The People's Car, Tata Nano, has been the headline of the Indian automotive industry for the past two years. Being the cheapest car under production, it targets the lower middle class population that till last year could not afford to buy an expensive car and had to settle for the two decade old Maruti 800.
All set to roll on Indian roads now, the Tata Nano is widely seen as a good thing.
Having been built completely indigenously, it is considered a statement of India's economic growth and innovation. People have immense faith in the car and well, everybody just loves it.
In fact, everybody loves the idea of a 1-lakh car so much that they have overlooked the car's specifications almost completely.
What we have is a 625cc rear-mounted engine. Sounds good? The Maruti 800 is the weakest car on the road and it is 800cc. How much power do you think a 600-odd cc engine will generate?
How about a maximum speed of 80 kmph? This means that after hitting the gas for a long time on a highway you can get to 80. Somewhat auto-rickshawish, isn't it?
How many of us really want to drive such a car everyday?
I'm no automotive engineer, so I'll stop here, but you should get the idea that the car is only meant for those who absolutely cannot afford anything else.
It worries me how people have overlooked this and have booked the car out of pure excitement.
My grandfather booked one. My father almost booked one too. My brother also gave it a thought.
If it wasn't for some sensible decision-making, we could have had three Tata Nanos in the family in the next six months (It is so affordable!). We already have two cars.
The same applies for a lot of people I know.
So what happens once all these Nanos are bought into every second family?
People will be excited about the car, drive their Nano for like a week or so, maybe a month, realize how much of a car it really is and park it in the garage, and it won't come out of there till when their 12 year old son would need a driving lesson.
At much less than 1 lakh rupees, the car won't even have a re-sale value good enough!
By booking the Nano this way, not only are people wasting a lakh rupees, they are denying that poor man a unit who has waited for two years to buy the car and actually needs it.
If people with no need to buy the car continue to do so, we will soon see as many useless Tata Nanos in garages in the next two years as we have useless mobile phones in homes today.
Not a good sign, is it?
Okay, economic perspective done, lets float another idea here.
Since the day the Nano was announced, it has been loved and praised by everyone.
Have you ever heard anyone speak anything negative about it? Leave the AutoCar magazine aside, they are professionals. Anyone from the common man?
I haven't.
People are so swept away by the hype created by the car and have so much faith in the product that they are ready to trust Tata Motors on anything. Do you realize how much power it gives to the company?
How many people expect Tata to give them the miracle of a car they've dreamed of? How many people have paid their hard earned money to book the car? How many of them are lower middle class people struggling to make ends meet?
The Nano was initially announced at 1 lakh. It has finally come out at 1.30 lakh.
In one small price hike Tata Motors may have devastated the hopes, the dreams and the economic plans of thousands of middle class families.
What if they have to make another change? Do you realize how big an impact one changed feature in the car can have?
Should anyone or anything be allowed to have so much power?
