Tata Nano, the Indian wonder car

Marouane chose this text. Here is an excerpt from the article taken from the Guardian.

"Like a modern-day version of Henry Ford, Tata's idea is of an affordable car that is light and simple, yet made from high-quality materials. The result is a jelly bean-shaped vehicle into which five adults can squeeze. The basic model makes no concession to luxury: its price has been kept low by using more plastic than steel, and swapping hi-tech glue for traditional welding. Rival manufacturers had questioned whether the car would meet safety standards, especially if the company plans to export such models to Europe, which requires cars to meet stringent crash tests.(...)

But environmentalists say the possibility of mass sales of the Nano has worrying implications for the environment. Major cities in India are now wreathed in smog and rush hours have spread long into the night. In Delhi traffic now crawls, on average, at less than nine miles an hour - half that a decade ago.

As congestion builds up and cars slow, greenhouse gases emissions increase more rapidly. India's vehicles spewed 219m tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2005. Experts say that figure will jump almost seven-fold to 1,470 tonnes by 2035 if car travel remains unchecked."


What can be done to avoid a disaster?