Two peas in a pod: EV fans and Maximum Bob
The father of the modern electric car?GM's Bob Lutz is a favorite in the auto writer's circuit. Anytime you're near Bob Lutz, you know you're about to get your pen on a golden quote. Last week, Manny Lopez had a chance to get a few golden Lutz quotes, but these quotes weren't about Lutz's views on global warming. Instead, Lutz defended the glories of electrification.
Regarding the EV1, however, Lutz stated, "The only things that were wrong with the EV1 (GM's first electric car) was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready. It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out."
The Chevy Volt, on the other hand, is the perfection of the EV1 according to Lutz.
Now, many EV1 fans - showcased in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car - have disagreed with Lutz, and many of those EV1 fans have seen Bob Lutz and GM as public enemy number 1. Yet, ironically, Bob Lutz is a huge fan of electric vehicles. In fact, much like EV1 fans, Bob Lutz is a fuel cell/hydrogen highway skeptic. Then again, he's also a huge proponent of nuclear power.
So, what's my point?
How do EV fans feel when the greatest proponent of electric vehicles in the Big 6 automakers just happens to be their biggest enemy, Bob Lutz?
posted by Dahcredyns at
9:18 AM
5 Comments:
If only Bob would relate the facts.
A waiting list of 5000 folks existed for the EV1. It was never really marketed and was never for sale, so how would Bob know if people wanted it or not?
The Ovonics NiMH battery gave the EV1 a range of 140 miles. Plenty of range by anyones standards. So the battery technology was there, a market was there but GM did not want to sell an all electric vehicle.
They still do not want to sell an all electric vehicle, which is the obvious crux of the issue.
well, there was over 100,000 people on the waiting list for the Highlander hybrid, for example. once the vehicle came out, however, and those people had a chance to buy the vehicle, consumers balked. i imagine such a case was also possible re: the EV1.
likewise, in terms of 140 mile range - that's not acceptable to consumers. today, study-after-study confirms that americans are not interested in anything less that about 270ish with instant refueling, even though 100 mile range can take care of more than 90 percent of more than 90 percent of daily commutes. let's be honest, american consumers do many things that don't makes sense, but it is what it is.
now if GM could have sold the EV1 as an economy car, i think it could have sold well enough, but the technology in the EV1 was expensive then and it's still expensive. until millions of such vehicles are produced, economies of scale keep both costs high and profit margins small.
the EV1, nor any other electric vehicle, has had that kind of potential.
ultimately, no other major automaker has as aggressive plans for electric vehicles for the US in the near future than gm. not one. that has to say something.
i've interviewed bob lutz, eaten dinner and had drinks with him. he absolutely believes the future is electric cars and nuclear power, period. that's his personal opinion, just like his personal opinion is that global warming is a farce.
and yet, there isn't one other major auto exec that beleives, or at least advocates such a thing.
I agree with you about American consumers and the big range they need/want. My daughter will be heading to college this fall and it is about 120 miles, one way and this will be about as far as we have to drive in one jaunt. I was thinking of getting a Honda Civic CNG, but it has a range of about 220 miles so in theory, we would not be able use this for our round trip, unless we found a natural gas refueling point.
However, with an electric vehicle, all we would have to do is plug in once we arrived on campus, which would not be too difficult. So I can honestly sympathize with driver's range anxiety but like you have said before, our electric infrastructure needs upgrading and needs public access for our upcoming electric fleet. I would think that gas stations could provide electric outlets for a fee...
I also agree about Bob Lutz. A very outgoing and focused individual which in my opinion, will see the Volt to its fruition. I just wish the Saturn Vue plug in was coming sooner. Any word on that vehicle?
the vue plug-in, last i heard, was on schedule, which probably means late 2010 as a 2011 model.
considering the hype i've heard coming out of gm re: the vue dual mode, i'm really excited about the vue plug-in.
it will be very interesting to see how dual mode plug-in hybrids perform against hybrid synergy drive plug-in hybrids. like you, i just wish we didn't have to wait so long.
Didn't they have a check and offer the the lump sum to buy out the leases on all those EV1's set to be destroyed? Yet they still destroyed them in secret rather then sell them warrently free and defray at least some costs? I drive 20 miles round trip to work everyday, and add another 10 here and there throughout the week. I'd love an affordable electric.
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