Super cheap Tata Nano experiences first real teething problems

Back in March, we covered the launch of India’s super cheap Tato Nano city car on this blog and it seems the high profile model has recently been attracting extensive press coverage once more, though this time perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

The stories all relate to quite an unfortunate incident which, embarrassingly for the Tata company who produce the cars, then happened a further two times after the initial occurrence. I’m talking about the fact that the cars have been ‘catching fire’, or spontaneously combusting for want of a better description…

Basically there have been three recent but unconnected instances of Nanos producing smoke and burning from within the steering shaft, sometimes even despite the fact that the car was stationary for some time before the smoke was noticed. Headlines, perhaps unsurprisingly, have been rather dramatic on the topic: lots of ‘blazes’ and ‘infernos’ and, even more predictably, the common cause being linked to the car’s cheap price (just over £1,300).

However, as some astute motoring enthusiasts have aptly pointed out - similar problems were seen in the rather more expensive Lamborghini Gallardo (clutch smoke was reported in a high number of cases), and in such a case we surely cannot link these problems with cost-cutting in production for the purposes of lowering the cost of the finished article (each Gallardo costs around the same price as 200 Nanos).

Ultimately the Tata Nano is a brand new model from a company producing its first vehicles - and it’s totally to be expected that some teething problems should emerge, especially when the company is foraying into new territory by attempting to produce a car that is quite different to almost everything else on the market. Anyone who considers themselves to be a responsible journalist in the field probably owes it to them to report the recent issues in a responsible manner, and avoid quick conclusions before more information is available on the specific fault, and how the company will act to correct it. Either way it will be interesting to observe how the manufacturers respond to this first bit of negative publicity…

Dejan Levi

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7 Series state of the art

Introduced in 2002, the fourth-generation BMW 7 Series was a technological marvel with wonderful performance.

However, while the super-luxury sedan was a winner on the road, its controversial styling never grew on North Americans. As a result, the 7 Series lost some of its lustre in the face of strong competitors like the Audi A8, Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Seven years later, it’s time for a new 7 Series, and this one’s a lot easier on the eyes.

You could say that the redesigned 7 Series represents an evolution from the previous styling, but it might be more accurate to say that it’s a revolution. The 2010 7 Series maintains the curves of its predecessor, but steps back from the odd and unsettling proportions to take on a shape and profile more in line with past 7 Series designs. Just like that, controversy has been traded for conservatism, and consumers who found last year’s model hard to look at won’t have nearly as much to complain about now — if anything at all.

Full story over at North Shore news online

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Porsche 9FF GT9

It’s not every day that you climb into a £350,000 car dubbed the Veyron killer and get invited to put your foot down on Britain’s fastest test track. Naturally you don’t ask too many questions in case the owner changes his mind or the rain starts again. Or the health and safety people hanging around in high-vis jackets slap a speed restriction on the circuit.

With hindsight, it would have been wiser to have waited for a briefing on some of the car’s more eccentric features. For example, it has no electronic stability program or traction control, which means there’s nothing to stop the wheels spinning on a wet track. Also, it lacks the kind of safety features you’d expect in a supercar. Airbags? No. Wing mirrors? One. Crumple zone? At 250mph, that would be the driver. In fact this is not so much a car as a bomb with some wheels and carpet attached.

Article continues over at Times motoring online

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Congestion charging paradox is becoming quite the problem for Boris Johnson - and the rest of us too…

From the Mayor of London’s most recent transport plan it looks like the inherent can’t-win dynamic that lies at the core of the congestion charging concept is starting to cause some mild frustration to say the least. The situation is simple: Boris’s budgets are facing a serious shortfall, while congestion in the country’s economic heart looks set to rise unacceptably by 2020 despite the introduction of more buses, cycling routes and all the other measures that Johnson had planned. So Boris needs to raise some extra cash from somewhere, and also to think of additional measures to reduce jams and pollution: surely a congestion charge plan should be considered a godsend in such a situation?

Well, in theory it certainly is - but for one major, and very simple, obstacle: it is generally a very unpopular measure, and ultimately populist politicians like Johnson quite like to give the people what they want. It is this inherent unpopularity of the scheme that seems very difficult to surmount, despite the fact that almost all motorists who oppose the charge would probably also recognise that a problem with congestion and pollution needs tackling, and soon.

Herein lies the key problem - that while we generally tend to acknowledge that something needs to be done, we are dogmatically opposed to any solution that really tests our commitment beyond mere lip service. In other words; we uncompromisingly recognise the necessity of a solution, but only if someone else can pay for it.

Edinburgh and Manchester’s recent public rejection of a congestion charge scheme illustrates exactly where we are on the public perception of such schemes (Manchester voted nearly 4 to 1 against for example). Therefore though Boris publicly seems unwilling to make any concessions to expanding congestion charging schemes, his transport strategy hints that such a choice represents actually quite a sensible option, but in the end it is all quite irrelevant until a more pressing concern is tackled: that of public support for such a programme. After all, what’s the point in forcing through a measure which will then last only a year or two before the next populist Mayor comes in to repeal it (just as Johnson did to Ken Livingstone)?

Ultimately the real challenge that both Johnson’s office, and the government, must recognise is that far more public discussion and information on our cities’ transport situations is required. At this point we currently face a situation where there lies a great disparity between the knowledge contained in specialists’ reports on the challenges we must tackle, and the public’s level of access to such info in more digestible formats. Until we can rectify this we will always shoot ourselves in the foot by shackling the options available to politicians by virtue of our own unwillingness to understand that no workable and viable transport arrangement can ever come either easy, or cheap.

