Tata Motors Nano – World’s Cheapest Car!

Posted on January 10, 2008
Filed Under Economy, Technology | Leave a Comment

Would you drive one?

Just unveiled at the Delhi Auto Expo by the Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors Ltd  is the “Nano” – the world’s cheapest car.

Touted as the means of bringing car ownership to millions, it is aimed at the country’s 65 million scooter riders who are currently unable to afford a car.

According to reports, the four-seater Nano will have a dealer price of 100,000 rupees ($2,500), and will go on sale later this year. This is less than half the cost of India’s cheapest car, the Maruti 800.

Tata Nano CarThe car has rear-wheel drive, an all-aluminum body, and a rear-mounted 660cc engine with fuel injection, that delivers 33 bhp. It will get 60 miles per gallon, has a top speed of 75mph, and takes 21 seconds to get from 0 to 60mph.

It has a roomy passenger compartment with generous legroom, and has room for one suitcase in the front luggage compartment.

During the unveiling, Chairman Ratan Tata said “let me assure you and our critics the car we have designed will meet all safety norms and all foreign environmental criteria”.

But here are some more specifics before you decide…  continue reading….

Quitting Smoking Again – Week 10: A New Year

Posted on January 3, 2008
Filed Under Healthy Living, Humor, Quit Smoking | Leave a Comment

What’s really cool at this new year is I’ve now got about 10 weeks – 2 ½ months worth of success behind my goal of being a non-smoker by 2008. I can’t say my New Years resolution was to quit smoking, but having blown that resolution so many times before, I’m definitely feeling good at having finally succeeded.

I’m also feeling really good physically. My energy level is way higher, and the chest pains and tightness seem to be a thing of the past. It’s been at least a month since I felt any.

quit smokingAt this point I’ve got every expectation of remaining a non-smoker for life. That may sound over-confident after just 10 weeks, but another significant milestone is that I really don’t think about “not smoking” that much anymore.

Oh sure once in a while, but mostly not. And yes I will on occasion be edgy or even irritable, but those times are fewer and less pronounced. Again, my family has been great and most supportive. They’ve figured out what “irrational irritability” looks like and pretty much just ignore me when it happens.

And that’s a good thing – actually the best thing to do with anyone quitting smoking is to be outwardly supportive, but mostly ignore them. When I first quit, these times would happen maybe every other day on average, and now it’s like every other week. They’re always short-lived, and nothing serious, just weird.

On a more philosophical note, I’ve started to wonder if smokers are really just closet grouches who’ve hidden the fact by staying sedated with nicotine. Having smoked since my teens, it’s near impossible to know what’s normal, but I suspect maybe I’ve always been grouchy, and never really knew just how much.

Of course everyone appears grouchy when they quit smoking, it’s a well-documented fact. But suppose that all us smokers are really just curmudgeons who’ve been sedated all this time. Now when we quit, the world will see the real us.

Hmmm….

Next quit smoking post: Week 16
Previous quit smoking post: Week 6

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