As President Obama takes office, he will be relying on a small team of advisers to help him hit the ground running. Obama’s White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is well known for his “take no prisoners” approach to politics and business. Yet his strong support for hybrids is less understood. Emanuel could emerge as the country’s most powerful advocate for swift action regarding fuel-efficient gas-electric vehicles.
While major carmakers have dragged their heels on delivering the next big breakthrough on fuel efficiency, the plug-in hybrid, a small group of California entrepreneurs and innovators have made it possible for consumers to convert existing hybrids into plug-in cars running mostly on electricity. Yet, later this week, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is expected to adopt new regulations that could put many of those conversion companies out of business.
There wasn’t a V8 to be heard, full-size SUVs were banished from sight—at least for media days—and the words “electric car” and “hybrid vehicle” were on every carmaker’s video screen. We previewed the show a few days ago; now we'll recap the results, breaking down the top green vehicles into three categories: Expect It, Doubt It, and Forget It.
Several sources inside General Motors told BusinessWeek that the company will show a Cadillac two-door plug-in series hybrid at next week’s Detroit Auto Show. According to BusinessWeek, the concept vehicle—a new model similar to the CTS sedan although “smaller” and “bolder”—suggests that the company plans to use the Volt’s electric-drive technology in other vehicles.
Aptera, which had planned to deliver its three-wheeled electric car to customers last month, has now postponed the production launch for almost a year. Production models of the Aptera 2e (formerly known as Type-1), an all-electric vehicle with a range of 100 miles, were to have been delivered by the end of 2008. The company now expects to launch volume production in October 2009.
That Bible for smart shoppers, Consumer Reports tested a Toyota Prius that had been converted to a plug-in hybrid. Did the no-nonsense, grimly methodical magazine give the plug-in a thumbs-up? “At almost $11,000,” the magazine noted, “the plug-in conversion clearly won’t save consumers money overall”—though they deigned to declare the plug-in technology “viable.”
Fisker has announced a new concept vehicle called the Sunset or Karma S, which appears to be a plug-in hybrid convertible. It will debut at the Detroit Auto Show.
The recently unveiled Mercedes-Benz BlueZero concept vehicles are built with the flexibility to insert electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel-cell technologies into the same vehicle design. It’s easy to dismiss the BlueZero sketches as just another cool green concept car that will never see the light of day, but it could be a glimpse into a future lineup of small Mercedes cars with varying degrees of electric power.
After accepting the position of White House chief of staff under Barack Obama, Rep. Rahm Emanuel said, “You don’t ever want a crisis to go to waste. It’s an opportunity to do important things that you would otherwise avoid.” Emanuel was speaking broadly about the economic crisis, but his statement holds even truer for the crisis facing Detroit automakers.
A Chinese carmaker claims it’s pulled off a coup: This month, BYD Auto will sell the world’s first mass-produced plug-in hybrid. But it’s only offered in China, and will likely stay there until Chinese cars are ready for global primetime.
