Tata's Air Car - North American Release Date!?

In last months post "Analyzing TATA's Nano Fan Page" I asked TATA; “Hi! What is the Tata Nano's new North American release date?”. Once a week I checked back with them and re-posted my question, but I received no response. Knowing that my question may have been lost in the shuffle, on April. 21st I decided to make my fourth follow up and I again re-posted my question on TATA's Nano Fan Page:

Y-Green Energy So, when will the Nano be made available in North America? My readers are patiently waiting for your answer.

Tata Nano ‎@Y-Green Energy: Currently we will not be able to confirm on any of the launches. But we will certainly announce it big when the decision is taken. Request all the Nano lovers in North American to bear with us.

Y-Green Energy Hi Tata, Thank You for responding. With gas prices so high, the Nano is a much needed mode of transportation that is affordable and good for the environment. If you have any further details or updates you are allowed to provide please email me at: y-green@hotmail.com Thanks.

Unfortunately, I found TATA's response to my question rather Disappointing. It was disappointing because, It was back in 2008 that TATA first announced that the Nano was to be made available in North America by 2010. 

Unfortunately that didn't happen; If this did come to fruition that would have forced other automakers to change the Antiquated, combustion engine to implement the Nano's Air powered, oil free engine. It would have helped decrease our dependence on oil. Who wouldn't want that? Hmmm...

Instead the reason given to TATA was that the Nano didn't meet North American safety standards. Since 2009; TATA has made significant improvements to the design, safety and manufacturing quality of the Nano but still to no avail. 

Today in 2011 the future for the Air Car in North America is still uncertain, and in TATA's response to my question, they politely requested for me to ask all you Nano lovers in North America to be patient and bear with them. Since we have already been waiting for over 4 years, it's really difficult to keep Waiting for the World to Change. So I made one last attempt to search the web for a more detailed answer to my question.

In my persistence I was rewarded, and found a more detailed answer to my question on the TATA Forum. 

"Tata wants to introduce a European version of the Nano by 2012 and has plans too to export the cars to other regions, including North America". 

- Tataforum.com Administrator  

So their you have it! It appears that 2012 is the TATA Nano's new release date for Europe! Lets keep asking companies like TATA to manufacture more alternative energy solutions like the Nano. I'm certain if we make our requests for Air Powered cars heard by other vehicle manufacturers. Perhaps The Nano's North American release will be in 2012 as well?

(Photo provided by: TATA Motors)

Make Every Day, Earth Day!

10 Things You Can Do to Reduce your Impact on the Environment & Conserve Earth's Natural Resources.


1) Reduce, Reuse and Recycle 

2) Live within your Means 

3) Respect Nature 

4) Wash your Clothes in Cold Water 

5) Turn off your Computer 

6) Go outside and Experience Nature 

7) Shop at Local, Independently owned Stores 

8) Buy your Fruits and Vegetables from Local Farmers Markets 

9) Have Fun 

10) Share 1 thing You've Learned from this List 


( Image: United States Parcel Service )

Vote with your Dollar! The importance of Shopping Local

It's only natural for people to try to save their hard earned money and get a good deal. We earn less money than our parents did, we work harder and our money doesn't buy as much as it used too. 

The problem is the majority of companies that sell cheaper products here in North America are able to do so because they outsourced their manufacturing overseas. The reason; because labor is much cheaper and therefore increases their profit margin. It's not that they didn't make a significant profit before, it's because they want more profit.

Some large brand name clothing manufacturers would argue that it's because we no longer have enough local sewers to meet the demand, and in order to compete, they outsource the work. That may be true, but if they didn't do it in the first place, we wouldn't have a manufacturing shortage nor an unemployment problem that has left thousands of people homeless. Its because they went overseas that the majority of local manufacturing companies went out of business, leaving 2.7 Million Americans unemployed and this is only between 2001-2004, that total is much higher now. In Canada, between 2002-2008 350,000 Canadians also lost their jobs and again it was due to an increase of outsourced jobs, now that number is much higher as well, and these jobs haven't returned.   

So who do you blame? Sure we can blame the government, after all they agreed to the so called free trade deals like: NAFTA, TILMA, CETA and CAFTA. You know several large corporations were involved in getting these deals done, because none of them represented the best interests of the people.

Here's an article that points out 10 reasons why NAFTA: Is Bad for Mexico; Bad for Canada & Bad for the US.

That's hardly ethical... Yes, I will be the first to say: everyone needs to work, but it should be a fair deal that doesn't jeopardize or trade the rights and freedoms of those in one country for another. So you may get a deal today, but in reality, what's the real cost? Are you conscious of where your food, water, clothes, shoes, jewelry, cars or energy comes from? If not, you should be.

You're buying power is significant and extremely influential, your love of shopping or necessity to shop; whether you are male or female affects your: community, environment, your local economy and the ability for families, artisans and locally owned and operated businesses to survive.

When you buy local, 70% or more of what you spend in an independently owned local store returns to your community via wages, rent and taxes. Taxes that help pay for essential services, medical, law enforcement, roads and education. With a large corporation that manufactures overseas 35% or less actually stays in your community. That's a huge difference, no wonder we are facing recessions and hyperinflation, we are being stripped of our jobs, buying power and big business isn't giving enough back.

Here is a list of 10 large corporations that have made Billions of untaxed profit overseas. These tax dollars would contribute to the economic development of the United States. Instead they prefer to hoard the money and let their country fall further into debt and let regular citizens and small businesses flip the bill.

Much like an ecosystem, it's interdependent, and supporting your local economy is necessary for it to thrive and survive. How does this affect you? Well, it could affect your job, your ability to purchase food, pay your mortgage or even your ability to get a good paying job.

Lets look at some of the facts from Industry Canada's Key Small Business Statistics report from July 2010.

Small businesses account for 2/3rd's of all the jobs in:

• Healthcare 89%
• Construction 75%
• Forestry 74%
• Food and Accommodation 66%
• Professional Services 75%

To top it off: Accommodation and Food, Construction, Manufacturing, Professional Services and Wholesale Trade Account for 68% of all jobs in small companies. Small local businesses also collect Billions of tax dollars per year for the government. Despite this, small businesses don't get the same tax breaks and tax incentives that the government gives their larger competitors.

It goes to show, locally owned and operated business owners are directly responsible for the majority of the jobs and economic growth in local communities due to big businesses outsourcing our jobs and manufacturing overseas. 

In this post, I'm primarily using Canada as an example, it doesn't matter if you live in the United States, Mexico or any other country in Europe, Africa, South America or Asia: people need to support businesses that are local. Their contributions and importance are largely underestimated and are essential to your community. 

If we don't support local, by shopping local we are in fact sabotaging our own economy and even our own success.

Y-Green's Top 10 Songs about the State of the World

10) Jack Johnson - The Horizon Has Been Defeated

9) Bo Diddley - Pollution

8) Johnny Cash - Don't Go Near The Water

7) James - Greenpeace

6) World Party - Ship Of Fools

5) Genesis - Land Of Confusion

4) Zager and Evans - In The Year 2025

3) John Mayer - Waiting For The World To Change

2) Marvin Gaye - Mercy Mercy Me

1) Michael Jackson - Earth Song