Small. It’s The New Big.

Poor countries are getting rich, gas costs are rising and our planet is heating up. The result: a new breed of 21st-century cars that are cooler, cheaper and more compact than ever.

When gas prices shot up last summer, Millie Richardson had had it with her minivan. So the Lawrenceville, New Jersey, mom traded in her Dodge Caravan for a $17,000 Nissan Versa, a subcompact car that gets more than 30 miles per gallon. Richardson, 55, likes spending less at the pump, but she's most excited about how roomy her little car is. "My son is 6 foot 6, and he drove it," she marvels. "So it's small, but it's big—does that make sense?" What makes even more sense to Richardson, though, is this $2,500 car she's heard about that was introduced in India last month: the Tata Nano. Though there are no plans yet to bring it to America, Richardson is ready when they do. "Oh, boy, would I ever love to drive one," she says. "I would look at it as a disposable car. We have so many things in our lives now that are disposable—why not disposable cars? It would be so cheap, you could always afford a new one."

http://www.newsweek.com/id/112729

There's something inherently wrong with that way of thinking...

Smaller, more efficient cars are a good idea, considering that most of us (Americans and Puertoricans) drive everywhere alone in the car or with one passenger. Most of us don't need a Ford Excursion except for our dilusions of power and safety.

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That is scary that the few people that actually are buying cars for mileage consider these smaller cars "disposable." I can't say though that I know more than 3 people (my parents, myself, and my old boss) who have bought a car for the sake of fuel economy over the last few years. In fact, everyone else I know who has bought a car has cut their fuel economy more than in half!

I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler that I've modified to fit my needs (civil engineer) and I'm geting 16 mpg. I'm not about to change my Jeep for a more fuel efficient car. I will, however, buy a more fuel efficient car and still have my Jeep. I believe neither my Jeep or any other car are disposable.

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The Nano will never be allowed on US roads.
the safety that goes with the inexpensive car
would be lacking too.

The NAno would be basically a disposable car, and thats not a bad thing, as long as they recycle the parts. Its like lawn mowers, you do minor maintence and then throw them away when they finally quit.
Repairing them costs more then buying a new one.

Personally I get 38-40 mpg in my 9 yr old car. We will be buying a 1/2-3/4 ton truck soon, due to owning a horse. But we ae keeping our fuel efficient cars to go to work in.

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If this economy hasn’t rebounded in three years, I’m a one-termer.
B.H.O.

Alinski's rules for the radical.

Words of wisdom:
You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.