Ah, decisions, decisions.......... an exciting time!
Okay, back to why I wanted to write. This morning, I was reading the news online and a link about "greener" cars in India caught my eye. By the end of this year, Tata Motors will be selling their new, flat-nosed, smaller and more eco-friendly NANO. This new little car will only cost about $2,500 USD, which is HALF as much as the most economical cars are sold for in India right now. The Nano's carbon and nitrogen oxide emissions are considerably lower than the cars, scooters and motorcycles currently on Indian roads. In addition, these cars get about 20km per liter, which, if I did my conversions correctly (which I doubt), is something like 48 miles per gallon. WHOA!!!!
This sounds like great news. Except, some experts don't think that it is. Apparently, right now only 8 in 1,000 people in India have a car. However, with the availability of an inexpensive car that many more people can afford, more of the 1.13 billion Indians will buy one of these Tata Nano vehicles in the next three years, possibly doubling the number of vehicles on the road. Some say that this may offset any reduction in emissions offered by this eco-friendly car.
I guess it's never that easy, is it? Either way, I'm really excited that people are thinking of SMART and CONSCIENTIOUS ways of manufacturing cars and other stuff.
Plus, I couldn't help but notice that though the Nano is a somewhat futuristic car, and seemingly a new fixture in the lives of Indians in not-so-metropolitan areas, it still holds endearing similarities that I just can't put my finger on.....
5 comments:
I am not sure how i feel about Tata NANO. While i am excited about the prospect of millions of people having a car i cannot fathom how India is going to deal with the traffic. Not all cities are ready to deal with the additional cars on the roads. I guess we just have to wait and watch. However, i am glad that someone is taking the initiative to make cars that are cost effective (more miles per gallon) and environmentally friendly.
There, Vids, i FINALLY left a comment on your blog. Even though i read everything you write i can never bring myself to voice my opinions. :)
Nano cars for nano people...to truly save on gas and cut back on emissions all motorcycles should carry no less than:
* 2 adults + 2 children under 12 years of age + 1 infant
or
* 3 adults + 1 child + a pet no bigger than the child
or
* 4 adults + 1 case of chilled beer
as for cars. the following standards should be implemented:
* 11 adults + 4 kids of any size
or
* 8 adults + 2 kids + 1 pet no bigger than any of the kid + laundry
or
* 39 clowns
...either way it would be awesome to see this scene http://www.montytran.com/images/prints/images/large/FamiliarizeWithFamily.jpg
or this
http://static.flickr.com/28/43056409_ed377cc6d0.jpg
in this country, however can you imagine a family of obese people trying to pull this off!
rajinder bajinder
www.nachwi.com
This makes me happy. I don't know necessary that this is going to create more problems for india because of the additional cars on the road, because I already think that problem is underway without the introduction of a new eco-friendly car. I remember my last visit to India, the post-tech boom cash flow was incredible, and people were starting to get vehicular transport that they didn't need (like a certain cousin). This way, the inevitable surge of people buying cars will at least include more eco-friendly cars. Then maybe in the big cities, people won't have to cover their faces because of the smog in the summer.
My first instinct is "A $2,500 car that gets 48 mpg? Sign me up!" I would have no problem driving a little Indian Smart Car ripoff around town. I mean, that's the same price and gas mileage you can get from a moped. But a few things:
1. Tata is very quick to tout the Nano's front and side impact safety. What about rear, crush, roll, etc? I don't want to get blanked by some jerk's H2.
2. Nowhere will you find the Nano's top speed. And given that it has a 33hp engine, it's probably not much. Would this even be viable for the American suburb?
3. It has a 5 gallon fuel tank. Even at 48mpg, that's still only 240 miles per tank. It's not a big deal in the suburbs, but it's still worth mentioning.
4. The environmental impact is a thorny issue. Sure this is a very eco-friendly car, but it is marketed toward people who don't have cars at all. So on one hand, if a couple million people who used to ride bikes start driving Nanos, that's a net negative effect. However, if a Nano replaces a 2-cycle scooter with the same mpg, it's a net positive. It'll be interesting to see how this shapes up.
5. If you read the Nano "journey" on Tata's website, it says they couldn't figure out why people wanted a 4-wheeled car instead of a 3. In the words of one man, "If I had a four-wheeler, I would have better marriage prospects in my village." And that's what it's all about, isn't it?
Tata's also planning to introduce an $8,000 car which runs on compressed air! The expansion of the compressed air from an onboard fiber storage tank pushes pistons inside the engine similar to the way an internal combustion engine uses expanding gases to create power -- but without the pollutants.
The Tata Compressed Air Car is reported to have a range of 300 km's between refuelings (hooking up to an external air compressor at a gas station). Refilling the air tank only costs $2.
It can also run much farther between fillings with the option of a small petrol engine driving an internal air compressor (kind of like today's gas-electric hybrids such as Prius).
Top speed is 60 kph using air, or 200 kph using an air-fuel combination engine.
Plus, since the exhaust consists solely of air cooled to 15 degrees below zero, the AC can run nonstop for free. Oil changes are only required once every 50,000 km's.
Some reports say that the Tata Compressed Air Car will be released late this year, but this appears aggressive, in my opinion. Tata is not known for releasing products on time. Hopefully, they will also get the quality standards up. Tata trucks are the best on the road in India, but the cars have earned a reputation for poor durability on India’s rough roads.
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