TATO NANO CAR: India's Hoped-For Answer to Overpopulation!
Grumpyol'perv
with U.S. Injuns] are surprisingly reluctant to buy the car that
spontaneously bursts into flames for no fuckin' reason!
"Eight-hundred million citizens desperately want a car to call their
own. But just not THAT desperately!"
-- Manmohan Singh
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India's Tata Nano, 'the world's cheapest car,' struggles to move ahead
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 3, 2011
NEW DELHI - When the Tata Nano - known as the world's cheapest car -
zipped out of factories in 2009, it was praised as an example of
Indian innovation in cost-cutting. It quickly became a cult hit, with
its own Facebook travelogue journal and fast-selling counterculture T-
shirts.
But today, sales are so slow that the $2,200 Nano is barely seen on
Indian roads. This tiny car has big problems.
At the top of the list are safety concerns. About half a dozen Nanos
have burst into flames, with fires starting in the exhaust or
electrical systems, since April 2009.
The podlike vehicle dubbed "the people's car" has also suffered from
what critics call poor marketing and competition from a flood of
slightly more expensive cars made by companies such as General Motors
India and Maruti Suzuki. Those companies have launched aggressive
campaigns aimed at India's growing young families and call-center
workers, with claims that their cars are better made and more
reliable.
Then there's the low sticker price, which was predicted to be Nano's
selling point. But it has also contributed to its downfall.
For India's newly middle class, owning a car is the ultimate sign of
status, and the Nano is synonymous with something cheap, said Ashish
Masih, assistant editor of India's edition of What Car? Magazine.
"It's seen as a poor man's car," said Masih. "People don't want to
take that image along with them. If they change that feeling, sales
might pick up again."
Many of the top-selling automobiles fall into a sweet spot of under
$7,000, industry experts say.
With the spread of new suburbs, an increasing number of highways and a
youthful working population, India is the second-fastest-growing
market for car sales in the world after China. The original vision for
the Nano was that it would put the dream of car ownership within reach
of India's emerging middle class, which has about 300 million people.
But at the Nano factory in India's western state of Gujarat, about
7,000 cars are parked in the open, and just 509 cars were sold from
the plant to dealers in November, according to the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers.
The lagging interest in the Nano comes at a time when India's auto
industry as a whole is enjoying record sales, with a reported a 33
percent growth from April to October 2010, compared to the same period
in 2009, according to a study by SIAM.
Tata Motors is trying to revive the Nano's fortunes. Debasis Ray, head
of corporate communications for the company, said it has launched a
comprehensive marketing push and added a free four-year manufacturer's
warranty.
Because of the fires, Tata is asking customers to bring in their Nanos
so the company can correct any problems. Tata is careful not to
classify it as a recall, and says that problems are not widespread.
The company is also launching nationwide training clinics about the
car, along with a rural television campaign. There are now about
70,000 Nanos on the country's roads.
"For thousands of customers, particularly in the hinterlands, who do
not own cars, entering this category is a significant decision," Ray
said. "The good news is our customer satisfaction studies with current
Tata Nano owners indicate that over 80 percent are satisfied or very
satisfied with the car. We have a lot of confidence in the Nano."
Some customers agree.
Vanessa Able, a travel writer and photographer, drove a Nano across
India and wrote a Facebook blog, the Nano Diaries, about her
adventures. Her Nano had only minor problems - a few flat tires on
some of India's more rutted roads.
"I was really drawn by the idea that India was making this affordable
car that has so much potential in terms of the way it reflects the
changes that were happening in India socially and economically, " Able
said.
But part of the challenge now for the Nano may be correcting the image
of the "world's cheapest car" for ordinary Indians.
Shushank Sharma, 22, a computer operator who lives in Gurgaon, a
sprawling suburb of New Delhi, said he had a choice between a Nano and
a two-wheeler motorbike, which was around the same price. He bought
the bike, which is also seen as better at weaving through India's
chaotic traffic.
"I don't like the way the Nano looks to people and it's all about the
look," Sharma said. "I take the bike to work. But if I have to go hang
out with my friends or go for a marriage, then I prefer a car. But I
would prefer to sit at home if I have to go in a Nano."
[Special correspondent Ayesha Manocha contributed to this report.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/03/AR2011010302721.html
PearlNecklace
who want to set spouses and sisters on fire for various unseemly acts
that fly in the face of Hindu laws.
Just give her the keys and wish her ill ...