we came to know about a Rs. One lakh car. The car will transport four people, and is supposed to be a bridge between two-wheelers and cars. Only, this wasn’t Ratan Tata’s famous people’s car.

The Sitara, the four-seater car in question is hardly a car. It wasn’t made in India either. Launched by Habib Motors in Pakistan, this is a bare-bones four-wheeler. Sporting a 175 cc engine, the Sitara is an open top city-cart. The car runs on petrol, has a 10-litre fuel tank and a four speed manual transmission. It can achieve a top speed of 60 kmph.

We can be almost sure Tata’s proposed Rs 1 lakh car will not look anything like this. It will be a no-frills car, yes, but it definitely will not look like a cart, or a four-wheeler autoriskshaw. This is not to take away anything from Habib Motor’s heroic attempt. Maybe it is not a proper car or a microcar, but perhaps there is a market in Pakistan for a rickshaw-scooter-cart crossover. I have no clue. Look at it as a four-wheeled motorcycle or scooter, and perhaps all those who have attached sidecars to their scooters and travel with an entire nuclear family in it in India could buy it.