The news today revolves around a multibillion dollar bailout of the Big Three auto makers. I'm not sure where to come down on this on one hand we can't let millions of people to be thrown out of work, on the other is the management of these companies have resisted raising CAFE standards and suppressed new technologies. Are they going to embrace change and give us new highly efficient cars to break our dependence on Mideast oil. Or do they just give new gas guzzlers.
There are other car companies here in the United States that are making, well some are odd looking , but still innovative cars. If we are giving billions to the Big Three shouldn't the discussion include small innovative companies.
Here is a link to the Venture Beat Clean Tech blog post that has links to 30 companies making electric cars
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2 comments:
A must see documentary is "Who Killed the Electric Car".
http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/ the story of how GM developed the EV1 & then recalled them & dumped them even though they were embraced by those who used them & many were waiting to buy.
As far as a potential bail-out,
I feel the same; sympathy/empathy for all involved in the industry who will lose jobs or otherwise suffer but anger at the corporations that consistently ignored public demand & pressure for more fuel-efficient, cleaner/low/no emission vehicles & refused any innovation. The taxpayer/government should not be rewarding bad choices & behavior as we already did within the banking industry.
I say let them reconfigure, merge, whatever it takes (fire top execs??!!) to make it or let one or 2 die. If there is a vaccuum left, it will be filled, hopefully by more socially, environmentally responsible companies who deserve public, even government support.
Good point about the EV1 there were people that begged GM to let them keep the cars that they fell in love with.
But it was not the first time that General Motors in collusion with Big Oil read How General Motors Deliberately Destroyed Public Transit by Bradford Snell or go to Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFhsrbtQObI) there is an excerpt from a Frontine show "Who Killed the Elrctric Streetcar"
There has been a big push back against this theory but GM was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and got a slap on the wrist but it was found guilty
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