The world's 10 cheapest cars

Car makers across the world have been manufacturing cheaper cars to woo more buyers.

India, a booming market for passenger cars, manufactures 4 of the world's cheapest cars.

Check out 10 cars you can buy for $3000-$10,000, according to the Top 10 List.

Tata Nano

The world's cheapest car, Tata Nano is rear-engined, a four-passenger city car from the Tata Motors family.

Though it was billed as the Rs 1 lakh car, the price has risen with the increase in material costs. 

Around 8,707 units of the Nano were sold in March 2011.

Price: $3056.

Specs:

Top speed:105 kmph 
Rear-wheel drive 
2-cylinder, 624 cc, 33 bhp 
Multi point fuel injection petrol engine. 
Length: 3100 mm 
Height: 1600 mm 
Width: 1500 mm







The Chery QQ is manufactured by the Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile since 2003.

In 2006, the car was renamed the Chery QQ3 in China, when Chery launched their new supermini, the Chery QQ6.

Being similar to Daewoo's Matiz, Chery QQ faced several trademark issues. Chery QQ won the title of the 'Best Chinese Brand in 2010'.

Price: $4,781.

Chery QQ specs

Body style: 5-door hatchback
 Transmission: 5-speed manual EZ-drive 
Semi-automatic transmission 
Wheelbase 2,340 mm (92.1 in) 
Length: 3,550 mm (139.8 in) 
Width: 1,495 mm (58.9 in) 
Height: 1,485 mm (58.5 in)





Maruti Suzuki 800

Maruti 800 has remained one of the best selling models from Maruti Suzuki in India. Till 2004, Maruti 800 was the India's largest selling compact car

Over 2.9 million Maruti 800 cars have been sold since its launch in 1984.

However, Maruti 800, will not be available in 13 Indian cities that have switched to the Bharat Stage IV (BS IV) emission norms. The car, which was once the prized possession of millions will soon be completely phased out.

Price: $4,994

Specs:

Body style: 5-door hatchback 
Engine: 796 cc 
Transmission: 4 or 5 speed manual 
Wheelbase: 2,175 mm (85.6 in) 
Length: 3,335 mm (131.3 in) 
Width: 1,440 mm (56.7 in)





Geely MR

A subcompact car produced by Chinese automaker Geely Automobile since May 2000. The Merrie is a five-door hatchback that looks like a sedan.

Price: $5,500

Specs:

Body style: 5-door hatchback
4-door sedan
Engine: 1.3 L/1.5 L, 4 Cylinder, DOHC, MPI, 16 Valves
Wheelbase: 2,340 mm (92.1 in)
Length: 3,825 mm (150.6 in)
Width: 1,670 mm (65.7 in)
Height: 1,386 mm (54.6 in)

Geely HQ SRC

Another car from Geely Automobile, the Geely HQ SRC is built on the platform of Daihatsu Charade (1980 model).

Price: at $5,780

Specs:
 5-seater hatchback (liftback) sedan
Petrol (gasoline) 4-cylinder 16-valve straight (inline) engine

Chery A-1

The Chery A1 is a 5-door compact car manufactured by Chery Automobile.

It is available in three models: standard, comfortable and luxury.

Price: $7,340

Specs:

Length:  3700 mm
Width: 1578 mm
Height: 1527 mm 
Wheelbase (mm): 2390 
Engine litres (cc): 1297

ata Indica

Yet another car from Tata Motors, Tata Indica is India's first indigenously developed passenger car.

Indica sales stood at 6,937 vehicles in March, lower by 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Price: $8,500

Specs:

Length: 3,690 mm (145 in)
Base: 3,675 mm (144.7 in)
Width: 1,665 mm (65.6 in)
Top version: 1,485 mm (58.5 in)
Height: 1,485 mm (58.5 in)

Hyundai i10

Manufactured at Hyundai's Chennai plant, the car was launched on 31 October 2007.

Hyundai recently launched i10 Electric in Delhi Auto Expo and is expected to be available in India by 2011.

Price: $9,096

Specs:
Body style 5-door hatchback 
Engine 1.1L Epsilon I4 petrol
1.2L Kappa I4 petrol
1.1L CRDI VGT U-Line I3 diesel 
Transmission: 5-speed manual
4-speed automatic

Wheelbase: 2,380 mm (93.7 in)
Length: 3,565 mm (140.4 in)
Width: 1,595 mm (62.8 in)
Height: 1,550 mm (61.0 in)

Fiat Palio

The Fiat Palio is one of the best selling models from the company.  The car is aimed at developing countries.

