Police said they arrested a man who acknowledged digging holes on a park bike trail as payback for nearly being run down by a cyclist.Meanwhile in India, a new, very cheap "People's Car" is set to be unveiled, one that should allow many Indians to upgrade from motorbikes to cars. Environmentalists are freaking out:
Warren John Wilson, 52, faces a single felony count of vandalism, police Sgt. Linda King said Friday.
King said nearly 50 holes measuring about 1 foot by 2 feet have been found since June along a trail at Laguna Lake Park, and in some cases attempts had been made to hide them from cyclists. She said some riders went over their handlebars after hitting the holes, but none reported major injuries.
Detectives watching the trails questioned Wilson, who said he had nearly been run over by a mountain bike rider and began digging the holes in retaliation, King said. [...]
After years of secret preparation, the world's cheapest car will be unveiled in Delhi this week - delighting millions of Indians as much as it is horrifying environmentalists.They tell me that cars are also better for carpooling.
At 100,000 rupees (£1,290), the People's Car, designed and manufactured by Tata, is being marketed as a safer way of travelling for those who until now have had to transport their families balanced on the back of their motorbikes . . .
Last year just over one million cars and seven million motorbikes were sold in India. Tata wants to transform some of those motorbike buyers into car owners and believes that the company can eventually sell up to a million People's Cars a year. Analysts say the project could revolutionise car prices, not just in India, but globally. Several other manufacturers have similar products in the pipeline.
These figures alarm environmentalists, already concerned by the congestion and rising pollution levels in India's overcrowded cities. The Tata car is expected to sell for a few hundred pounds more than the most popular motorbikes and less than half the price of the current cheapest car on the market, a Maruti 800. Pollution analysts warn that such a drastic cut in prices could have devastating consequences . . .
Automobile analysts are curious to see how safety and environmental regulations will be met at that price. Tata has claimed that the vehicle would be no more polluting than a motorcycle and the launch was delayed to improve emission levels. But Indian emissions standards lag behind European levels, and cars are not subjected to crash impact standards. If the car were to meet Western regulations, its price tag would most probably shoot up.
These concerns are of little interest to millions of Indians who aspire to owning a car. At a gleaming Maruti showroom in south Delhi, manager Vivek Puri said that their sales patter was carefully designed to tap into the desires of the newly rich.
'When people are preparing to get married they want a car. It's a question both of safety and prestige. The way buses are driven in Delhi, it's difficult to save yourself if you're on a bike, but you've got a much higher chance if you're in a car. Status-wise, it's very important too.' [...]
Crossposted on Soccer Dad
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