$100 laptop, $2500 car - what's next

I hope the $2500 car by Tata will not be called or branded as the Tata car. Why ? Well, if you do not know, "Tata" sometimes means "Bye bye"as a way of waving informal goodbye. Hmmm...that's not an auspicious name to use for a newly launched product, in Mandarin/dialect terms.














(Courtesy: New York Times)

Why can this be made so cheap? Besides cutting down on engineering and labor costs, this car is kept to the basics - no radio, no power steering, a dated rear suspension design, and many more of without "this" and no "thats". With such a minimal designed and minimally constructed car, I started to ponder if this looks like a scooter with just a body and shell. Then it would not sound cheap anymore. Plus, will it be reliable and safe ?

$100 laptop, $2500 car - what's next? A $5000 luxury bungalow? :P