The Palio platform is also used to produce Fiat Siena sedan, Fiat Palio Weekend station wagon, Fiat Palio Adventure SUV Crossover and Fiat Strada pickup truck.

It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, India, Turkey, South Africa and China.

Price: $9,242

Specs:Length: 3827 mm
Width:  1620 mm
Height: 1440 mm
Wheelbase: 2373 mm
Ground clearance: 170 mm
Weight (kgs) 990

Renault Logan

Launched in September 2004, the Dacia Logan is a car produced jointly by the French manufacturer Renault and its subsidiary Dacia of Romania.

It is manufactured at Dacia's automobile plant in Mioveni, Romania, in Colombia, Brazil, Russia, Morocco, Iran, India and South Africa.

Price: $9,477

Specs:
Type: 4 cylinder ,8 valve 4 cylinder ,8 valve 4 cylinder ,8 valve
Displacement: 1390
Max. Power (hp/rpm): 75/5500
Max. Torque: (nm/rpm 110/3000
Length: 4247 (mm)
Width: 1740 (mm)
Height: 1534 (mm)
Wheel Base: 2630 (mm)

Don’t make these 5 business plan mistakes

Every year, the team here at Palo Alto Software looks forward to judging business plans for several prestigious collegiate business plan competitions. We all read multiple entries and then gather and talk about what makes a great plan and choose a winner.

We also get to see the mistakes that ultimately cost people prizes in competitions… mistakes that get made in real-world business plans and end up costing would-be business owners the loans or investment they need.

Tim Berry has written extensively about common business plan mistakes,  and in fact he wrote an entire blog series detailing the Top 10 business planning mistakes to avoid. He now travels the country talking about this very topic. So click any of the links in this paragraph for his expert take on the red flags you definitely want to avoid.

For a different perspective, here are some things that our group of judges has seen in plans over the years. These might seem minor, compared to ridiculous projections or other major cash flow problems, but they’re still  issues that have prevented us from awarding countless entries our “best written business plan award.” When you submit your plan to the bank or investors, they might not be looking for the best written plan, but you can be sure that making the mistakes below is going to hurt your chances.

Typos. As one judge said “It seems a shame to spend countless hours on a sound idea that could result in solid business, only to have your idea overshadowed by misspelled words, inconsistent formatting, and poor grammar.” This should really go without saying, but whether you’re entering a competition, going to the bank for funding, or presenting to investors, please have somebody read over your plan to eliminate any of these avoidable, distracting mistakes. They’re unprofessional and signal a lack of attention to detail, and when an investor has a stack of plans to read, that could be all he or she needs to see to make the decision to pass your business over.

Iffy management team. The quality of the management team is always a key factor for judges. As one judge asked “Has anyone ever run an organization before? Does the team have good coverage (or a good plan to get coverage) of the major functional areas of their company?” It’s important to note that if the management team seems weak in some areas, including a plan to bolster it is better than simply glossing over the weakness.

Ignoring sales and marketing. Especially in business plans related to inventions or bio-tech, sales and marketing tend to not get the attention they deserve. “Too often the writers just wave their hands on sales and marketing, as if it will just happen because they have a good product idea. This is often reflected in the financials, where little or no money is allotted to sales and marketing activities,” says one of our judges. We see it in multiple plans every year, so we know it’s a common problem. Rest assured, anyone reading your business plan is going to want to know how you plan to market and sell your product, and that  you recognize the costs that will be associated with those efforts.

Not addressing the competition or other obvious hurdles. There’s no such thing as a business with no competition. So if you either don’t address the competition, say there isn’t any, or simply write the competition off, you’re showing investors you might not have a firm grip on the landscape in which you’re starting your business. Similarly, if you do address areas that may challenge your company, be sure to talk about how you’ll mitigate the risks. Acknowledging threats gets you half-way there. Saying what you’re going to do about them demonstrates that you’re prepared.

 Acronym and technical jargon overload. Regardless of how complex your product is, you need to be able to explain it. If you use acronyms, even common ones in your industry, be sure to spell out what they stand for at least once (early) in your plan. The same goes for very technical terms- don’t assume your reader understands them all. Consider your audience and make sure you plan speaks their language.

Along the same lines, diving too far into the technical details can cause your audience to lose interest or get overwhelmed. Give an overview of your technology and what makes it special, but save the complex diagrams about molecular design for your appendix. Says one judge “I need to be convinced that you can run a businesses, otherwise all you have is a really complicated hobby. I’m not investing in your hobby, even if it does cure cancer.”

