Small car in the big news

TATA's small car project has kicked up a big row in the media.
The environment activists hate the car, enough to go on air to denounce the whole company.

Car aficionados have gone ga ga over the small car.

The objection the environmentalists raise is about the effect of the large number of cars that are expected to be sold.
The car aficionados are happy about one more model on the road.

The attitude of the environmentalist gives me the feeling that had the price been a little steep they would not mind another car in the market. All through they have emphasised the fact that it costs just a lakh of rupees.

What will be the effect of such a pricing policy on the sale of the car?

A rich man will not consider such a cheap car. Two months back one of my friends wanted my opinion on choosing a car. I suggested a particular model that was the cheapest in the market at that time. He rejected the proposal something like this
�"Oh, that is a cheap car. I do not want to buy that"
The reason for the rejection was not lack of features or comfort but lack of a price tag. Such people will reject this small (cheap) car too. It is too cheap for their status.

Another set of people will eject this car equating a small car with a bad car.

A lot of people will buy this car as a status symbol. They surely will not run it as much as we think. They will continue to use their scooter and use the car once in a way. Such use will not cause any further serious effect on the pollution level.

If the present day small car emission is any guide, this car will have better emission standards than any scooter or motor bikes and so will have a better effect on the air pollution, if it will replace that many scooters. Most scooter have horrible emissions.

If you look at any car review in any magazine or any TV channels, you never find any reporter rubbishing a car. Every single one of them has gone raving mad about every single car that has been introduced in the market. So if some reporter says that this is a wonderful car I will not take it on face value. It may or may not be wonderful car.

What the nation or even the whole humanity needs right now is not a car but a good reliable round the clock public transportation system. If I get a good reliable public transport at any time in the day I will never take my car out of the garage. Even if we do not invent a pollution free fuel, the pollution level will still come down if we stick to just buses and stop using cars. It is the lack of good public transportation that forces us to use the inefficient cars.

It is this situation that has give a wonderful opportunity for the TATAs to market a small car. No good businessman will sit quiet in such times. You cannot blame TATA for that.

It is not the duty of TATA to provide a good public transport system to the nation. Nor can they do it. They have made good buses. It is the duty of the government to use them to good effect.

If there are a large number of cars on the road it is our fault, not TATA"s.