Nano Bashing

Heres something I picked up from a Pakistan based newspaper[The News],The article is by an Indian environmentalist and credits the One lakh car more to the Indian and west bengal government subsidies.:

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The euphoric welcome[for the car] fails to understand that in a poor and frugal society like India's, cars cannot democratise. They polarise, not unite, society.

Even the most attractive, iconic, feature of the car--the Rs100,000 price--is probably an illusion. The price tag contains subsidies, in the first place. The Tata Motors plant coming in West Bengal, which will produce the Nano, is subsidised to the extent of Rs8.5 billion by the Left Front government, according to economist and former finance minister Ashok Mitra. This works out to one-fourth of the project's capital cost.

The Indian government has spent about Rs1.5 billion to buy 997 acres of land, but given it to the Tatas almost free. It's also advancing them a Rs20-billion loan at 1 percent interest and granting an exemption from the value-added tax for 10 years, amounting to Rs5 billion.

To further "sweeten" the deal, the state government has gifted to the Tatas 50 acres of prime land just outside Kolkata and another 200 acres in the Bhangar-Rajarhat Area Development Authority to build IT and residential townships.

The total subsidy may thus turn out to be considerably higher. Besides, that superlatively attractive price is only applicable to the bare-bones model as an introductory offer. Nevertheless, the Nano will probably remain the world's cheapest car for some time because its cost has been ruthlessly pared down. The upside of this is unconventional thinking focused on minimalism, which may trigger cost-cutting within the automobile industry.

The downside is the cutting of corners to produce a car with low longevity and high maintenance, which fails the current Western emission and safety standards, and will soon ail Indian norms too. This approach differs from dispensing with luxuries or add-ons, as in having a trunk with space for only a briefcase. For instance, the Nano's designers used a hollow shaft instead of a solid beam to connect the steering-wheel to the axle, and plastics and adhesives instead of many bolts. The car's low-performance wheel bearings will wear out rapidly beyond 70 kph.

It has only one windshield-wiper instead of two. It uses continuous variable transmission, with low acceleration. To save a mere ten dollars, devices called actuators, which adjust the angle of the car's lights to its load, were eliminated. This is likely to affect the car's safety, sturdiness and durability/longevity.

The Nano fails current western emission standards like Euro-IV, and will soon fail Indian standards too. Tata's claim that the Nano meets India's national emission standards hasn't been verified by an independent competent agency. Euro-IV norms will enter force in India's major cities in April 2010 and are much stricter than Bharat-II or III, India's own emission standards.

Similarly, long-overdue safety standards are on their way. These include full-body crash tests--which determine how cars crumple in collisions--airbags and ABS. Implementing them will raise the Nano's costs by 40 to 50 percent.

According to pollution experts, ultra-cheap bare-bones cars like the Nano lack the complex technology needed to maintain initial level of emissions, and could soon produce four to five times more.

The Nano will set a trend under which industry will rush to produce ultra-cheap cars by exploiting India's poor emission standards. Bajaj Auto, Volkswagen, Nissan and GM are already in this race. The addition of stripped-down cars will further slow down urban traffic--whose speed has almost halved recently. This will greatly increase pollution, which has reached critical levels in three-fifths of India's cities and is creating havoc.

Yet, India is following a policy under which a car can legally occupy the same space as a slum-dwelling family considered fit for eviction. This must radically change, so that public transport is given top priority and people can be moved in safe, efficient and environmentally sound ways and have equitable and affordable access to public transport.

The Nano should provoke us all to rethink transportation policies in keeping with the requirements of equity and reversing climate change.

Source:
The News Pakistan

The writer did not even bother to do his homework regarding the Euro 4 compliance of the Tata Nano.

Another bit I found funny:
To save a mere ten dollars, devices called actuators, which adjust the angle of the car's lights to its load, were eliminated. This is likely to affect the car's safety, sturdiness and durability/longevity.