Remember that uber-cheap, almost entirely plastic car that India's Tata Motors was working up? Turns out, the still codenamed 1-Lakh automobile is expected to launch in mid-2008 and get around 25 km per litre on petrol, which should give the Maruti 800 some serious competition in the budget car arena. Tata would be showcasing this car at the Auto Expo next month.

According to R. A. Mashelkar, a nonexecutive director on Tata Motors' board, it should provide ample room in "both the front and rear" for a six-foot individual, and he also noted that a "new kind of welding" would be used instead of bolts in a variety of locations on the motorcar.

Still, there's just something about the idea of riding in a brand new $2,500 vehicle that doesn't sit well with us -- probably something to do with the dearth of safety features, but who knows.