Do automakers suck?
Nissan's electric concept at the Paris Auto ShowAs the Fall days have grown darker, so has my mood. Massive bailouts, loans and tax incentives for big, failing US businesses.
Where's my massive bailout? Where's my cheap loan?
I know. I know. The bailout isn't a bailout of Wall Street. It's a bailout of main street. The bailout ensures than one day I can again finance a car that makes no sense in the modern world.
Yet, soon, we'll have Toyota Prius derivatives, including a plug-in version, and the the Honda Insight hybrid. Even better, we'll have the Chevy Volt built here in America. There's hope, right?
Yes. A tiny, little sliver of hope.
However, it'll still be at least a decade before these vehicles, combined, account for even 10 percent of US sales, probably longer. Maybe far longer. In today's digital, business at the speed of light world, automakers are giant, super slow oafs. Dinosaurs. All of them.
Can automakers change? Or, is it time to accept that creative destruction is the only way forward?
Labels: Chevy Volt electric vehicle concept, honda insight hybrid, toyota prius
posted by Dahcredyns at
6:40 AM
4 Comments:
I emailed Envia's founder about what Ford's intentions are with partnering with them on their conversions of the F-150 to a plug in hybrid getting 40+ mpg. They also make the Focus, Escape and Ranger all electric. I asked why don't they just buy you out and start cranking out the product which would make it affordable.
He answered: They don't want to.
Either he was being PC or sounded a bit frustrated. Goes right along with that nice article, "Enough with the 'not invented here'".
So, my answer: They do suck!
There is no doubt a big race going on between automakers to develop proprietary technologies for the electrification of the automobile.
What alarms me is that we trying to electrify what we already have, whereas I think its time for someone to boldly redefine the automobile, transportation itself.
I think we're slowly making the right moves towards electrification - very slowly - but we're not redefining the automobile around these new powertrains.
It's time to step outside of the box, but big automakers can't do it. Their business model just isn't flexible enough.
I love (though it's super big $$$$$)) the wheel motor/shock assembly that the Venturi Volage has come up with...taking hub motors to the next level (though they haven't even really been used at any level yet.
Wish Buffet/Gates/Pickens would all collaberate and fund Phoenix/Tesla/Etc. and allow the MASS production of these vehicles at a affordable levels...no bail out will help the big 3 stooges.
i'm no expert on hub motors, but what happens if one motor goes out? if more power is going to one wheel than another, could that cause a problem?
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