Tata Nano: Triump of Indian Ingenuity

For anyone to actually want to climb into one of those death traps and drive it on the highway, it's stupidity that would have to triumph.

Triumph of ingenuity? Really? For who? Other than an option for third world countries there is no real ingenuity in this car/death trap.

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:27814-49C8F1E3-1627@storefull-

3173.bay.webtv.net:

Imagine such a vehicle at a similar price being sold in the poorest parts of North America in the year 1900.

The Tata, over here, in 1900, would have seem an impossibly luxurious and safe ride compared to what was available here back then.

Nice Tatas.

Federal regulations pertaining to U.S.style safety thingys for cars sold in America,,, I think the price would at least double or triple for those Tatas if sold in America. cuhulin

snipped-for-privacy@webtv.net wrote in news:507-49C96240-1096@storefull-

3172.bay.webtv.net:

At least. Then add the cost of emissions controls to that. Then consider the competition from used cars with far more interior room, features and perceived quality.

I suspect that, even if the Tata was not required to be altered to meet American regulations, it would still sell in very small numbers.

I spent 1964 in Vietnam.I saw whole families riding on two wheelers and three wheelers. For India and some countries, the Tata cars (and similar cars) are a start. cuhulin

Compared with some of the stuff you see on the highway in India, the Nano is an enormous step up in safety. This is a country where you will see two people on a moped, with a live chicken in a cage tied across the handlebars. Minivans with people riding on the roof because there are already more than 20 people inside. Things like that.

The Nano may not have the kinds of safety features that Americans are accustomed to, but for their intended purchasers they are a huge improvement in safety.

--scott

Would those be padded Tatas?

Do a little reading about the emissions regulations the Nano has to meet, then you may wish to reconsider your assumption that it would be any more expensive to sell the Nano in the USA due to stricter emissions requirements.

*Note: BS II, BS III and BS IV are the India mandatory norms for Nitrogen Oxides, Hydrocarbons, Carbon Monoxide and particulates. These norms are substantially aligned with the European norms Euro II, Euro III and Euro IV; the main difference is that the peak speed in the extra urban driving cycle is 90 km/h in India and 120 km/h in Europe.

Mark Olson wrote in news:wLudnQrGbpKy41TUnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.visi:

OK, then just consider the "safety" regulations, plus the part I said before (which you snipped) about competition from used cars with far more interior room, features and perceived quality. Those alone are enough to make my point.

However...

The Tata page you reference does not say that the Nano meets US federal EPA regulations. This is important. Meeting the various Euro regs means nothing, since Tata must apply for EPA approval quite separately (time and money-wise) from any prior approvals they've obtained from any other countries. The EPA (and the NHTSA) is notoriously and imperiously dismissive of the decisions of other countries' regulatory bodies.

Plus, I notice the Tata page you reference does not cover EVAP control of HCs, nor does it mention EPA-approved OBD-II. Lack of EPA-compliant EVAP is one reason the German "Smart" car was originally prevented from entering the US market. I suspect the Nano has neither an EPA-approved EVAP system nor OBD-II. Adding both has to cost something non-trivial, both in terms of regulatory costs and in installation costs.

snipped-for-privacy@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote in news:gqbsb7$ug$ snipped-for-privacy@panix2.panix.com:

I find it amazing how many people conflate their First World situation with that faced daily by people in the Third World.

For many Third Worlders, the house roof, clean water, and the flush toilet are alien concepts, let alone the idea of a privately-owned, enclosed vehicle not driven by animal power. When your country's average human lifespan in 2009 is the same as North America's was in 1860, the Nano is positively futuristic.

There is a Smart Car dealership about eleven miles from me.I assume Smart Cars have air bags and seat belts, some other safety features Tata Nano cars do not have.Other than that, how safe are Smart Cars (and other dinky little cars sold in America) compared to Tata Nano cars? How about the Aircar?

I have owned three death traps on wheels before.1957 BMW Isetta,1961 VW van, 1963 VW beetle, 1970 VW van.I currently own a 1914 Ford Model T Runabout Roadster car and a 1948 Willys Jeep and a 1961 German Hercules Moped and a 1978 Dodge van and a 1983 Dodge van and an olf bicycle which was made during the World War Two era.How safe are my Moped and my Ford Model T and my 1948 Willys Jeep? There are a lot of people in America who drive older model vehicles which have no air bags and no seat belts, and motor scooters and motorcycles and bicycles.Death traps on wheels? cuhulin

I don't give a rat's ass about Third Worlders. However, Tata has been threatening to bring their rolling coffins to the U.S.

Then again, this may be the true economy: get in an accident and they just lower you into the ground, car and all, no need to purchase an expensive traditional coffin. Just like the laughably-misnamed "Smart Car."