bs37932,

RE: Nano “fires”

Here’s how I view the situation:

1 — It may be a setback for marketing ... however if too many pending orders aren’t canceled, it will be a minor bump in the road. Other vehicle manufacturers have made it past worse situations. BTW, two of the last three US automobiles I’ve owned have had recalls; the last one only has 1,500 miles on it and it needs to go back because the door-locks aren’t working properly.

2 — Tata has said:
— a) They are ramping up Nano production; this information came after the three incidents were reported. So, demand is still greater than supply.
— b) They have tried to emphasize that there was really only 1 fire and 2 smoking incidents. Still, one incident involving fire is too many. In any event, they stated they would check all the Nanos currently on the road (approximately 7,500 — very few). Also they will evaluate all new Nanos on the assembly line.
— c) They have located the problem; it occurred within the directional (turn signals) wiring hookup — located in the steering column. If that is all it is, it can be easily accessed and corrected even if it involves all the Nanos currently in public hands.
— d) Finally, they said they do not think the problem is “generic,” i.e., the problem does not exist in all the Nanos.

3 — So, in my estimation, this is far less a problem, or cost, for TTM than Toyota faces with the replacement of all those driver side floor mats that caused some accelerators to stick open. At this point in the Nano’s history, IMHO, it is almost a “non-event”.

All, my best,


Sails
Position: Long & holding