World’s Cheapest Car “Nano” to Hit The Roads

Tata Motors Ltd, the automotive arm of $60 billion Tata Group, is all set to hand over the keys of its Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car, to its first customer on Friday.

According to a Tata official, the first batch of the Nanos, 50 in all, has rolled out from its car plant in Pantnagar, though the majority of production would take place in Gujarat, where the construction of a new plant is scheduled for completion by December.

It has been learnt that at least 70 percent of the total booking (2,03,000 booking) have come from non-metro cities.

At the time of booking, Tata said that excluding the first lucky 100,000 customers who will chosen from a draw, everyone else will have the option to retain their booking even if they do not get an allotment in the first phase at the initial price.

From 2003, when Ratan Tata first spoke about the then unnamed car, to its launch in 2008 and finally its delivery in 2009, the Nano’s journey has been highly eventful.

The car was first showcased at the Delhi Auto Expo in 2008. At that time, the Tatas had announced that the car would be manufactured at a plant in Singur, West Bengal.

The plant ran into stiff opposition regarding land acquisition and compensation. This led to confrontations between Ratan Tata, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and the West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacarya. The impasse continued for more than a year, and in late September 2008, Ratan Tata announced that he would be pulling the factory out of West Bengal. It was later relocated to Sanand, Gujarat.

770 lb. Hydrogen Powered Car Rolled Out in UK

Riversimple pulled the sheet off its ultra-lightweight fuel cell Urban Car today in London and said it delivers a 50-mph top speed, a 200-mile range and fuel economy equivalent to 300 mpg. The company claims it also emits a paltry 30 grams per kilometer of CO2. The car features a 6-kilowatt fuel cell, which is miniscule compared to the 100-kW unit in the Honda FCX Clarity, but the developers say that’s plenty for a vehicle that weighs just 770 pounds.

“This next generation hydrogen-electric car brings electric vehicles into a new stage where range, charge-time and cost are no longer commercial barriers,” said Taras Wankewycz of Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The company provided the fuel cell that powers the car.

Porsche scion Sebastian Piech is a partner in the firm. His family helped finance the project, which was been in the works for nine years and was developed with help from Oxford and Cranfield universities.

Many major automakers have relegated hydrogen cars to the back burner — Honda, BMW and Mazda are notable exceptions — and the Obama Administration wants to cut hydrogen vehicle R&D funding. But Spowers believes hydrogen is the fuel of the future.

Miev Aims For Next-Generation Buyers - Generation X, Y Or Z

According to company boss Rob McEniry, it’s a generation of buyers who will be as comfortable plugging in an electric car as they are about recharging their iPod or mobile phone.

McEniry also envisages a future where an electric car used for everyday commuting will sit beside a diesel-electric hybrid sports car that will take care of weekend driving.

“The i MiEV will be aimed at next-generation buyers - generation X, Y or Z, or even generation AA - people who won’t be afraid to accept electric vehicles as a form of transport, and for whom recharging will not be an issue, “ he says. “Recharging will be just another part of their lifestyle.”

Subaru Launches Plug-In Electric - Stella EV

Subaru has launched a plug-in electric vehicle, the Stella, in Japan. The model will be sold directly through the automaker’s parent company Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI), with delivery starting in July.

The company plans to deliver about 170 vehicles by the end of March 2010. After-sales service will be provided through some Subaru dealerships designated by FHI.

The Stella EV is based on the Subaru Stella mini car sold in Japan. The four-passenger car combines a small lightweight body with an efficient electric powertrain to provide an ideal means of transportation for daily commuters.

At the heart of the Stella EV is a 346 volt high-performance lithium-ion battery. The battery can be re-charged up to 80 percent of its capacity in 15 minutes using the quick-charging system. A full charge takes 8 hours using a standard 100-volt household power outlet or 5 hours using a 200-volt hook-up. Around town the battery also recovers some if its energy through regenerative braking.

Autonomobile - A Car Without A Steering Wheel

The industrial design firm Mike and Maaike, which worked on such products as the Xbox and the HTC G1 phone, has turned its sights towards the car, reenvisioning it as a living room on wheels. In an article for Core77 design magazine titled “The End of Driving: Mike and Maaike introduce the Autonomobile,” the designers suggest people don’t really want to drive, and could better spend their time on the road sleeping, working, or getting drunk. And they emphasize that last point.

The ATNMBL - short for Autonomobile, apparently, though it seems more like a TXTer’s mistake to us – does away with anything as mundane as a steering wheel. In fact, the car doesn’t feature physical controls of any sort. You just get in, sit down and wait for it to ask you where you want to go.

Controlled entirely by voice commands, the ATNMBL would find its way around town using a combination of GPS and Lidar - a combination of light detection and ranging, radar and accelerometers.