This past Sunday, my report on the rebirth of the electric car aired on “CBS News Sunday Morning.†You can see it here. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/06/...in3239838.shtml CBS gave me a juicy long time for the segment–but the truth is, there was enough good material to fill a miniseries. Like the interview with auto-industry superstar Bob Lutz, now a top executive at General Motors (vice chairman, global of product development), and the driving force between the upcoming Volt electric car. He’s a funny, smart, engaging guy, although he’s certainly got GM’s interests at heart. But since I now have the luxury of an e-newsletter, and you have the luxury of a scroll bar, here it is: is a longer chunk of that interview. [See the rest of the article here:] http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/20/...r/index.html?hp
Dave, thumbs up ! I really enjoyed the video, thanks for sharing with us. It was quite entertaining - something lacking in many news stories.
Hi DaveLee... Great report! You, and people like you are the reason I still watch the TV I do. Still think the GM is not giving engineers a free hand on the Volt. That exterior design is just not compliant with a high efficiency car. If anything kills the 40 mpg goal, it will be the juvenile engineering of the shape of the car, including the monster tires.
The Tesla is an electric car. The Volt is not. It still has a gasoline engine. How much the engine will be in use is still a question. Yes, that 40 mile range will do for 85% of the population. If it gets the 40 mile range. But having that engine doesn't really make it an electric car, just another type of hybrid. I'll wait until Tesla comes out with their sedan that seats five and is priced under $50,000. Nice piece though. And I'm looking forward to "Who Saved the Electric Car".
Reading the comments of the N.Y. Times blog was refreshing, seeing what so many think of what's being promised.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(donee @ Sep 21 2007, 07:09 PM) [snapback]515990[/snapback]</div> Well the GM released a much more mature version of the Volt concept for their European consumers at the Frankfurt Auto Show called the Opel Flextreme. It uses the same chassis as the volt with a wagon / people-mover body and has a diesel engine instead of the volt's gasoline engine. The follow link has some more information and many more pictures: http://jalopnik.com/cars/frankfurt-auto-sh...show-297707.php
Is it just me or does that Opel Flextreme have a very similar body shape to the Prius (especially from the side)? I guess Toyota can be satisfied that imitation is the greatest form of flattery! :lol:
Phenominal piece. Great job of explaining everything from the drawbacks of ethanol and hydrogen to the pollution concerns about coal-generated electricity, to the upcoming electric cars from Tesla and GM. The report couldn't have been much better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JustLurkin @ Sep 22 2007, 09:44 AM) [snapback]516164[/snapback]</div> It is just you. Really the 5 door hatchback is a very common shape in Europe. The Prius shape isn't anything special there. Just a few examples. Ford Focus: Ford C-Max: Mercedes A-Class: Mercedes B-Class:
