A good new car for $2500, is that possible?

One of ideas I had about my blog is not only to write how I am doing but also to share new things that I learn here in my studies. And recently I had a lecture from Tata Motors about technology transfer. The speaker had really good presentation skills and therefore I decided to analyse a bit how good is the cheapest car in the world.

But about everything in order.

What is Tata Motors?
- India`s largest fully integrated automotive company
- World`s second largest heavy bus manufacturer
- The most popular model Tata Indica had 1 milion models sold in November 2007.
- Owner of Jaguar-Land Rover in Europe.

What is Tata Nano?
Tata Nano is a car that was launched in Mumbai on March 23, 2009. The car was priced of at 130,000 indian rupees or $2500 and is the cheapest new car sold in the world. The car is really tiny, just 3099 mm long and weighs 600 kg. For example my old car Renault Scenic weighed 1400 kg, more than two times more!

What`s the car specifications?

The car has a 2 cylinder, 624 cc engine. It has 35 horse powers and can reach 105 km/h speed. So definitely this car is only for driving in the city. Of course for people living in huge metro areas it makes sense to have this as there is no place to go more than 100 km/h anyway. In my opinion for $2500 these specifications really are worth attention. Just to compare with another city car Smart (produced by Daimler) Tata Nano has only a little bit less power and is 7 times cheaper!

The car is so cheap, maybe it is made of cheap unreliable parts?

To my surprise, the suppliers of many parts for manufacture of Tata Nano are qualitative image companies from Europe and USA. For example Bosch is supplier of the diesel injection pump and Delphi made the instrument cluster. Of course, this does not mean that the suppliers did not use cheapest possible materials, but still I believe that these names give some sort of quality guarantee.

Do people buy it?
In first year there have been sold 60 000 units. But the car has been introduced only in India yet. The introduction of Tata Nano to European markets is planned to happen in 2011.

Why do people buy it?
According to survey in India the main factor to buy Tata Nano, was that price was the same as for the bike, but driving a car would enhance persons social status. Thinking in European reality most probably people would buy it because driving a car and not public transport also enhances one`s social status. The second most popular answer was a suggestion from friends and the third one - the maintenance cost is really low.

Ok, but still there has to be something wrong with this car...
Well, I did a small analysis. The main complaints regarding driving comfort was that Tata Nano is more accident prone, it is uncomfortable car. I have a feeling these complaints are true cause the smaller the car - the more likely it is to be missed by some careless driver and the less space there is for a person.

Regarding the performance the main complaints were that pick up is not effective and engine is not powerful enough. Interesting fact - I could not find in official Tata website any information how fast the car is gaining speed, so this serves as some kind answer for these complaints, it probably takes quite a while to gain 60 km/h or even much longer to get 100 km/h.

Would I buy it?
For me personally - probably not. A tall guy like would look quite interesting in such a car I think. Even though the car looks high enough for my head, I am really concerned how much space is there for my legs. If there is enough - I would consider buying it, but only as a second car, which I use only for city travelling. On the other hand if you are searching for a small car for your daughter/wife - seems to be quite a good option.

But for now - I`ll just have to use the bus.

Welcome!

First of all, welcome to the blog! 

It took quite a while for me to make the decision to start a blog but here it comes! Also big thanks for Andrius for the reminder for me to do it!

So, one more time welcome, I hope you will enjoy to read about my observations, adventures and happenings in UK and maybe somewhere else around the world.

Leaving to UK

The leaving process was not easy at all. Firstly, it was marked with the bankruptcy of the Lithuanian Star 1 airlines. As a result, 3 days before my flight I had to search for a new ticket and Ryanair flight to Bristol saved my day.

This was my first flight with Ryanair and from Kaunas and according to rumours I was expecting the worst like drunk guys sitting next to me and all that stuff. However, in reality nothing like that happened the flight was completely normal, stewardesses were nice and people were polite.

On the other hand, it was really weird for me to observe people in the airport standing by the gate for 1,5 hours before the flight and not just sitting down and relaxing. Is the seat next to the window really worth it?

Welcome to UK


I got a welcome message from UK in the first minute from landing I believe. After passing passport I was approached by a customs officer. The dialogue went like this:
- Hello sir
- Hi
- Where are you from?
- Lithuania
- Please come this way to the room
- Why?
- I would like to scan your luggage...
(Scans my luggage)
Sir, do you have any alcohol or cigarettes?
- You just scanned my luggage.... I have only clothes
- All right, thank you very much for your cooperation.

So, I was left thinking what caused the concern for the officer. My age? My country? Or a combination of both?

Anyway, the rest of Welcome to UK part was really good, the English people are extremely friendly and for a newcomer to feel comfortable there is really easy. So, let`s move to the last welcome part.


Welcome to University of Warwick

And the welcome from University was really well prepared. The first week is orientation week for international students to get used to studying in UK. From the moment I entered University I was sucked into massive load of events and opportunities.


On the orientation week we did all kinds of stuff.:
- There was a fun part (Climbing sessions, Parties each night on different topic like african dances night, latin dances night and so on)
- There was informative stuff about life in UK ( Preparation for cultural shock, trip to Oxford, Trip to Coventry, University campus tour)
- Help to settle in UK (Session about which bank to choose, health centre registration)
- Preparation for studies (study skills sessions)

In general my first experiences of Warwick were really positive. I really expected less from the welcome part from University and I was really satisfied. I know, I know you will ask how are the studies? Well, this I will tell you a little bit later.

Don't worry this is just the welcome part about the life in UK and University, Stay tuned for more, posts  and qualitative ones are coming soon!