When you put together a business plan there can be a lot riding on the result. Don’t let easy-to-avoid mistakes make the the difference between your plan rising to the top or getting tossed to the side. A little attention and time could be all it takes.

7 reasons you have trouble getting things done (and 7 easy solutions) by Jay Snider on April 3, 2012

Ever wonder why you don’t get more done every day? You might be trying to do too much, and competing demands in the office aren’t making it any easier to accomplish what you set out to do. One interesting studyshowed that after an interruption, it took office workers an average of more than 23 minutes to get back to the original task they were working on. With multiple projects, open offices, and smartphone and desktop notifications popping up all over the place, it’s amazing that anything actually gets done in the office anymore.

The good news is that there are ways to make life easier. I’ve you’ve ever thought “how am I supposed to do all of this??” this list is for you.

1. The email just keeps on coming. It seems like every minute of every day, there’s another email in your inbox.
Solution: Turn off desktop notifications of incoming email. Just turn them off! The email will be there when you’re ready for it, but that little box popping up won’t continually remind you of everything you’re not getting to. If you share an inbox with other people (like a lot of sales or customer service teams do), a tool like Email Center Pro can help you handle your email more efficiently so it doesn’t take up half your day.

2. Too many meetings. When you spend all your time sitting in meetings talking about new projects, when are you ever supposed to actually do the work?
Solution: If you and your colleagues use shared calendars for meetings, schedule yourself blocks of time that you’ll simply be unavailable. In Google calendars you can mark events as private (your co-workers will just see that you’re busy). Tada! Now you have the time you need to concentrate on tasks you have to accomplish.

3. It’s hard to keep track of everything. It’s easy for projects to drop off your radar when you’re juggling a lot of work.
Solution: A task list. I use Wunderlist, which is a free service you can either download to your desktop, use online, or on your smartphone (they sync automatically, so you can use all three!). Wunderlist lets you create multiple lists, quickly enter in tasks or projects you need to work on, and assign dates. When you finish a task, cross it off and watch your list get a little smaller. You can also share lists with anyone who needs to know what you’re working on. Other similar free apps include Remember The Milk,  Tadalist, and Google Tasks.

4. Your to-do list is so long, you’re practically immoblized. Great, now that you’ve got a task list you’re more overwhelmed by the work you have in front of you and don’t know where to start.
Solution: Be SMART when you schedule your tasks. SMART stands for  Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely. Typically used for behavior modification goal setting, it’s useful for getting yourself on track. Each morning, really think about what you can achieve in the day. “Work on X project” isn’t specific or measurable or timely, for instance, but  “Spend two hours on the preliminary report for X” is all three. Use the SMART criteria to figure out what should take top priority (those would be the Timely items), what is reasonable to set out to achieve, and get to work. This will help you set deadlines, stick to deadlines, or realize ahead of time if you’re not going to make a deadline.

5. Constant interruptions. A co-worker stops by with a quick question. Then the phone rings. You get off the phone and decide to check your email. All of a sudden it’s lunch time and you haven’t gotten back to whatever you were originally working on.
Solution: Ignore ignore ignore. Okay, you can’t ignore the person standing next to you. But you can encourage your office to start using instant messaging (if you’re not already) and then set your status as “away” so people won’t bother you while you’re trying to work on something. There are tons of chat and instant message clients to chose from – Trillian and  Yahoo! Messenger are two free downloadable applications, and if your office uses Gmail, you can use Google Chat that’s right in your inbox.  And you definitely can ignore the phone or even turn off the ringer during times you need to really concentrate.

6. Trying to do too many things all at once. A recent article on the Harvard Business Review blog says between 25-50% of people feel burned out work because they spend too many hours juggling too many tasks at the same time.
Solution: Multi-tasking sounds like a good idea, but know when to say when. If you are checking email during a conference call, eating lunch at your desk while trying to work, or catching up on your blog reading during meetings, everything you do takes longer, the quality of your work suffers, and your stress level rises. Every task you do deserves your full attention – if it doesn’t, then you might want to consider whether that task is even necessary in the first place.

