Big 3 U.S. auto giants plug electric cars
Rather than focus solely on muscle cars, embattled U.S. automakers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler touted a coming generation of electric vehicles at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Ford on Sunday detailed a multi-prong electric car strategy, saying it will have an all-electric commercial van by 2010, an all-electric passenger car by 2011, and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
GM vice chairman Bob Lutz drives up in an extended-range electric Cadillac concept car, the Converj.
(Credit: GM)The firm, which is healthier financially than GM or Chrysler, partnered with Magna International to develop an electric passenger car that can go 100 miles on a charge from lithium-ion batteries. Ford will add hybrid versions of existing cars, including the Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan.
To help establish consumer interest in electric cars, Ford said it is partnering with utility Southern California Edison to test a fleet of plug-in vehicles and has established partnerships with city governments in China to promote sustainable technologies and cities.
Derrick Kuzak, Ford's group vice president of global product development, told the Associated Press the automaker expects to start selling 5,000 to 10,000 electric vehicles annually.
General Motors on Sunday showed of a concept Cadillac Converj which will be able to drive 40 miles off lithium-ion batteries. It will be outfitted with the same extended-range electric powertrain planned for the Chevy Volt.
The interior of the concept car, the Chrysler 200C EV.
(Credit: Chrysler)GM also introduced a four-door "mini car" called the Chevrolet Spark, originally a concept called the Chevy Beat, which will be available in Europe in 2010 and in the U.S. in 2011
On Monday, GM is expected to announce that it will begin manufacturing car batteries in Michigan, according to reports. Japanese and Korean manufacturers have gotten the upper hand in car battery production, prompting auto companies and politicians to call for programs to encourage U.S. lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
Toyota at the auto show said that it will bring a small all-electric car to market in 2012 and test plug-in hybrid Priuses with lithium-ion batteries later this year.
Chrysler, meanwhile, at the auto show on Sunday showed a concept electric sedan called the 200C EV with a streamlined interior dashboard. The company also plans to have an electric edition of its Jeep Patriot as well.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin.
What's your point? There's risk in simply getting into a car.
Pontiac Vibe (along with the Toyota twin) on their NUMMI line in California?
I think Ford has licensed the hybrid tech from Toyota Why can't GM???
That model could be coming off the line in 6 months if they really wanted to!
People would pay a little more for the GM version of the Hybrid Vibe!
We don't know how long the batteries will last and what the replacements will cost!
If you can't afford the gasoline, you probally can't afford the battery car!
I started my retirement with my 403b, and got a chunk off the top to buy a new car...
BUT, now, I don't want to buy until a couple of years, when all of the hybrid or electric
cars debut! It would take me MANY years to save up that chunk again, so I simply
won't buy anything that will be obsolete in 3 years! (and then I'd be jealous of the newer
tech cars also... :-( )
As for Natural Gas powered vehicles. Natural gas engines do not last as long as gas or diesel powered internal combustion engines. The lack of lubricity in the natural gas fuel is an engine killer. The internal combustion engines for natural gas really need to be re-engineered from the ground up. Also not everyone is hooked up to the natural gas grid in the US, I'm not, wish I was and don't know why no one has ever pushed the pipeline up my way. I do live on a major road on the MA, CT boarder, go figure.
Fuel cell vehicles are still pricey because the costs of the plutonium and other valuable metals used to create them.
Hydrogen cars are a cool idea and are somewhat related to fuel cell vehicles. The downside is the immense costs of hydrogen production. And one of my personal pet peeves is these things leave a water trail wherever they go. You might think it's funny but as a year round motorcyclist I don't appreciate the roads getting wet and slippery and in the winter that wet stuff becomes ice.
Flex Fuel cars is a great idea as long as the fuel used is not tied to the food chain. World crop yields as of late have not been optimal. We need investment and development of fuels that use unconsumable bio matter, like leaves, grass and stalks, to make the alcohol that these things burn. Also if we are going to burn alcohol then we need to re-engineer the engines on these things because of the lack of lubricity in the fuel. Can't be that hard we have been using alcohol for years in dragsters and the like.
The long short is there is no free lunch all these things have pluses and minuses and each consumber of these products will have to weigh the pros and cons of each of these technologies.
A123 claims their lithium batteries are 100% recyclable. There just has not been the need because they are non-toxic (or so they claim).
Gas engines that have been converted to natural gas or propane last 5 times longer and run cleaner than when used with gasoline,. The problem is loss of range and limited refueling points.
I don't think they were in D.C. begging for cash like the "Big Three"
Hydrogen cars are not cool. They actually produce the same amount of pollution as gas powered cars. They are a red herring that the car industries have been chasing so they did not have to make electric cars a decade or so ago. Think about it. There are more than 100k gasoline stations in America. There are not nearly as many or will there be in 2 decades enough hydrogen refueling stations. Think about it. The electricity grid blankets America. When the electric car debuted the potential to have a plug-in electric car was a VERY real reality (your home or office could be your filling station). That threat along with the petroleum companies lobbying the Federal government, killed the electric car a decade ago.
The only reason that these car manufacturers (and thankfully they are) are making these cars is because consumer opinion may finally be changing. With the election of a President whose position includes getting off oil dependency and investing in alternative energy resources and a more aware young voting population that cares for the future, we are finally seeing real change.
Check out the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car".....I just watched it.
They are keeping this pretty quiet, even here in Cedar Park Texas, the home of EEstor. If this concept goes into production with its rapid and cheap recharge, big look out big oil!
[[Where is Zenn the Canadian company that will be powered bu EESTOR capacitors instead of batteries.
They are keeping this pretty quiet, even here in Cedar Park Texas, the home of EEstor. If this concept goes into production with its rapid and cheap recharge, big look out big oil!]]
It is too bad no one has seen a working prototype of the EESTOR battery and they are already late in delivering it to Zenn. It should have been delivered by Dec 31st 2008. They only thing EESTOR has come up with are excuses. IMHO I don't believe EESTOR has such a battery. If they had it working then they would be showing it off by now in order to get more customers lined up. ZENN only has an exclusivity for the battery in small cars under a certain weight. There are many companies working to produce a capacitor battery and the first one to commercialize it will make billions of dollars. Unfortunately I don't think it will be EESTOR.
PB
-
by cancercomesfromoil
February 5, 2009 2:37 PM PST
- If you care about alternative energy cars, if you ever hoped to drive one. If you ever wanted to be supportive and help make cars happen then now is the time to act on a VERY SPECIFIC ISSUE:
-
Reply to this comment
-
(26 Comments)There is no more investment money for alternative energy cars. The Venture Capital market is dead and may never come back. IF, it comes back, Tesla?s problems have put such a bad taste in the VC?s mouth that they will never invest in cars again and those few that did invest in a few car companies have proven that they have no comprehension of how a car company works.
Detroit and the oil industry has managed to block alternative energy cars for decades.
BUT, now, a single door, a last chance has opened. Money was approved and banked, on a emergency fast track basis called the Section 136 DOE ATVM but it was supposed to be released last year and it has been either stalled intentionally by Detroit and Big Oil or mismanaged by those with no idea what they are doing or mis-used by those exploiting the interest revenue on the $25B sitting in Treasury.
Most of the alternative car companies have applied for this money, they are dying in this economy and they all planned for receipt of funds long before this.
What can you do? Tell those in charge to get this money released today.
Today: Call the White House at 202-456-1414
Today: Call Steven Chu, the new head of the DOE at 1-202-586-5000
Today: Call CNN and demand an expose at 800-CNN-NEWS
Please re-post this and forward it to your friends.