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Article: The $2,500 car: exactly a century after Henry Ford introduced the Model T, Tata Motors of India is set to launch a new people's car, writes Ralph Kinney Bennett. Is another revolution ahead?(AUTOMOBILITY)
- Article from:
- The American (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
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The automotive world is abuzz about what might be the next Model T Ford or Volkswagen Beetle--an entry-level sedan to be built in India by Tata Motors Ltd. for about $2,500.
That would be about half the cost of the lowest-priced car now available in India--the bare-bones Maruti 800, which is essentially unchanged from its introduction in 1983. If Tata pulls this off, it would be one of the cheapest cars ever built, and it could have a huge impact not only on India's growing car market but also all over the semideveloped world.
Tara hopes to begin selling the car by this fall, almost exactly 100 years after Henry Ford introduced the vehicle that defined ...