7. The little things keep getting in the way of the big things. As a copy writer, I frequently get random requests from coworkers for “just a few sentences” about this or that. If I have a bunch of bigger things to work on, it can be easier to just bang out those few sentences first, then dig into the big project. The problem is that the little things add up, and suddenly I’m wayyyy behind on the big things.
Solution: Do the big stuff first. I get into work about an hour earlier than the rest of the office and get a jump on the major things I need to work on. I know I’ll be able to work uninterrupted until my office mates show up, so I use the time wisely. When the office starts buzzing, I often will switch over to smaller tasks that won’t get derailed by a frequent distractions.

How Tweets can help your business Grow..

How can Twitter chat help your business?

by Theresa Smith on April 2, 2012

• 

One of the best ways for small businesses to build their networks and increase their influence is by participating in Twitter Chats. Twitter chats are Twitter-based conversations that anyone can participate in and are kept on track through the use of a #hashtag, or topic with a hash symbol (“#”) at the start to identify it. There are currently more than 600 ongoing Twitter Chats, ranging from weekly to monthly  discussions on a wide variety of topics. You can review an exhaustive list of ongoing chats maintained at the Twitter Chat Schedule.

Participating in a Twitter chat is a great way to network and interact with other people who may also share your professional and personal passions. It is also an excellent way to introduce yourself and your business to key influencers with whom you want to connect.

Be Strategic

Look for a chat where you can bring value to the conversation. For example, I moderate #CollegeChat twice a month on Tuesday evenings. Most of the chats I moderate are in question and answer format and include an “expert” guest on a particular topic. I first met the majority of my guest experts by their attending and participating in a previous #CollegeChat. My guests have included professors, authors, independent higher education experts and business owners targeting the higher education market. With hundreds of ongoing Twitter chats, you should be able to find a number of chats that are ideal for both networking and for your business. Perhaps you have developed a business tool, application, or book that you are targeting to business to business marketers? Then you might want to check out #B2Bchat. A recent #B2Bchat focused on “Facebook for B2B -The Times They Are a-Changin’.

Expand your Knowledge

Also consider joining in Twitter chats just to expand your knowledge. Have you been considering adding a blog to your website but really don’t know where to start? Consider checking out #Blogchat on Sunday evenings to get fresh ideas from blogging experts. Recently Brian Solis, a thought leader in new media and a best-selling author, was a guest for #Blogchat and discussed how to use blogs as tools to build influence. Do you need some new ideas for your start-up or small business? #Smallbizchat is a great chat for small businesses since its focus is on helping small businesses succeed as they start to grow. On the next #Smallbizchat, Dina Dwyer-Owen, a certified franchise executive with more than 30 years of industry experience and a recent guest on the television program “Undercover Boss”, will share with attendees “How to Live Rich in Your Small Business.” #Smallbizchat is hosted weekly by Melinda Emerson, a noted small business expert, coach and author.

How to Participate

In order to participate in a Twitter chat, attendees will need to have a Twitter account. To sign up for a Twitter account, go to http:// twitter.com. Once you have your Twitter account set up, you are ready to go. There are a number of formats to use to follow a Twitter chat but the easiest way I have found to participate is by using TweetChat, a platform designed to make “Twitter chats” run easily.

Don’t be a Bystander

To get the most out of any Twitter chat, make sure you join in. Most moderators ask attendees to go ahead and introduce themselves. Your introduction is a great way to begin meeting others.

By joining in a chat you are not only sharing your ideas with the attendees but also with the attendees’ followers. Don’t be surprised if you pick up a number of new followers after the chat based on comments and interactions you had during the chat. Every time you write a tweet that is then re-tweeted – quoted or rebroadcast by other attendees – your tweet is not only repeated across the chat but also to the followers of the person who re-tweeted you, thereby expanding your reach exponentially.

Finally, the best parts about participating in Twitter chats are the people you meet and the network you build. Why not get started?

Have a story about a Twitter chat you participated in? Share it in the comment section below.

(photo by flickr user yardenxanthe|Creative Commons)

Source:www.bplans.com

Mechanised Elephant for Tourists in France

Recycled Robotic Elephant

TUESDAY, 27 JULY 2010 GREENMUZE STAFF

The Great Elephant. Image courtesy Machines of the Isle of Nantes.

Created from recycled materials, the French built robotic Great Elephant is made from more than 45 tons of recycled steel and wood. Built as part of the annual public art show Machines of the Isle of Nantes, the robotic recycled elephant offers 45 minute walks to the legions of thrilled tourists that flock to see this enormous mechanized beast in action.

The Great Elephant. Image courtesy Machines of the Isle of Nantes.

The Machines of the Isle of Nantes continues until August 31, 2010.