Maya2001
Posts: 1656
Joined: 8/22/2007
From: Woodstock ONT,CANADA
Status: offline
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You may not have road rage driving one, you just better hope the other person you meet on the road is also driving one and can understand when you stepped on the brakes on a slippery road that you purposely was not trying to cut them off due to having only having 3 brakes when you crossed into their path. And if you think safety is not going to be a problem, many of the GM crash tests are done at 30 mph per hour at their testing facility in Michigan, with the vehicles than often sent back to the manufacturer along with videos and reports, we make SUV's here and the damage can be pretty bad, and that is with heavier steel than used in small cars, I would not even want to imagine the results that would occur in a Tata when you start taking out safety features like crash beams and airbags, bumper shocks , one less brake etc, is loss of life going to be worth the saving.
And when you quote prices, don't campare apples to oranges , you cannot compare a Tata to the price of a full sized SUV compare it to an AVEO that is $10K but which will likely last you 5 years with no major repairs and will still have a resale value after that time but still has all the safety features built it in. Which becomes cheaper and better deal??? the Tata which is a piece of junk after one year and is a moving casket on wheels or the 2008 base model Aveo that will last you probably 5 without having to sink money into and has 4 brakes precoated steel to prevent rust through, a stainless steel exhaust system so will last the 5 years, independent front struts and macpherson struts again will last 5 years, comes standard with a tire pressure monitor for safety and decent tires , an engine size that will allow you to reach highway speeds, front and side airbags, defoggers, child seat tether anchors, adjustable tilt steering, power outlets, 3 point safety belts in all seating positions, adjustable head rests in all seating positions, warranty 3 year bumper to bumper including free towing, 5 year on power train and 6 for corrosion., all stuff not likely won't get out of the Tata
Though the cost of the 2 maybe considerably different, the cost to own the Aveo will be cheaper over the say the 7 year lifespan, and even when replacement parts are needed the price for domestic parts are about a 1/3 of the price of foreign parts and that is where the Tata manufacturer will make their money on outrageously priced parts, which will be the cheap crap that will be lucky if they last a year.
My current vehicles are a 95 Aerostar extend version with 250,000km and a 98 GrandAm 200,00 km they are still quite reliable, the most expensive work done since paid off years ago was $2500 for redoing the suspension and tires on the Aerostar but I put in highend parts rather than econo parts outside of regular maintaince costs so I have over 5 years in with no payments and have 2 vehicles that still run with only $2500 put into them, owning one Tata would end up costing me far more , the Grand Am I will likely have to spend a $1000 on by summer, if I want to keep it running well and have functioning A/C which the Tata does not likely have, I will likely still get 3 years out of my vehicles with any major overhauls if I am lucky, not bad considering one is 9 years old and the other is 13 and I do highway commutes to work and have used the vehicles for dog rescue run and for business. One of the things I learned a while ago, you get what you pay for and buying cheap can cost you more in the long run and I would much rather put myself in debt to have a vehicle that will save me far more $s in the long run.
When I buy a vehicle the immediate cost is not the only factor I consider, I am looking at 10 year range of owning minimum, I do not buy econo cars because cost of insurance is higher for them so I find midsize works out to close to the same, plus the life expectancy of the vehicle is shorter because lighter duty parts need to be used inorder to keep the weight down, so the gas savings may not be worth it if you have to replace the vehicle more often, I like to have a period of no payments between buying cars, I buy a demo or 1 year lease vehicle because it knocks several thousand off the cost of new and combine with buying and extended warranty which can still be far less buying a lower class of car . I look at consumer reports to seem what problems are occuring before buying even after I have bought , first signs of problems, I work on getting the problem taken care of while still under warranty, with the GrandAm had all the engine seals replaced just before the warranty ended, which was something showing up in consumer reports which would have cost me $1200 if I had not taken care until the after the warranty ended and $600 worth of A/c work done, so I got my extended warranty costs back. I look at things like the popularity of the vehicle in the case of the GrandAm, because it means I can get salvage parts easily and inexpensively after my warranty runs out, which can save big $s in repair costs, the van was bought as my work horse and for its toughness and durability as the bigger vehicles have heavier duty parts, it proved itself last year when I hit a deer broadside head on last year at highway speed, I broke a headlight and crumpled the front drivers side corner a bit, total cost to repair outside of my time to hammer the metal back in place and replace the light was $25, for the bulbs, lens and headlight cowling from the wreckers and a can of spray paint, if I hit a deer at highway speed with a Tata I would lucky to be alive and the car would be a write off and because I would have to claim through insurance if I survived my future rates would go up and take 5 years to go off the record. I won't deny I have had my lemon vehicles, but they have become learning experiences to help learn how to reduce future risks, working in an auto plant seeing how cars go together including econo cars and seeing crash test results also make me more aware of the safety aspects. I doubt very much the Tata will ever sold in North America as I highly doubt it will ever meet the minimum guidelines for safety and emmission controls at least not at the price they are asking as it would need major upgrades to pass here, plus would destroy the economy here
Another reason they can build at that price
Tata is targeting a price of 100,000 rupees one lakh, in Indian terms of measurement or about $2,500 at current exchange rates, for its small car. That sounds impossibly cheap in the West but remains three times higher than India's annual per capita income. The average pay for factory workers at Tata Motors is just $5,500 a year
A one-lakh car is unlikely to be sold in the U.S. . But it wouldn't be aimed only at India, either, Ratan Tata says. Bottom-of-the-pyramid markets would be the best fit: places like Africa, Southeast Asia and maybe eastern Europe and Latin America, wherever income levels mirror India's.
The Tata is 50% of their yearly earnings, what percentage is a $10K Aveo compared to yours before you decide if you are truly being ripped off on the price of a economy car.
The tata company confiscated land from farmer to build their plant, so they got free land to build on expect less safety equipment in their plants in order to further cut costs, that mean here in North America fencing and guards must be placed around moving equipment to reduce chances of limb amputation or being stuck by or squashed, some of the chemicals used are highly toxic and require the companies the have waste water treatment within the plants, ventilation systems, respiratory masks for workers, and requires yearly medical tests on workers to ensure their health is not jeopardies in certain areas of the plant, in paint shops special suits are worn/required by workers to prevent burning from flash fires caused by static , In weld shop other protective garments are worn.required, safety glasses, hard hats and steeled toed may be required , here safety training is required to learn proper equipment lockout procedures, and handling of chemical and airbags, a lot of this will be part of cost cutting in India inorder to produce cars that cheap , because are disposable and there are plenty available to fill in any employment holes because jobs are scarce there. sure we could build cheaper vehicles here but what will it cost us in the long run , are you willing to roll back safety standard 50 years? are you willing to have child labor? are you willing to work long hours at minimum wage with no beneifits? Are you willing to give up you home and move into and share an apartment with 2 or 3 families and lose your privacy, are you willing to give up your welfare and unemployment programs, are you willing to live with increased pollution because enviromental concerns are put on the shelf? are you willing to put up much higher fuel costs than you currently have? Because these are the kind of costs one would have to pay here to have very cheap productions cars made here, because we cannot have our cake and eat it too. To have the quality of life we have in North America comes with cost, compared to most of the rest of the world we have it extremely good here, even at the current cost we are paying for our vehicles we still are far better off when income and cost ratios are considered.
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Lead me not into temptation - I can find the way myself
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RE: Dear GM, BLOW me! CAFE standards - 
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