Tag Archive for 'tata nano'

My New Retirement Plan: Kiosk Cars

Published on July 6, 2009 in Cars. 4 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I want this car. Actually I want to but a whole bunch and set up a kiosk in the mall to sell them.

supermileage

They are Volkswagens and they will be sold in China.

258 mpg. (No typo: Two hundred fifty-eight miles per gallon.)

$600. (No typo: Six hundred American Dollars.)

I’m not sure what the airfare is to Shanghai where the cars will first be sold.  BTW: why do all the other countries get all the fun cars first? France had the Smart, India has the TaTa Nano, and now China has the VW VunderWileage (I just made that up.) And by the way?  the U.K. has a much better name for their auto incentive plan, rather than Cash for Clunkers, the U.K. calls it Scrappage Scheme. And another question I need to have settled. How do you pronounce Peugeot? As in…

Peugeot Dealer
Peugeot 308
Peugeot 107

Back to the unnamed VW.

The car is about 11 feet long,  four feet wide, and about three feet tall.

Obviously it’s a one person car. Which has a lot of appeal for large family. Cars for everybody in the family! The Daily Blonde says she would buy one just for the opportunity to go someplace BY HERSELF. (She has a passle of kiddles.)

As with the Smart five years ago, it’s not legal in the U.S. Nor is the Smart Electric car been approved for U.S. use. But I could call the VW VunderWileage a personal disability device and probably get them imported no prob.

So it’s happened. The 258 miles per gallon car is a reality. Only in China. I accept Paypal.

Here are more specs…

The power plant is a one cylinder diesel positioned ahead of the rear axle and combined with an automatic shift controlled by a knob in the interior.

Safety was not compromised as the impact and roll-over protection is comparable to the GT racing cars.

  • Gas tank capacity = 1.7 gallons
  • Speed = 62 – 74.6 Miles/hour
  • Fuel efficiency = 258 miles/gallon
  • Travel distance with a full tank = 404 miles

Another BTW: If I lived in the U.K. I would shop for cars here.
Perrys
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Can Penske Make The Saturn Profitable?

Published on June 8, 2009 in Cars, Money, Politics and Technology. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

Penske Automotive owns a whole crap load of car dealerships. 310 in the U.S. and around the world. Penske Automotive sells over 40 different car brands -  including the Smart car in the U.S.

Roger Penske is successful renting trucks and running racing teams. Can Penske Automotive sell Saturns? Yes.

Can he make a profit? Probably.

Will he still build Saturns in the U.S.? Doubtful.

He could form a venture with Nissan Motor Co., the Japanese affiliate of Renault SA, according to a source familiar with the talks. Automotive News, an industry trade publication, has reported that Penske plans to import vehicles made in South Korea by Renault Samsung Motors and sell them through the Saturn dealership network.

I wouldn’t bet on Penske Automotive in this deal.

Why?

  • Because the $2,500 Tata Nano is coming to the U.S. in two years.
  • Because he sells Smart.
  • Because he sells 39 other car brands.
  • Because Saturn never turned a profit in it’s whole existence under GM’s wing.

So GM invested billions to give Saturn independence. Saturn ran its own factory, employed its own engineers and made its own engines and transmissions. But the economies of scale never materialized. GM needed to sell half a million or more Saturns a year for this to all pencil out. In 1994, sales peaked at 286,000 cars.

Penske Automotive will have a two year deal with G.M. to buy Saturns. But then Roger can shop his car-building business around.

tata$2,500 Tata Nano
smart60 $20,000 Smart

2009saturnvue20239218-396x249 $25,000 Saturn Vue

Tata doesn’t have a dealer network currently. But that probably won’t stop them. There is already a demand for the car in the U.S. (IF it passes gummit standards – and I’m betting the standards will be relaxed to make it so.)

We have had people ask us if the Smart was a Tata. We have had people tell us they can’t wait until the Tata comes to the U.S. These same people don’t have a clue that the Tata

  • is put together with glue,
  • has opening in the back (a “trunk),
  • no air conditioning
  • only three lug nuts per wheel (gummit standards dictate four)
  • top speed of 43 mph

Many of these same people are concern that the Smart isn’t safe enough for them!

But that $2,500 price tag makes it very appealing to wedge in four teenagers and turn them loose or send Mama to church meetin’s.

Where will  Roger Penske and Penske Automotive wedge the Saturns in the marketplace? If G.M. still designs and builds the cars, they won’t change much. If Penske Automotive takes the design/build to another factory he doesn’t own, does this mean Penske Automotive takes on a whole new level of overhead?

Am I willing to bail out Penske Automotive eventually?

I might if he let’s me drive one of his racers.