President Elect Obama should bail out GM, only if they agree to resume production on the EV1. They can call it the EV2 or "The Patroit"
We own a prius. We have had it since 2004 and love it. It's a very good car. We have driven it on three week vacations, where we covered 9 states of driving. It was flawless. It's really no wonder it's as popular as it is. What is a wonder is why the EV1 never picked back up. GM could have been way ahead of the game if they we not so obsessed with the profits from car parts, brake parts, ect. Yes, they had the money maker before Toyota and let the profits of aftermarket needs blow any chance of GM being a profitable car company today in 2008.
(From the "Who Killed The Electric Car" web site.)
Electric cars are a threat to the profitability of the conventional gas-powered auto industry. GM said that it spent more than $1 billion to market and develop the EV1. Not only would a successful electric car program cannibalize sales of conventional cars, but the electric car costs the auto industry in other ways: lacking an engine, it saves the driver the cost of replacement parts, motor oil, filters, and spark plugs. The EV1’s regenerative braking system, in which the car’s electronic controls handled much of the work of slowing down the car, spared the car’s mechanical brake system from wear. Brake parts and repair is a billion-plus dollar industry alone. The EV1’s efficiency was a winner for consumers but a loser for the auto industry.
Pretty lame, isn't it? Where would the EV1 be now if they kept progressing?
Where is the Toyota prius now? It's about to skyrocket ahead with the plug in hybrid coming out soon. (2011 is my prediction.)
Yes, I will be buying one as soon as I can. Near Pasadena, CA there is a small company that will transform your 5 year old Prius into a plug in model. (If you were to transform your Prius into a plug in model you void your 5 year extended warrantee.) The company is small, and even though they have everything to convert a regular Prius into a plug in hybrid the costs are prohibitive. This should be what GM is doing. GM should be funding these small companies that could be converting Hybrids into Plug in Hybrids. This is something that we should see in every city. Plug in Hybrid conversion stations. This is now, not 5 years from now.
Not 5 years from now. (Like the Chevy Volt that I doubt will go on sale any time soon.)
Why isn't Exxon Mobil bailing out GM ? ExxonMobil actually has a lot to do with why GM is where they are today. They were against zero emission vehicles (ZEV) and helped end the EV1 and GM"s future.
Both the Car companies and oil industries argued the mandate was too strict, and both the car and heavily profitable oil industries (in 2005, ExxonMobil posted $35 billion in profits, the largest ever profit recorded by a US company) lobbied heavily against the ZEV mandate from the very beginning.
GM owned a 60% share of the company that developed the NiMH battery. (GM-Ovonic) joint venture, actually. GM sold that interest to Texaco Inc. Lucky for planet earth, Matsushita Battery co, and Panasonic EV Energy Co, and Toyota figured out how to use the technology that Texaco was holding onto.
(Texaco even tried to sue Toyota for using the NiMH battery in the Prius, and did not succeed.)
So if GM were to be bailed out, they should be forced to use today's technology and start building the EV2
Where would GM be today if they kept building the EV1 and improving it? I doubt they would be looking for a major bail out.
President (Elect) Obama, you have my permission to bail out GM, only if they agree to start production on the EV2. * Extra credit if you make them use the body style of the 1969 Camaro, the 1965 Mustang, or the 1965 Corvair, or the 1961 Buick Special. (Oh how cool would that be?) They could start building the EV2 in Detroit. I have the addresses of several empty auto factories that are available right now if anybody needs it.
I better publish this diary now before my cat jumps on the keyboard again and deletes this for the 2nd time.
Don't expect to actually be able to buy or drive "The Volt" anytime soon.
So, there is my deal for GM. You get the bailout, we get the EV2. * or "The Patriot" ( That is what I would name the car.)