1/23/2007

Toyota eyes ultra-low-cost car
MarketWatch, 11:41 PM ET Jan 21, 2007, TOKYO –Toyota the world’s second largest car maker by sales, is working on a radically different approach to car design, development and manufacturing in an attempt to come up with an ultra-low-cost car, according to its president… Katsuaki Watanabe, in an interview…. “Everything form design to production methods will be radically changed and we are thinking of a really ultra-low-cost way of designing, using ultra-low-cost materials, even developing new materials if necessary.”…more...

I’ve thought about the need for low-cost eco-cars for a long time. You see I restore old cars—62 Cadillac, 76 MGB, 72 280Z—and build race karts. I always marvel at the fact that a brand-new from the factory “crate” motor cost less than $3,000, but a new car always seems to cost more than $12,000. I’ve built a racing kart for less $1,500 with more horsepower than my first Volkswagen. I keep on thinking that my silly go-kart is a faster and more economical than any automobile on the road. Starting with a blank sheet of paper, I could see how an ultra-low-cost car could be made of simple off-the-shelf parts. I hope Toyota’s ultra-low-cost car has tabula rasa approach and offers an under $3,000 car.