tempest in a teacup

Tata Motors unveils its $2,500 car

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's admirable that Tata has decided to come out with a vehicle that the average middle-class family can realistically afford, particularly since the default mode of transport for the average family of four in India is a two-wheeler of some kind, which, given the terrible state of traffic in most Indian urban areas, is incredibly risky. A car would undoubtedly be safer. However, I have to wonder if it really is a smart idea given that pollution in Indian cities is, well, pretty bad. In addition to that, adding even more cars to already strained infrastructure in cities like Bangalore is only going to cause problems down the run. If you thought the roads were bad now, try increasing the number of cars that roll over them every day. Given the penchant for lousy maintenance of public infrastructure in India, I can imagine that its state will only deteriorate further.

As for the car itself, well, I'm not really a fan of the bug-eyed flat-faced look, but that might just be a matter of personal taste. I suppose the low horsepower makes sense for a car meant for city driving at a relatively low speed limit, but since Tata is touting the safety of this new car, the omission of airbags seems like a rather glaring one. In addition, given the rather compact profile of the vehicle and the materials used in its construction, I have to wonder how the vehicle would fare in a head-on collision, perhaps with one of India's notorious Ambassadors (picture an average sedan, only built like a Panzer minus the gun barrel). I can only assume that Tata has done the necessary testing.

In other India-related news, I'm 99% sure that this is going to cause some fireworks, and as usual, I have no bloody idea why.

How about a political meme?

92% Barack Obama
92% Bill Richardson
90% Hillary Clinton
88% John Edwards
85% Chris Dodd
77% Joe Biden
74% Dennis Kucinich
71% Mike Gravel
47% Rudy Giuliani
42% John McCain
35% Mike Huckabee
34% Mitt Romney
27% Tom Tancredo
23% Fred Thompson
14% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

LOL @ Ron Paul being at the bottom.

So, these Iowa primary results. I have significant doubts about exactly how indicative they are of anything (a pastor winning the evangelical vote? Surely you jest). If you absolutely must know, I have doubts about both winners (moreso about Huckabee than Obama). I also agree with Paul Krugman's reservations about Obama, in that his tone of building consensus doesn't jive with the fact that his opponents in Washington will be ideologues who will attempt to get in the way of anything even remotely progressive-sounding. In any case, Iowa isn't going to determine the winner by itself, so I'll be keeping an eye on events for the next few months.

And before you ask, no, I don't really have a preference for any candidate, although if I did end up supporting someone (inefficacy of my doing so be damned), it would most assuredly be a Democrat. I do not share what seems to be the average techie's fascination with Ron Paul, for various reasons.

Actually, I don't even really know if any of the candidates running right now would be agreeable to me either. Not that I can vote or anything, but it does matter to me who runs the most powerful country in the world, for reasons that are hopefully obvious to most people.