Posts Tagged ‘foreign oil dependence’

Pro-American? The Big 3 plan for US energy independence

Is this real American, Big 3 leadership?

Is the Big 3 really any better than Big oil?

We build what Americans want. That’s the mantra US automakers tout regarding their over-dependence upon gas-guzzling pickup trucks time and time again. So, what about the other 50 percent of America? LOL! We really are a divided country, but in so many convoluted ways.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Big 3 recently, especially since coming across a JD Power study regarding the importance of perception and how it affects US auto consumers — we’re pretty manipulable, even to our disadvantage. Then came the Super Bowl commercials, particularly Clint Eastwood’s Chrysler commercial and also GM’s Chevy Silverado apocalypse commercial.

All of it has me wondering, when it comes to being pro-American, are the Big 3 really any better than Big oil? Read more…

Plug-in car focus a cord around energy independence’s neck?

Leaving a lot of foreign oil fighting potential on the table

It’s time to get real about the costs of US foreign oil dependence

In my opinion, ending foreign oil dependence — at least achieving North American independence — is far easier than many might imagine. Ironically, today independence appears even significantly more within reach compared to just a few years ago.

But, it takes real vision to grasp this energy independence potential, but it’s not the seer-like kind of vision that can foresee the technological future some might expect. Rather it takes the vision to simply seize the opportunities available today. Carpe diem! Read more…

Keystone: A pipeline through the heart of American ignorance

Good old American hypocrisy

“No blood for oil” all over again

Around the time of the 9/11 attacks I worked in Pasadena, California. And near my office on South Lake St. protesters showed up every Friday afternoon to protest the build up to Iraq. “No blood for oil” was the rallying cry.

At first, I was quite sympathetic with the cause. In fact, once the Metro Goldline subway line opened, I stopped driving to work to fight my personal foreign oil dependence. But, over time, as I noticed more and more SUVs with “no blood for oil” stickers attending these rallies, I could no longer stand the hypocrisy.

Protesting against “blood for oil” makes little sense when you guzzle blood oil. Read more…

The hybrid barometer: America just isn’t that impressive

Good thing Americans don't understand geography.

No country has more to gain from reducing foreign oil dependence, nor more to lose

Screw GM. Screw Detroit. Screw the Ford F150. Screw the 1% and the 99%. Screw the American consumer and screw the USA. That pretty much sums up my feelings about America these days. It’s time to face it, WE suck, America. It’s not just them. It’s all of us.

And god do I hope that Iran plays some war games around the Straits of Hormuz. Read more…

Is the US already stuck in the energy trap?

The energy trap energy pricing conundrum

Can foreign oil independence help us reframe the energy conversation in a productive way?

Back in 2007-2008, before the oncoming economic crash was apparent, Americans were mad as hell. $4.00 gasoline was driving the average American crazy.

But, what if $6.00+ gasoline was the only path, beginning immediately, towards a sustainable future — an idea I’m extrapolating to some extent from the very interesting article, The Energy Trap.

Would Americans buy in? Yeah, right. Read more…

Sugar cane + hybrids and EVs = the end of oil, according to new study

Could powering worldwide transportation be this simple?

Using just 4 percent of available crop land

There was a time when I believed that hybrids and EVs were all that mattered when it came to new car production and sales. Then ex-GM CEO Rick Wagoner enlightened a blogger group I was part of with the realities of the legacy effect.

Even if the auto industry started building nothing but hybrids today, for instance, it would still take decades to replace the hundreds of millions of vehicles already on US roads. But the auto industry never makes such aggressive changes. Moreover, it also takes many years, if not decades, to replace current production systems and supply chains with new ones.

Thus, any serious attack on foreign oil dependence, for instance, has to address the legacy effect, and that’s what makes a new Brazilian sugar cane study so interesting. Read more…

Identity crisis: What’s the point of the Chevy Volt?

The Volt stands for one simple thing, so build off it.

Who cares if the Volt is more car than electric?

Yesterday I caught a new Chevy Volt commercial, and I think it’s time for GM to get a new team working on the branding of the Volt because their current campaign is just shy of useless. We get it. The Volt uses both gasoline and electricity. It’s the best of both worlds.

Except for costs of course, and that’s why the Volt needs to redefine its image. Read more…

Defending 54.5 mpg by 2025: But is this really the best approach?

Why isn't a 60 mpg hybrid worth a tax credit

Or is it just better than nothing?

At first sound 54.5 mpg by 2025 isn’t a bad tune. But this is CAFE. That means 54.5 mpg is actually more like 39 mpg according to EPA stickers. Then add in the periodic reviews written into this potential legislation that could at anytime squash these new CAFE requirements — especially as they start to impact trucks — and this new CAFE tune starts to lose its beat.

Of course, any improvement beyond today’s 22.1 mpg fleet average is a positive step, but is CAFE the only way to move forward? The best way? Read more…

Slamming OPEC: Putting some ICE into the battery cocktail

How many more oil wars before independence?

Batteries have a role to play, but they can’t do it alone

I’ve been tuned-in to the world of alternative powertrains for about a decade now. In the beginning, I thought today’s automotive landscape would be quite different than it is today. Of course, then much of my idealism was based on hope — hope that US consumers would accept their complicity in 9/11 and commit to fighting foreign oil dependence. LMFAO.

Plus, I just assumed that by today batteries would be far more cost-effective. But ten years ago, there just wasn’t much data to support such a belief — one way or the other. Unfortunately, while there is far more evidence available today, it demonstrates that such a belief is still too presumptuous. Read more…

The road to plug-in success goes through China. Time for a US pullback?

Chinese manufacturing a tough nut to crack for America

Is US energy policy too fixated upon batteries?

I’m pretty confident that electrification is the future of the auto industry, but I’m not sure whether that electrification will be dominated by batteries, or whether fuel cells will also have a role to play. OK. That’s not really true. I’m confident both fuel cells and batteries will dominate the future of the auto industry. If I have any doubts, it’s whether chemical fuels, such as those derived by artificial photosynthesis, could make both batteries and fuel cells less relevant.

Even if fuel cells and/or batteries are the future, however, I’m really beginning to wonder if the current US focus on plug-in technologies is going to be an expensive exercise in futility. Read more…