Bad News for Oil Prices and the Climate - The World's Cheapest Car Debuts in India

America's current policy to deal with oil depency - become more efficient. That's code for 'allow use to use energy more cheaply and easily'. This means that more people (users) will then be able to use/consume energy at these cheap/efficient levels. No one is talking about disincentivising the use of energy - using tariffs, taxes etc. Anything to stimulate demand. But the problem is demand (and supply). Demand we can make a choice to change but apparently we are too important and too clever to do that.

clipped from www.time.com Tata Motors engineers developed the Nano by redesigning every component to minimize cost and weight, while trying to maintain performance and comfort. To see how well they accomplished their mission, I was offered the chance to drive a Nano on a test track at Tata Motors' main plant in the western Indian city of Pune. (See the 10 things you should know about the Nano.) The first thing you notice is that the dashboard holds just two gauges: speedometer and fuel level. This is the basic model, and it's stripped down to the bare essentials. But driving the car is surprisingly easy. The gearshift is smooth, the car accelerates adequately and you never feel cramped or low to the ground. The Nano doesn't feel like a cheap, lightweight car that's going to tip over with the first sudden turn.