Dejan Levi

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Review: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate has been under pressure in recent years as the default choice of those looking for a classy way to transport people and luggage. Large SUVs and suave estate rivals from Audi and BMW provide plenty of competition and the previous generation E-Class wagon’s less than perfect reputation for reliability have all played their part in the Merc slipping a few notches. Now, the all-new E-Class Estate is here and determined to put things right. The new Mercedes E-Class saloon has already impressed us greatly with its refinement, economical engines and a welcome return to form for Mercedes build quality. For the Estate, it’s more of the same but with a simply huge load bay at the back accessed through an electrically operated tailgate that’s standard on all models for the UK. There’s also a simplified regime of trim options that mirrors the saloon’s, with SE, Avantgarde and Sport models offered. All come with a long list of standard safety gear, including the Mercedes Pre-Safe system that helps brace the car and its occupants if an impending accident is detected.

Full story continues over at Yahoo news

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Preview: 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo

What is it? The most powerful Porsche 911 Turbo ever

The basics: 3.8-liter flat six with 500 hp; 0-60 mph in 3.2 sec, 194-mph top speed; seven-speed dual-clutch or six-speed manual transmission

On sale: January 2010

Price: $132,800 (Coupe) and $143,800 (Cabriolet)

With its world debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show behind it, the 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo is being launched to the media over the next week, before it goes on sale in January.

Both the Turbo Coupe and Turbo Cabriolet share newly updated drivetrain technology, while the basic 911 body style remains intact. The mechanical highlights for 2010 include a new 3.8-liter direct-injected flat-six engine generating 500 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque (the latter peak, with the optional Sport Chrono pack). Porsche says the new powerplant makes for a 0.2-liter and 20-horsepower improvement over the company’s previous flagship supercar.

Paired with the new seven-speed Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) dual-clutch gearbox, the 2010 911 Turbo shoots to 60 mph in just 3.2 seconds, Porsche says, and tops out at 194 mph. Despite the added power and speed, the new car also has better carbon dioxide emissions (down 18 percent) and improved gas mileage, though official EPA city and highway figures aren’t available yet.

Read more over at The Car Connection online

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The BMW X5 10-Year Edition

BMW is to offer a special edition of its popular BMW X5 to mark the range’s 10-year production milestone.

The BMW xDrive35d 10-Year Edition comes as standard in Sophisto Grey metallic paint with unique 20-inch Y-spoke light alloy wheels, Matt Aluminium exterior trim, Matt Aluminium roof rails, Panoramic glass sunroof and Comfort Access. Inside, and Comfort seats, Anthracite headlining, Carrara Shades Nappa leather upholstery and BMW Individual Piano Black trim are just some of the product highlights. ‘10-Year’ plaques are fitted to the front doors, front door sill plates and on the dashboard to underscore the merit of the vehicle.

Article continues over at Carpages

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Scrappage scheme extended - but for how long?

The government’s business secretary, Lord Mandelson, has this week announced an extension to the ‘cash for clunkers’ scrappage scheme (whereby motorists wishing to trade in an old car get £2k towards a new one) to cover an additional 100,000 vehicles (i.e. another £200 million).

So far the scheme has been touted as being a success by the auto-mobile industry, supposedly staving off redundancies - no UK plants have closed so far during the recession - but has cost the taxpayer around £300million to date.

It seems likely that the extension to the scheme should continue to work in the same manner as has thus far been the case, with current sales showing a massive boost on this time last year (August 2009 is 46% up on previous year). Hence as well as protecting jobs, the manufacturers are even more delighted to see profits soaring despite the general gloomy economic climate. What worries me however, is the lack of a long term plan from Mandelson, who seems to have little plan beyond this short term fix.

True, the sums of money in question represent a far cheaper way to assist a key industry in trouble - (£500 million in total is very little compared to the multi-billion pound bailouts seen in the US for example), but regardless it seems likely that as soon as the next pot of subsidy money runs out, the same problems will have to be faced (declining sales, plant closures, unemployment etc).

Surely Mandelson doesn’t truly believe that the scrappage scheme should be extended indefinitely, or even that if it were to stop, the number of sales in the sector (which is currently sustaining it) will continue at the same rate? And if not, why this oddly short-sighted policy of simply extending the scrappage scheme, and avoiding the difficult restructuring that seems inevitable?

Well unfortunately I can’t help but feel that it all has something to do with the upcoming general election next year. Mandelson’s policy doesn’t really seem to extend beyond roughly this time period, after which either it will be the Conservatives problem (and if the house of cards collapses it will reflect badly on the latter - good for labour), or if Labour miraculously win - then Mandelson et al can then consider an effective long term solution at that point.

Since it seems likely that the first outcome will come to pass (Conservatives win, inherit temporary short-term fix to a bigger problem, and then have to deal with it themselves), I’m slightly disappointed that the timing of a general election is sadly seemingly impacting also on the government’s handling of an issue such as this one - with short-term solutions being the order of the day. Regardless of its outcome, it can only be a good thing for the election to be sooner rather than later - if only so that we can finally see our government seeking a viable longer term solution for the automobile sector, unlike the unsustainable one currently being used to offset inevitable difficult issues.

Dejan Levi

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