Renault-Nissan is planning on building a car for under $3000. The price could be as low as $2500, which is 40% less and that the least expensive sub-compact car available today. Despite being priced under $3000, these car will be designed to be comfortable and safe. They will also be engineered for the ground up - stripped-down version of outdated designs won't cut it. Tata's model is a four door vehicles with a 33-horsepower engine, and a top speed of around 80 mph. The automaker claims it will even pass a crash test. Whatever the lowest sticker price turns out to be, the discounting trend will hit cars across the board, from minis to SUVs. The market for these cars is huge:

There's no lack of potential customers: Hundreds of millions of Chinese, Indians, Brazilians, Russians, and others will likely join the middle class in the coming decade, and cars are sure to be at the top of their shopping lists. As a result, the global car market is polarizing: The luxury segment continues to grow, cheap cars boom, and everything else gets squeezed. By 2012, the market for vehicles priced under $10,000 is likely to reach 18 million cars, or a fifth of world auto sales, according to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. That's up from 12 million today.