The Tata Nano is a no-frills car, but one of the more well-equipped, pricier versions of the Tata Nano will feature dual front airbags. And with luck, they’ll only increase the cost of the car by a minimum. Autoliv IFB India on the request of Tata is trying to develop a US$10 airbag for the Tata Nano, less than 10 times the price of airbags in other compact cars which cost around US$150 per airbag.
Swedish-American company Autoliv currently supplies 28% of the world’s airbags. In our market, an Autoliv joint venture with a Japanese company called Autoliv Hirotako Sdn Bhd supplies airbags for Proton, and the upcoming Perodua MPV.
Given that even these normally priced airbags sometimes do not work completely as intended and may end up injuring or killing occupants rather than saving them, are US$10 airbags really safe to use?
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These days buyers wouldn’t mind paying more for upgraded version of certain model (be it japanese, m’sian or other makes) for their airbags, abs, leather seats. ABS and leather sure we can see and feel it but for air-bags how can one be sure wether it’ll work.
Airbags offered are just to meet certain laws.
If you hit somethign hard enough to expect the airbag to save you, the rest of the chassis would have probably crushed you. Especially in a car that small (as in 0 crumple zone).
Airbags that injure people are because of lazy ass americans that dont bother to belt up. They were forced to make airbags deploy faster and harder to protect unbelted people….which unfortunately sometimes hurt “smaller” people….hence now all the new “scd gen airbags”..
If you dont belt up, airbag will do squat.
I have to applaud Tata for trying tough.
most of car manufacturers put in airbaga just becoz of the presure from law and regulation of the countries the cars exported to. If you wanna sell cars in America, like it or not you have to install Airbag.
So, I think the effort of Tata putting air bag is good, but ultimately, I suppose Tata want to expand its market to wider consumers and more countries.
Wow $10 airbag???
Really admire that Ratan Tata.
there is an interesting perspective to look at. If even US$150 airbags dont work properly sometimes as Paul said, then i would be happier if a US$10 airbag similarly failed, or even better the US$10 airbag does what the expensive one couldnt. Btw, the Nano, has some parts supplied by Caparo, the guys who make the Caparo T1 (If anybody doesnt know what that is they shouldnt be commenting here). At least they promise to make an affordable car and deliver, unlike some budget car makers who expect us to suddenly spend 90k on a CBU import.
this four wheel thingy looks funny… i wonder will the small little cute cute wheels will sustain the potholes of malaysian roads if it makes its way here…
Sorry guys, there’s a basic level of equipment and safety that people demand. The base Tata Nano has no AC, brake servos(!!) or even meet US/EURO safety standards. The seats don’t even recline for crying out loud…
Want a cheap car? Get a USED car.
That’s why Suzuki won’t do a one lakh car…
10$ dollar airbag aye……Proton n Perodua should consider applying it to all of their variants …bet it wouldnt incur much cost..it could be a win2 situation for both the consumers whom always looking into all these safety features, regardless whether its an entry level model …and to the manufacturers it could definitely gives that extra advantage for considering that extra measure..in terms of sale…
the reason why this nano has no ‘this,that’ is bcos Tata built this car to replace bikes/those who cant afford a car.and bcos of that, they aimed to build the cheapest car as well..
yes i agree its not a safe car but its better than riding a bike rite, and this is definately a city car.for short trips maybe to tuition/college/shops/etc.not for highway use for sure.
they can put a better airbag if they want to.i mean after all, tata has been making commercial vehicles,like the Tata Novus is the best selling commercial in south korea,but then again this was built to be the cheapest car.hehe
Having a US$10 airbag is good. It may lead to other car maker to adopt it as well. But I wonder will the airbag suddenly deployed even without hitting anything? Doubt on it’s quality for being such a huge cut on it’s cost.
USD 10 for an air bag? I don’t think that safe enough for the driver. But hei, if we can get USD 10 for air bag here. I’ll bet many driver would install one. Cause it cheap
As I mentioned in the vios forum,I had a patient last week who had a fractured sternum when his nissan sentra airbag deployed after a collision with another car which did not have airbags. The other occupant only had minor injuries.So airbags can also do harm as well as save lives. I don’t think all airbags are created equal.
very safe…
Not all Airbags provide that SRS feature, some can do lots of damage may even kill when it deploys with such force.
I would rather go for the Airbagless model…
I don’t think it makes any difference having airbags in that kind of car. Looks like its going to crumple anyway. Having a cushion before you hit the steering is not nice. Also, it may never come out, or too sensitive and pops up immediately
wow…US$10 airbags…just scared if moment before any unwanted incidents occur,the driver already start to say “tata….”…..
i thought the car cost $10. ha!
