, go drive the new Impreza range. You won’t be disappointed.” Seems impressive enough for me.
For the complete review click over to the Car Advice Website.
I have to say, for a small car sedan, the 2008 Mazda 2 sedan is very attractive. At the 2007 Guangzhou International Auto Show in China, Mazda have revealed the upcoming Mazda2 sedan, which is built by a partnership between Mazda, Ford and the Chinese automaker Changan Automobile Group. At the moment it will only be available in the Chinese market, but it wouldn’t take a genius to predict its success and eventual spreading of markets. All that is known currently is, it will be 168 inches long, 66.73 inches wide and 58.26 inches high, making it 16 inches longer (152.95 inches) the same width the same height as the Mazda2 hatch. Price is not yet know, but I will try and get an update when there is one. For now you can enjoy the pretty pictures.
For more info, click over to the Jalopnik Blog.
Its great when people leek photos of their upcoming cars, and then they spread all over the internet. The latest car to be ’spread’, is the 2009 Nissan Murano.
Though there isn’t much know about the engineering of the car, such as engine sizes and other changes to the driving ability, the exterior of the car will only get a slight upgrade. From what can be seen, it seems not to be a major redesign, which isn’t to bad considering that the Murano isn’t broken (if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it). Picture of the interior in the whole article (compared to only part of the article which is shown on the front page).
For more info, click over to the Paul Tans Blog.
The Accords of old have been impressive, but nothing like the new HF-S concept created by Honda Access America Inc. It is a engineering marvel with the shape created to make a vortex type of effect, which enhance high-speed aerodynamics and engine cooling, plus special carbon fiber panels which have been shaped to decrease negative speed force around the wheel arches. Little else is know about the car, but for now you can click through to see a whole much of pictures.
For more info, click over to the Paul Tan Blog.
I am a man who loves his wagons, being the proud owner of a 1997 Mitsubishi Magna (that could use retirement), and it is sad to see the 6-cylinder wagon becoming a dieing breed. Though the new Ford Focus wagon won’t be a 6, it does look pretty sexy.
What is known at the moment, is it will slot into the current range of Focus’s with an assortment of engine/trim levels. There will also be an Econetic-branded model, which you might have guessed is more environmentally friendly with as little as 115 g/km of carbon dioxide emissions while delivering 54 MPG.
No release date as yet, but will try and update when I know more. For now enjoy the images.
For more info, click over to the Autoblog Website.