Why the Nano may be a no-no

Letter from Hong Kong... 

The big story of the fortnight from India was, of course, the unveiling of the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car. But although the launch created quite a buzz internationally, it isn’t clear just how far the manifest Indian frenzy for small — and “cheap” — cars is shared in these parts. 

For instance, in China — on course to become the world’s second largest car market — there’s increasing evidence that the appetite for small cars is running low, as China’s army of middle-class go for size in their choice of cars. Chinese small-car manufacturers Xiali and Geely have actually seen their market shares shrink. One reason for this is that in middle-class China, it’s considered important to “save face” by maintaining an image of high living. And driving small, “affordable” cars is increasingly considered a “loss of face”.  

This mentality manifests itself in bizarre ways, even at the governmental level. It underlies the proliferation of “showcase projects” —the longest bridge, the tallest ferris wheel etc — with little or no consideration for return on investment. 

But then again, vanity isn’t a personality characteristic of the Chinese alone. In the mid-1980s, when car ownership in India was only beginning to catch on, I’ve seen families in New Delhi drive around in mid-summer in non-air-conditioned Maruti 800s with the windows rolled up — evidently because they didn’t want to let on that they didn’t have an AC car…

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A new 3G mobile phone service that can identify the location of the person you are calling promises to be a big hit in Hong Kong, with thousands of people signing on for it.  The service, called ‘Follow Me Follow You’, works only by mutual consent: that is, only with your consent can your caller “locate” you. The service has mostly found favour with parents who want to keep track of their kids, but as has been pointed out, it could help subscribers have an eye on spouses who may be tempted to go astray!  

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In Hong Kong, it’s common enough to come across unintentionally comical names, and I’ve shared some of the more unusual ones in this space: names like Milk Fat, Pubic Ha, Alien Sun, Sincerely Hu, Busy Wong, Destiny Chu…

I am happy to add one more to that list. A former Hong Kong police sergeant, who is currently being prosecuted by the anti-corruption department for possessing unlicensed ammunition (and some Viagra tablets) has a name to, well, die for: he’s called Die Yung.