Re: (ET) New Electrics

["David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden ald net>]

Let me make it clear that I DON'T buy the automakers' anti-EV messages.  

But I ^am^ realistic about the challenges of marketing EVs to the general 
public.  They are a niche market product and a disruptive one.  They won't 
return an immediate profit to the manufacturer.  They require unsettling 
changes in the support system.  They don't offer strong, tangible, 
^personal^ 
benefits for most consumers, aside from a certain kind of reverse status - 
"conspicuous conservation," if you will.

I'm also realistic about US automakers' attitudes.  Sure they hate EVs.  
Some 
of that is just plain attitude, but some of it is normal capitalism 
fallout.

An automaker would spend millions of dollars on a ground-up EV design, 
including developing many new components that haven't reached economy of 
scale, and find that consumers will MAYBE pay $20,000 for such a vehicle.  
They would probably have to sell it at a loss for several years before 
reaching profitability.

Or they could take a 20 to 50 year old vehicle design, using components 
whose 
design costs were amortized 20 or more years ago and, with a few weeks' 
work, 
make it into a hot-selling SUV with many thousands of dollars of profit on 
each unit.

Put yourself in their places.  You're responsible to your stockholders.  
If 
you don't show them a profit every quarter, you're out of a job.  Which 
one of 
the above choices do you make?

The point is, the automakers are only part of the problem.  The real blame 
should go on the bottom-line-this-quarter, scorched earth economic system 
and 
climate that breeds this situation.  And that, folks, I don't know how to 
fix.

Note well.  Roger Moore was no angel, but as GM CEO he backed the Impact 
and 
EV-1 programs.  He lost his job over his economic management of GM - 
including 
his backing of EVs.

OK, we are now verging off-topic with this thread.  While it's distantly 
applicable to ETs, we should probably end this thread or take it offline 
now. 


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
1974 Avco New Idea 36vdc
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All we learn from history is history repeats.
 
                     -- Andrew Ratshin
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