Delhi Vs. Detroit?

There's an inherent contradiction between efficiency and safety. I think micro-cars could be workable in US cities but would be death traps on the highways. Adding safety features such as steel beams in the doors, crush proof cages and airbags will add hundreds of pounds of weight to conform to US safety standards and degrade efficiency.

It is amusing to read these macho SUV types spout about safety speed etc. without having a clue what it means to own or drive something in India, or for that matter, in Europe.

Fellas, this ain't about you. This is about a business venture with a vision that has made some headway. That business will explore opportunities to thrive and expand. Currently, those opportunities exist on the traffic clogged streets of India and Europe. No one has any illusions of dragracing with this car on the autobahn. And don't forget, to sell anywhere, they have to meet the safety standards of that place.

Now, with respect to North America, they will enter the market if they have the resources and see the business opportunity. They will meet the safety standards of NA if they do so. Make no mistake about it. You, then, as a consumer can exercise your right to patronize their business.

So till such time, you can wait for local GM/Ford/Chrysler dealer to get you something you need. I hope you won't have to wait long. Good luck.

It is time to realize that if we do not support our own manufacturers; we will be a third world nation.
The auto companies should build a similar car with a wider wheel base. I have worked at GM Tech Center and Ford Motor Company Engine Development Division. The technology is available; all that is needed is a reliable market and CEO go ahead. Undermining our own country is both foolish and unpatriotic.

Oh. My. God. If Detroit ever produced a tiny rolling death trap like this, the media would be up in arms. The article states that "Strict safety and testing regulations make the cost of entering the country prohibitively expensive." What a horribe understatement. That statement should have been more accurately reworded to "But the car is so deadly to its inhabitants, that its current design would in no way find consumer or regulatory acceptance in the United States."

Quit calling the auto mess "Detroit" , most of the worst are carpetbaggers from somewhere else. The only one that comes close to being "Detroit" is Ford. Many Michiganders, Detroiters, have criticised the US auto industry for many years. One of the worst was Alfred P. Sloane whose philosophy of manipulating the public instead of building appropriate automobiles is still infecting the US industry. And to think that MIT's business school is named after him. An illustration of how stupid "highly educated" money grubbers can be. I'se from Detroit and from MIT and I speaks both languages.

It's hilarious to read some of the comments; they come from a particular, 'Interstate' point-of-view, and are therefore derisive.

These cars are aimed at the Indian driving experience; primarily inner-city. If we're going to have a discussion, can we at least get the frames of reference right?

And I have to say that US automobiles are fodder for a Masters thesis: "How The Size and Status of US Cars Symbolize The Nation's Excessive Tendencies...And Reveal How Perspective Has Taken A Back Seat in America'.

Posted By: spiritguide @ 04/02/2009 9:23:16 PM

Think of these as safer, enclosed, two passenger motorcycles.
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when u wreck on a bike you want it away from you, Id hate to be hit, or hit anything in these things. thank god for jaws of life

If it uses less fuel and keeps the air cleaner then good for them.

Think of these as safer, enclosed, two passenger motorcycles.

It's unfair to compare these deathtraps on wheels with American cars. I don't think that Indian companies build their cars to American crash- or road- worthiness standards.

No innovation in the USA anymore, just a country in decline.

I wonder if the wind from a 18wheeler can make it roll when it gets passed by one on the interstate

The pertinent Detroit concern would be "what does it do 0 to 60."