Nissan 3000 car

[88HF]

Someone had told me they saw on the new Nissan was planning a car that would cost $3000 new in the States. I am guessing this would be a Keicar. I would like to have one. Who needs 1.5L when you can have .66? I just hope they could pull some great FE numbers and then we could hypermile em. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keicar

[davidjh72]

A $3k car? That would be awesome! Save a couple months pay and by a new car. Who'da thunk it?

Merging onto an occasional freeway would be an experience though. My 1.9L engine is more than enough for around town. Don't need 124 HP for that. A different story when trying to merge onto the freeway from an on-ramp that's a third the necessary length. MDOT thinks any car can get from 25 MPH around the cloverleaf to 70 MPH freeway speed in less than a tenth of a mile.

[MnFocus]

Seen another way ...rather than change oil ,tune up or make a repair quite a few folks would just buy another one ! America is a throw away society . Of course that just means more & cheaper used cars for those willing to do the work ...it evens out I guess . I dig that Scoobie R1 .

[davidjh72]

Seen another way ...rather than change oil ,tune up or make a repair quite a few folks would just buy another one ! America is a throw away society . Of course that just means more & cheaper used cars for those willing to do the work ...it evens out I guess . I dig that Scoobie R1 .

My dad still drives a '91 Pontiac Grand Am LE four-door I got in '95 for $5k.

[SVOboy]

Don't think kei cars will ever sell in the US again. Is the top speed still limited at 110km/h?

[MnFocus]

The Mazda Demio (aka '2' ) is due out on showroom floors as an 08 model .As is the Ford Fiesta in 09 . Not quite for sure if Fiestas are considered kei cars though - they do sort of fit the mold .

[ma4t]

I was a little surprised that wiki article didn't mention the Suzuki Cappuccino. So I'll mention it here:
http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/nob-t/english/mikuni.jpg
http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/nob-t/english/capp_e.html

Yes, the great advantage of these little guys (K-cars) is that they get great FE and the road taxes and insurance rates are lower.

m

[MnFocus]

That's a sweet lil putzer ! I've heard of it ,but hadn't seen it . Thank you .

[repete86]

I hope that it's true. I would love to be able to buy something like that.

[SVOboy]

I think we should all remember Dax's drive home in the Beat when we think about the practicality of kei-cars for most of us...on US highways these things will be turning 4-6k rpm...They'd prolly need a redesign before coming to market and would lose and FE and fun. But here I am being pessimistic.

[cfg83]

Hello -

Mazda 2 in 2008? Coolio.

It won't reach Europe or USA anytime soon (or ever), but "Tata Motors" of India wants to make a ~$2500 microcar.

India readies world's cheapest car: $2,467
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Extra/IndiaReadiesWorldsCheapestCar.aspx

The Tata Motors Rs. One Lakh car story
http://www.dancewithshadows.com/one_lakh_car.asp

Tata Motors
http://www.iloveindia.com/cars/tata-motors/index.html

PS : 100,000 Rupees => $2,454

CarloSW2

[brucepick]

Volvo "brick" driver here wants some significant protective steel.
You can have all the airbags you want; I like a nice strong steel cage designed specifically for occupant protection.

However our next vehicle purchase may well be lower in weight than these 3000 lb. cars. And most likely a standard tranny!

[88HF]

If it was going to rev 5-6,000 on the interstate they could just use a motorcycle engine, I'm sure this isn't the issue. As for dragging around a jail cell (iron cage) with you everywhere, if we invested more in NASA and stopped cutting their budget in half every year, (thanks W), I'm sure we could find something more liberating than steel, more practical than glass and carbon fibers, and lighter than aramids.

[MnFocus]

We could just cut the NASA budget completely and use the money right here and solve a few or many problems too . or Just let Bruce drive the car he wants and hypermile it to prove it can be done . Kind of similar huh ? Space travel and exploration vs hypermiling a brick ...Einstein was right - its *all* relative

[SVOboy]

The problem isn't that the engine can't run that high (They might as well be motorcycle engines, what's the beat rev to, 9k?), it's that you'll get bad fuel economy on the highway with their supershort gearing.