The micro-car: Tata Nano could change how the masses get around

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-perspec0405nanoapr05,0,986838.story
- GAL LUFT

This article outlines the release of a new product aimed at helping the middle class in impoverished countries gain affordable transportation.

The lead is informative describing the appearance of the new car. It also describes the excitement of the 350 million plus individuals in India who will benefit.

The second paragraph compares this new innovation to Henry Ford's invention of the Model T. This new car called "Tata Nano" is the world's cheapest car revolutionizing the less privileged of the world. This second paragraph provides some colorful language characterizing the new car as "the mouse that roared".

The next pargraph provides some background of the impoverished country of India which this new car will ultimately affect. It outlines the danger of Indian roads causing 100,000 deaths each year. This paragraph holds some valuable statistice for the story including that the Tata Nano will cause a 65 percent increase in the number of Indian families who can afford a car.

The next paragraph opens this story to more of a global context. The writer states that India is not the only hub of poverty and this new car coujld eventually spply to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Congo, and many other countries. This is a very important part of the article in which the reader realizes the impact this could have for safety and advancement of a decent chunk of the impoverished world.

Up to this point in the article, the introduction of this new car seems to prodice nothing but positive effects. In the fifth paragraph the other side of the story is presentes, creating a more thorough story. It states that because of the huge potential market of the Nano, environmentalists are "terrified". The first source is also introduced here. Nobel Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change comments that he is "having nightmares" about the Nano an its potential pollution.

In the next paragraph, the writer provides the possible solution to this concern of the environmentalists. He says this concern would be alleviated should these new mocro cars be able to run on something other than gasoline. This point seems rather obvious. He provides a couple examples of accomplishing this, all which seem unlikely.

The article is ended with a throught proking statement which is a little cliche. Overall, the article is pretty thorough though. It may have been nice to have some more sources. I felt some of the information, such as the solutions presented for gasoline alternatives, could have been attributed. Also, it would have been interesting to get a quote from the Nano company themselves.