Title: Momentum, the Magazine for Student Members of SAE International 2012-10-31
text: The Nano in retrospect A senior graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology looks at the development of the world's cheapest car and its effect on Indian car users. A different riff on your basic two-seat electric car Markus Lienkamp, Chair of Automotive Engineering at the Technical University of Munich, is leading the Visio.M project, a German government-supported R&D effort to produce a low-cost, high-utility electric car that might attract the interest of the middle European mass market. Materials lead the way to vehicle mass reduction Reducing a vehicle's mass opens the door for a downsized engine and transmission, a lighter cradle and body structure, smaller wheels and brakes, as well as a weight-slimmed suspension. The start point for this ripple effect is materials.