Auto Trends

The news from the Detroit Auto Show has been awash in green, as the Dodge RAM went hybrid, GM promised to deliver the fully electric VOLT by 2010, and Toyota announced its intention to compete against GM in the race to deliver a plug-in hybrid to American showrooms. Additionally, the convention featured sub-compacts like the Smart car as well as clean diesels and flex-fuel vehicles. Of course, the renewed focus on fuel efficiency (after a 30-year hiatus) and alternative technologies is no surprise, given the high price of oil. And while it's very good news, another auto trend has more troubling and far-reaching implications for the world: namely, the advent of ultra-cheap cars. How cheap? The $2,500 Nano (you read that right) was recently unveiled by the Indian manufacturer Tata to considerable hype, while Renault, Volkswagen, Nissan and General Motors have all signaled their intention to compete for the same low-cost market. As Praful Bidwai reports in the Asia Times, this is a chilling development.

By 2020, some forecasts say, more than 150 million Indians and 140 million Chinese will have cars. If this really happens, it will become nearly impossible to achieve major reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.