Renault-Nissan-Bajaj's Ultra-Low-Cost car project still alive
It's been a while since we've heard an update on the car coming from the joint venture of Renault-Nissan and Indian manufacturer Bajaj, a competitor to the Tata Nano. Carlos Ghosn, Renault-Nissan's CEO, fills us in with a statement that the ULC (Ultra Low Car) project is alive and well. What news do we learn? First, the 2011 release date has been pushed back to 2012. Second, the car is going to cost $3,000 (compared to the Nano's base price of around $2,000) and will still be available in a version that gets 70 mpg. According to Ghosn, the car will be designed, developed and produced by Bajaj, while Renault-Nissan will provide sales and marketing. We surmise that an export model, with either Nissan or Renault (or maybe Dacia) badges, is more than a possibility.
[Source: AFP via Le Blog Auto]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
gorr 10:29AM (11/11/2009)
Im interrested to buy at 3000$. If there is no green cars on the market with powerful efficient technology without pollution and no fuel cost, then just investing a mini-minimum dollar for polluting conventionnal car might be the solution. Just bring tools in the car, go 5 mph below the speed limits, drive few, learn to repair it weekly, wait that a few car get to the scrap yard for a choice of parts, install a used engine/transmission/brake system/wheels combo taken out of an old corrolla, etc. Learn mechanics knowledge thru internet, participate in an internet club abouth this car to prevent mechanical problems and find low cost replacement parts or sell parts from your car after 2-3 months.
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Carney 7:08PM (11/11/2009)
As reluctant as I am to be the only one besides gorr to comment on a story (the comment was relatively coherent this time, though, i have to say):
I really hope they include methanol compatibility in it. Methanol is extremely cheap (sold at $0.80 /gal or $1.60 in energy equivalent terms) in 2007/8 when gasoline was at $4 and with such an abundant resource base (natural gas, coal, or any biomass) to make it with, even big expansion in demand won't cause a long term increase in price.
It's tough paying $4 a gallon when you make $35K a year in America. Now think of paying that when you make $3K a year in India. High mileage isn't a real solution because increased efficiency gets swamped by increased demand. China has 8 cars per thousand compared to our 800, and that 8 is a quadrupling in just a few years. Demand is exploding soon, and all the efficiency in the world isn't going to remove a crushing new upward pressure on oil prices. We simply HAVE to make alt-fuel compatibility a standard feature.
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gorr 12:04PM (11/13/2009)
Thks.
I said to produce and sell near where i live, methanol at gasoline stations. To sell extra plastics tanks for used cars for methanol along a re-programmation of the car ecu to calibrate the engine to accept methanol. Sell home methanol small producing machine where co2 ( air ) and water are the feedstocks. Sell methanol fuelcell cars and trucks.
Stop immediatelly world wide energy and way of life global long-term planified by regulations social-economic planning and projects, this is communism proned by 99% of the peoples and it always provoked planet extinction. Earth was destroyed 4 times since 85 billions years, always for the same reason. The reason is that individuals are terrorists and the majority is ' good ' because they don't talk . So the logic is to negate and finnally kill any biology their is because most folks are just tire of biology life but they don't know nothing else, so they are lost and order big complicated study to acquire the right to commit legally suicide, that's the thing.
Nothing is easier then a free unlimited non-polluting car, trucks, ships, electrical generation or airplanes without pollution and almost free unlimited fuel. Peoples have always proposed a stop on anything creative . Cars have been proposed by most peoples as dangeurous, polluting, costly in fuel and americans put these reasons on the back of unknown innocents in the desert half way to the end of the world