Nano tech
When I first came to this country as a kid, I loved my dad’s stick-shift Toyota. It cost $3,000 in ’70s dollars and seemed unbelievably luxurious after the norm of five sardines on a Bajaj. I used to sneak in at night, admire the blue lights on the dashboard and inhale the perforated vinyl steering wheel cover. We loved that car. It ran for 20 years before we gave it away to a young Indian mechanic with carburetor skills and greater need.
Tata Motors just launched the modern-day equivalent of that Corolla, a car which costs less not only after adjusting for inflation, but in simple dollars as well. The Tata Nano isn’t a beauty queen, nor does it come with a click wheel. Its bumper curlicues evoke a late-model Ford Taurus, its absurdly high brow a boxfish. But at just Rs. 1 lakh ($2,500), it could put safer transport into the hands of middle- and lower-class families across the world.
Tata claims the car meets Indian safety standards, which isn’t saying much — but average traffic speeds are quite low there. My main concern is wind. One spring day in college, a gust of wind pushed my bike so many lanes across the Golden Gate, I had to shield myself behind a callipygian lorry. Heaven help a Nano driver cross the Millau Viaduct. It looks like easy prey for Tata-tipping.
The car would at least get your family out of the elements. Late one night I watched a hard-bitten Bombay rider plant his jutta in six inches of water and flip up his helmet. He cradled a mobile in the dimple between clavicle and ear. With one hand he took a drag from a cigarette, with the other he held onto the handlebars. All the while, it monsoon’d like some scene out of Black Rain. He could’ve been a hitman.
He could’ve been just another Mumbaikar.
With all its design compromises, the Nano is still a beautiful expression of Indian low-cost engineering. That same ingenuity created autorickshaws designed to be lifted by a single driver, repaired with a rag and a wrench, and bump-pushed by getting your helper to stick his leg out the door. It’s how the Japanese began too, with low prices, Japanese girls in the ads, and manuals in bad Engrish. Compare the old Corolla with any modern Lexus or Infiniti.
If Ratan’s folly gets people from point A to point B better than a moto at a reasonable price, it could be every bit as game-changing as the Nokia 1100 or the Asus Eee. And maybe when Sallu bhai runs over his next victim, it’ll only be a flesh wound.
on Thursday, January 10th, 2008, 9:06 am in Economics, Musings, Tech › 
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Hearing Ratan Tata talk about this car being a replacement for scooters with entire families piled onto them reminded me of this old R.K Laxman cartoon: http://www.ece.vill.edu/user/nara/cartoon2.html
A new affordable “small car” will likely change the profile of car ownership the way the original Maruti did, but I’m not so sure scooter-users will switch. Scooters are still only about Rs. 30,000-40,000, and a lakh is still more than double that amount. It’ll probably be a second car for the kids of middle class families, particularly young women, who are more reluctant to ride scooters and motorbikes (They will of course then proceed to drive it rashly and have accidents in it, and take up even more pavement space in Delhi with their illegally parked multiple cars as every square inch of their legitimate family garage space is converted into rooms to be rented out other young people).
true - the vinds out here would make it very difficult.
but india’s different yaar.
the one good reason for this car would be protection… from the elements, from the potholes, from the cow in the next lane, road rage etc…
reminds me of the old citroen which was targeted to a similar audience.
p.s. manish, good of you to check out the car but youve been working hard man… nice dome.
Great to see India putting forth a world-leading engineering design (stuff you can kick). I wish it didn’t come from the meganopoly Tata Corp, but it’s a start. Are there consumer-based auto-rickshaws? The auto-rickshaw is great a design IMHO… is it of Indian origin?
Very well written Manish, my only concern is how this will add to the already existing traffic problems in cities like Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore.
Yup. And the already unbreathable air quality. How does its gas mileage compare with motorcycles?
It already takes me more than an hour to get from Bandra to Andheri which is only a few kilometers away. One time I took a taxi from Oberoi hotel, which is at one end of Marine Drive, I was stuck in traffic for almost an hour and half to reach Girgaum Chaupati, which is barely 3 Kms. I can’t even imagine what will happen with more cars on the roads and like someone else mentioned, this will only add to the nuisance, I don’t think the motorcycles and scooters are going anywhere.
Yeah but taking cars in Bombay midday is as dumb as taxis in NYC during rush. Always take the train.
Bombay’s building a subway system too. Allegedly.
With this car’s modern 600 cc engine and light weight, mileage should be pretty good.
I also thought of the traffic factor… but I love this: “after the norm of five sardines on a Bajaj…” A perfect image.
I agree about the stupidity of taking cars in Bombay and getting to Churchgate station would have been a better idea, but with things to lug and crowds in the trains, it wasn’t an option at that time.
The subway I believe will take 20+ years to complete, the last year when I was down, I saw some work being done at Saki Naka in Andheri. Delhi subway has done wonders for Delhi traffic. I actually really like the car and would rather see this on the road then a family of five on a scooter.
Afterthought, for the same reason I also used to take taxis in NYC during rush :) but have started taking the subway even coming back from Kennedy.
Nina, they’re claiming 50 miles per gallon.
Reading the list of options and add-ons on their website is an exercise in humility.
Talking about Bajaj, they’ve also just launched a small car
Iam so happy India is coming up with cars that suit its economy and people..car for a lakh that is very cheap…but i like the last sentence u wrote Manish,sallu bhair just causing flesh injuries with cars like this..irony..
But I read somewhere that scientists concerned about environmental pollution are worried about this car and middle class is worried about more traffic jams with indian roads are crowded with these cars..
But I am happy India is making the worlds cheapest car..pretty cool…hopefully they will make this an environmentally friendly car in future..
How can the NY Times get away with the article on the Nano titled:
“Indians Hit the Road Amid Elephants”? It’s #10 on the most popular articles.
Ridiculous to imply elephants roam about the Indian metropolises. The
authors appear to be Indian, but I wonder who wrote the title.
Oh VV. All NYT stories are written for the Western gaze.
But a used Nano will eventually come in around that.
Manish, is that you, or is that Street Hawk?
Well, now that I’ve paid you a compliment, I think I’m entitled to veer the course of this thread ever so slightly;) Earlier last week, I saw this on the Beeb and I’m super-thrilled. The MDI Air Car is powered by compressed air and has no emission issues. It costs around 1.5 Euros for a “full-tank” and can travel up to 200Kms at speeds of up to 110kms/h! They say that TATA has invested in the company and the cars will be ready for sale in India by the end of the year at a price of 3,500/- Euros. If all this is indeed true, I’ll definitely buy one for my dad in India - he drives around 1000Kms a month (maximum), mostly in the city. It can even be refueled at home in about 4 hours. Also, they have “bi-energy” versions that can go up to 2000 Kms before refueling; thus it doesn’t necessarily have to be the “second car”. Moreover, I strongly believe that these cars are entitled to some sort of subsidy as they reduce the overall reliance on already subsidized fossil fuels. I really hope this works out.
Came across this while randomly browsing through YouTube and this post seemed apropos to share it.
Whatever TATA did is much better than any competitors just have a look at the Pakistan’s version of Rs. 1 lakh car http://www.dancewithshadows.com/images/sitara1.jpg
its avery good looking car & can be purchased by normal people