The world’s cheapest car?

It’s possible that some people would pay more for car insurance than it would cost to buy this car. Tata Motors, an Indian automaker, is planning to introduce the world’s cheapest car to the United States in three years or so. Called the Tata Nano, it went on sale in India last year for $2,200. But would Americans buy it?

To make it cheap, the automaker had to make certain compromises. First off, it’s tiny. It has just one windshield wiper. No air conditioning. It has a driver’s side mirror but none on the passenger side and its top speed is 65 miles per hour.

It supposedly passed safety crash tests in Europe, but I have to wonder how it well it would do in a faceoff with a Hummer or, well, an Accord.

In addition, some people speculate that that the Nano faces a price hike in the United States because it will have to be redesigned to meet American emissions and safety standards. By the time that happens, it could end up costing around $8,000.

Considering our country’s present-day economic status, that’s still a great price for a brand new car. Plus, it reportedly gets 50 miles per gallon on the highway. Would you buy one?