I want a 4GB version: the Tata NANO

If you follow such things, I’m sure you’ve heard of the Nano, as it’s gotten a lot of press. And thankfully, much of it has actually been devoted to some deep thinking about what a $2,000 car will mean for the super-dense Indian subcontinent. If not, it’s easy to get you to speed: Indian mega-firm Tata’s Nano is a tiny gas-powered car meant to replace the “school of two-wheeled anchovies” thing that India has going on (ie, tons of scooters and small motorcycles). The goal was a cheap enough “real car” so that more Indians would be able to avoid the heavily-polluting, unsafe scooters or over-packed busses. And they delivered: the Nano is going to be around $2500, and it gets a decent 47 MPG and has OK emissions equipment. It’s not really meant to be a green car, and at that price point it might be impossible to make it blow nothing but flowers and happy thoughts out the tailpipe. However, it’s undeniably cheap, and they will sell a ton of them, which has lead to nearly endless jokes about it (like the one in the headline! Aren’t I clever?).

So what will it mean for India? Opinions are really mixed. Some say it will lead to crushing traffic congestion on an already stretched-to-the-limit road system. Predictably, boosters say that it will improve the quality of life for many Indians who can’t afford a larger car, as India’s upwardly mobile classes begin to increase their buying power.

Whatever ends up happening (likely, both extremes will be equally true), I think it’s a good idea that folks are thinking critically about what this could mean for India. The public dialogue here needs to happen, and policy makers need to pay attention.

And to put it in perspective, if a Model T cost $290 in 1925, even by the most conservative conversion measures it would still be approximately $3000 (in 2006 dollars). The least expensive car in the United States is the Kia Rio at $10,800 (as of July 2008). No matter what you think of the Nano in any other sense, that is a startling figure.

[Source: NYT]