Tata Motors, India's largest automaker, unveiled today the $2,550 car. Some are applauding this as India's crowning achievement. Others are bemoaning that the bicycle and public transportation may have been dealt a death sentence. In any case, that is an unbelievable price that was before believed unattainable. Ok, it isn't right for American drivers and tastes, but at what point in the future will a $2,550 car include some of the necessary performance and creature comforts to make it an acceptable commuter car?

Pixel Qi has announced plans to develop a $75 laptop (granted they have never been able to get below $188, but even that is something remarkable.

So, what if you had to deliver a version of your core product for 25% less than you charge today? You probably could get there by lopping off some performance or making packaging changes. What if you had to had to have a product that sold for 5% of what the average in the market sold for? What would you have to do differently?

In that mode, every feature, every component, every whiz-bang or essential thing would have to fight for its place on the bill of material. Why don't we do this more often? I think that in many cases, a "zero-based budget" approach to product design would result in simpler products that more closely addressed the real market needs.

What would it look like in your industry?