I recently bought a new vehicle, a light truck; the term pickup truck is just so passé, it’s sort of like the term “used car”. There is no such thing as a used car anymore, now these cars are referred to as pre-owned cars. I’m not sure that pre-owned cars are any better than used cars but you can't get a “used” car from a dealer anymore. My new truck is a 4 wheel drive, high tech marvel of sensors, computers, buttons, switches and software. It even has an ECU with artificial intelligence software that keeps track of the way that I drive so that it can change the way it performs to better suit my style of driving. It takes a week of studying the manual to figure this thing out and even now I still have to refer to it from time to time. The features on this truck are available from a number of manufacturers on many different models and they are not really noteworthy or even special, except that as these marvelous high tech features are developed by manufacturers, the US government via NHTSA has a way of making them mandatory safety features on future cars. Just like Tire Pressure Monitoring System, (TPMS) mandatory on 2007 models, Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) Class of 2011, and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) Class of 2012.
Dateline New Delhi, India
At India’s 2008 Main Auto Show Tata Motors CEO, Ratan Tata announced that he has kept his promise. The promise was that his family owned business; Tata Motors would produce a $2,500 (100,000 rupee) car. The 4 door, 5 passenger Nano comes equipped with a 2 cylinder, 624cc engine that develops 33bhp and is said to be able to go 60mph at about 50 miles per gallon. With 5 people in it, I can’t imagine that the Nano would go 60mph unless it was a downhill run with a 100mph tailwind, this thing is only 33hp away from being a Soap Box Derby Car. Be that as it may or not, still for $2,500 what you get is a very basic car, no radio, no air conditioner and only one windshield wiper. Mr. Tata claims that the 2008 Nano will meet or exceed all of India’s stringent safety and environmental standards.
So Why Is The Nano So Special
In a country with a population of over one billion people where only 7 out of every 1,000 people can even afford to own a car, it is ground breaking news to be sure. The last time that you could buy a new car in the US for $2,500 was 48 years ago; the 1960 Chevrolet Corvair had an MSRP of $2,500. India is only the tip of the berg for Tata Motors; there are several billion people around the globe that would gladly buy a brand new car for $2,500. The market is astronomical and when there is money to be made you can bet your bottom dollar that other car companies will jump into the fray. This would be an absolutely astounding development even if it were to cost twice as much money, all of the traffic, environmental and infrastructure issues notwhithstanding however, this may be the car event of the decade, if not the century. The Nano could propel Tata Motors into the worlds number one Auto Manufacturer on a volume basis alone. It still remains to be seen if they can make a profit with the Nano.
So Why Do Our Cars Cost So Much?
Who wouldn't buy a $2,500 new car in a hot minute, unfortunately it’s not in our future. While the Nano may meet or exceed India’s safety standards it doesn’t even come close to meeting US NHTSA or DOT safety standards. Economical forms of personal transportation are sorely needed in the US but the NHTSA mandated safety equipment such as ESC, ABS and TPMS would cost more than $5,000 if you packed them in a cardboard box, never mind the rest of the car and the other mandated safety equipment already required in our cars. It is a fact however, independent studies show that ABS and ESC can reduce car accidents by up to 30% and reduce roll-over accidents by up to 80%, and it’s even higher in SUVs and higher profile vehicles.
So Why Am I Complaining, What’s Wrong With Making Safer Cars?
These features are currently available on over 50% of cars on dealer showroom floors, including all of the cars made by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche and Cadillac, just to name a few, but no new car under $30,000 has all of these high tech features installed. The cost of owning a minimally equipped car keeps going up and up at a rate much faster than the rate of inflation. In the future we will have less and less choices available to us as consumers. It would be nice if we had a choice in the matter. These safety devices are nothing short of amazing as long you don't mind paying for them, but if a low income family has to choose between having a car with TPMS, ABS and ESC or braking down in the middle of a blizzard, then all of that high dollar tech stuff is nothing more than a bunch of meaningless acronyms.
Can you imagine 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) people driving around in little cars that look like 4 door Mangos.... =)
Save to Del.icio.us
