Can the World Handle the World’s Cheapest Car?

Today the Streetsblog Network
takes us to India, where some fear the recent launch of the
highly-anticipated $2,000 Tata Nano — a.k.a. the “world’s cheapest
car” — will wreak havoc on the environment and already crowded public
spaces. Hard Drive has the story: 

Photo via Hard Drive

India’s middle class is on the rise, as is the desire to ape Western
commercialism. As a result, many people still see a car ownership as a
point of pride, a symbol of individual progress, despite growing
problems with air quality and gridlock.

On a recent trip to India, the manager of a tire company told me
many of his neighbors were putting their names into a Nano lottery to
be the first to own their first car. That worried him. “The roads are
beyond capacity now,” he said. “How will they hold millions of more
cars?”

Earlier this week, Tata Motors announced its intent to expand into European and US markets.
Said company chair Ratan Tata: “This was never conceived as the
cheapest car, but as providing transport to those people who never
owned a car.” You’ve been warned.

Also on the Network: Hub and Spokes reflects on keeping cities like New York affordable; Portland Transport looks into a new transit-timing tool from the makers of Walk Score; a study cited by Bicycle Fixation reveals that bike lanes are good for business; Cap’n Transit checks up on the Red Hook Tunnel Bus; and more.