OMG, hopefully they are not using Carrefour plastic bags as the airbags….
to save cost
tata nano will make airballon instead of airbag~~
like they replace wielding with super glue to built a car…
reli sound crazy~~
i m not crapping bout “Super strong glue keeps the car together instead of traditional welding techniques”
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/worlds-cheapest-car1.htm
This is a good news. Safety come first. I hope it will not be just an inflated paper bag in the steering. Even Perodua and proton can adopt this technology if it is price wise.
azrai,
as u said.. “Safety come First”… not price… history showed that cheap products normally failed to do what it supposed to do…
Airbags work best only if the vehicle’s crash performance was designed from the get-go to include them. At its core its all about the chassis’ ability to properly absorb and dissipate impact energy, and the airbags ability to deploy at a certain velocity and timing to cushion the head. Look at the Smart fortwo for example.
You cannot just retro fit an airbag into any vehicle, therefore they can put in 50 airbags into the Nano but unless its body was designed with an airbag in mind…its gonna do bugger all. However, still applaud Tata for at least trying, and perhaps the 10 buck airbag was designed to work perfectly in a crash at 20km/h…who knows…or it could be a reuseale item which doubles as a pillow when you’re feeling sleepy at the wheel.
You don’t need airbags when your car been flatten by a truck..
the airbag is useless for this kind of car..
mitlanevo said,
May 28, 2008 @ 12:36 am
OMG, hopefully they are not using Carrefour plastic bags as the airbags….
——————————————
They will use belon as the airbags
Airbag or just a plastic bag?
USD 10? well.. there’s enough died human skin on the india street..
scary huh!?
agreed.. nonsense of use for the soft body car like this.. What airbag if the body you can kick to break it!?
mitlanevo said,
May 28, 2008 @ 12:36 am
OMG, hopefully they are not using Carrefour plastic bags as the airbags….
————————————-
nope, its the ones you find littered on the streets of calcutta
i think its a marketing gimmick.. or probably an attempt to disguise the fact that this car is potentially dangerous in any form of accident.
but still i agree.. if its for the low income grp, who would normally not be able to afford a car to upgrade from motorbikes, its still a lot better than riding a bike. it works for the market it was intended for, and thats india. I seriously doubt it will work elsewhere.
as for the USD10 airbag… most of you forget that it doesn’t even exist yet.. its only a concept on paper.
Tata has basically told autoliv, we want airbags for the nano, and will not pay more than USD10 for it. it remains to be seen if they can, or will even try to bother doing it.
lets also not forget that to have effective use of airbags, you will not only need seatbelts, but seatbelts with pre-tensioners fitted. and you need to use them of course.
so cheap? possible anot?
sekali airbag is “supplied inhouse” aka homemade, using pillowcase, rubber, foam and sponge.
LOL.
We Malaysians are very accommodating.
Paul, how can a “cheap” car have two air bags? Why do we accept the m-end new saga with only one air bag? Is the “co-pilot”‘s life less precious?
In view of the high rate of accidents and fatalities, the government and agencies must not compromise on safety. All l, m and h end models must have the basic safety features such as dual air bags, abs + edb brakes, side reiforcement, no more MILOW tins, etc.
At least they view safety seriously.
Look at the Saga: even the ML model has only one airbag. Is the “co-pilot”‘s life less precious?
How can we accept this sitting down.
The gov and agencies know the accident rates and death rates are rising day by day. There shall be no compromise on basic safety. All cars shall be with minimum dual airbags and ABS&EDB braking system. Talking of back row safety car seat belts. What about seat belts for buses. Passengers getting thrown out stand zero chance of survival.
Let’s be reasonable here. Incidents of people receiving burns from airbags are about as common of incidents of people receiving cuts and abrasions from seatbelts. No technology is perfect.
The fact of the matter is, airbags prevent far more injuries and deaths than they cause. If Tata can have one of its suppliers produce a $10 airbag (and, considering they’ve already proven they can build a 1 lahk car), then that’d be a true engineering feat.
sunny_10 said,
May 29, 2008 @ 1:52 am
Malaysians need laws to wear seatbelts, let alone airbags? As the saying goes, one should “learn to crawl before they run”. In more civilised countries, they dun need laws and duit kopi to buckle up.
Airbags? Sure, it’s nice, but without seatbelts, it makes no different having it or not having it.
Glad to hear in the paper after a lorry and a bus plunged of the highways and into ravines this week, the the gov is “planning” to have seat belts for bus passengers. It is high time. But should not this have been earlier. When we talk of human lives lost we must not say “better late than never”.
One former minister was quoted in the papers as saying add one more layer of barrier and the buses would be stopped. The papers showed the double layer, why then the bus went off the highway?
I have seen cable pre-stressed barriers being tested on some stretches of roads. If this is any good why not replace all the existing barriers.