Skyward Fire

One amongst the two major reasons why I came to United Arab Emirates were the Formula 1 races on the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. Today is the race day of the season finale of this year’s races. The championship has already been decided in the Sao Paulo and Jenson Button was crowned champion. But the excitement doesn’t ends. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the first in this part of the world, and the race will happen for the first time on this particular track. The Yas Marina circuit is certainly one of the most technically and visually plush F1 tracks ever made, and the Sheikhs have left no penny unspent. The only part of the track which makes me think twice (I could do without all those extra corners in turns 11-21 but that’s not much big a deal) is the runoff at the end of the straight that goes under the grandstands.

From what people have been saying about the pit lane exit, it looks like there is absolutely no room for error. A tight curve with concrete walls, and apparently it’s not speed restricted any more, we might a crash over here. Back in Singapore when Rosberg crossed the line exiting the pits in Singapore, the commentators said that at Abu Dhabi he wouldn’t get away with that, he’d hit the concrete.  And how quick is the clean up rate from crashes, how long would the exit be blocked?  Could ruin someone’s race maybe, if they have just made a stop, and then can’t get out again.  It could make for an exciting race.

Unfortunately, for logistical reasons, I wont be able to attend the race. But I’ve still been following every single update related to the race, including practice, and qualifying. The Saturday qualifying has been a stunner for the Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber on the dramatic Yas Marina Circuit all thanks to Lewis Hamilton’s pace in the McLaren, which performed extremely well for him. Lewis has been looking fantastic all weekend and is starting out in front, so unless something catastrophic happens, I’d be awful surprised if he doesn’t at least finish on the podium, and mildly surprised if he doesn’t finish in first. Hamilton might just finish the season the same way Button started it, that car is on rails!

Lewis has been saying that they have a decent strategy, but he also mentions that after seeing how far ahead they are, maybe they could have gone for a longer stint. I don’t think it really matters to be honest because he seems quick enough to fly into the distance anyway. And guess what, we have a return of Vettel’s moaning about his lack of a KERS button. It’s more understandable if he’s stuck behind a KERS car or overtaken at the start; but moaning about KERS being stupid when it’s just part of the package that makes the McLaren apparently faster at this track is hilarious.

The race begins in less than 6 hours from now, and it’ll be an interesting to look at no matter what part of the world you’re in.

At the New Delhi Pragati Maidan Auto Expo 2008, history was written. There came a car that is as promising as anything has ever been. The all new Tato Nano, a venture of Tata under it’s leader Mr. Ratan Tata, was finally shown off at the Expo. And not so surprisingly, the car has been welcomed by the people all across the world. Be it the common man, or the automobile industries’ most eminent names or the global media, this conceptual venture has been gladly talked about by everyone. Although it is too early to pass on a verdict on the whole deal as of now, because the car would be launched in the market no early than September 2008, I really want to have my say.

In the words of Barack Obama, and now, Mr. Ratan Tata himself, “They said this day would never come”. In an interview put up on the Tata Group’s official website and the Auto Expo PC, Mr. Ratan Tata has made a lot of promises. But I see no reason why I shouldn’t question the authenticity of his words. There are going to be many drawbacks with this vehicle. To begin with, there is no way the car’s price is going to settle at Rs. 100,000 (approximately 2600$). The price everyone’s talking about does not include the controversial VAT and Road taxes. And with the constant rise in the prices of raw materials used in the vehicle industry, there’s no telling what heights the price would get to by September 2008. It’ll be quite enough a challenge for Mr. Ratan Tata to stick to his promise and keep the price as he’s always talked about. In a country with a population of almost 1,200,000,000, how many can really afford a 1 lac rupee car? And once bought, how many can really keep up with maintenance and the rising prices of the fuel? A vehicle can never be a one time investment, people will regularly have to shake up their pockets no matter how hard they try to avoid it.

There’s been a word around at Mr. Ratan Tata’s press conference that the vehicle is environment friendly. Are you thinking what I am thinking? A car with a price tag of Rs. 100,000 is bound to sell like hot cakes at first because of the comparatively low price than the other vehicles available in the range (the Maruti Suzuki 800). Even a general auto-rickshaw that can be seen on almost anywhere in India has a price much more than that of the Tata Nano. So can we expect the Nano to exchange places with the auto-rickshaw and other smaller commercial public transport media? Yes, why not. And this is certainly not going to make things any merrier. Tata Nano will run on petrol and/or diesel. Anything that runs on petrol or diesel is bound to harass the environment. And the more the Nanos sell, things aren’t going to get any better. In a nut shell, a huge number of Tata Nanos with improper emission systems will prove very destructive.

Now, let’s take a look at the issue regarding safety norms. With the kind of roads here in India (which ensure tremendous wear and tear) & the driving mentality of the people here, and most importantly, the number of people here, no amount of detailing is good enough to make the vehicle safe enough. As far as personal opinions are concerned, I will have to say the design looks really weak to me. The tyres are comparatively small, the ground clearance is hardly 19 centimeters (not apt enough for Indians roads), and for a price tag of Rs. 100,000, what can we really expect out of the vehicle’s outer body and the safety equipment fit inside to make your driving sessions secure? Although the low top-speed levels, the engine at the back and the smaller tyres make the vehicle terribly slow, Tata could have done a lot better than this to ensure rugged safety norms.

For a price tag of 2600$, the car doesn’t have much features to offer. It’s like two scooters joined in the middle with a metal rooftop pulled over it. To summarize, the Tata Nano is over hyped. The common man will NOT buy it. They’d rather go for a Maruti Suzuki 800 or cars priced beyond that. May be they’ll just stick to the two-wheelers they’ve been using all these years. The only scope for this car selling is the commercial transport category. This is bound to take the place of the yellow-black or the yellow green auto-rickshaws you see on the streets. But then again, with the prices of non-renewable fuels going up and even beyond, I am not hopeful enough. Even if it sells well at first, we’re bound to see some terrible traffic jams, more air pollution, and people on the streets hurling abuses at each other for exchanging some paint.

My verdict on this car .. flop-mania’s coming!

PS: Is it just me or every one has forgotten the Apple iPod nano? Shouldn’t the Tatas be worried about a lawsuit coming there way?