No, its not the Nano that can hold 8 GB of infomation. It's what Tata Motors recently unveiled as the "People's Car". It took four years and 500 engineers to bring to reality. The reality is the price tag, $2,500.00 for a car! About three times the cost of a two wheeler scooter, it was created as the "safe" alternative.
Sure they are missing all safety elements like air bags, does not have power steering, air-conditioning or electric windows, despite its launch in a country where temperatures often hit 45C. The Nano boasts a 624cc engine, and gets 50 miles to a gallon. At a whopping top speed of 60 mph, I don't imagine we are going to see this car on US highways anytime soon.
According to Tata Motors chairman Ratan Tata “I have observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young son standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him, holding a baby. I have observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young son standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him, holding a baby. It made me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors’ engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realize this goal. Today, we indeed have a people’s car that is affordable and meets safety and emission norms. We are happy to present the people’s car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility”.
India's roads are already congested and the impact of the Nano, will most likely heighten this aspect. Sure the image above may seem dangerous to us in the western world, but the two wheeler takes up a lot less room and utilizes a lot less gas. Ratan Tata, may have produced the people's car, but he has contributed to the people's traffic, fuel consumption and emissions as well.
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We will all have to wait and see if the negative impacts outweigh the positives.
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