Hi all, Here are a couple of responses to "who killed the electric car", one from an ex GM employee revealing some interesting insights into the workings of GM,
regards tallex From: laura belin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> From: "Marc Franke" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun May 28, 2006 9:15 am Subject: RE: [irenew] who killed the electric car? hint: it was gassed I worked for GM for 17 years. I got my engineering degree from their own corporately owned, private but fully accredited college; General Motors Institute (GMI). The problem at GM runs deep and can be somewhat subtle. As a student, I alternated work in my home division (Delco Products; made shock absorbers and electric motors) and school at GMI in Flint, Mi. I would spend 6 weeks in a work assignment in the plant (Dayton, Oh) and 6 weeks in school in Flint. I then worked a 5th year Practicum entirely in the plant before getting my degree. My 6 weeks in the plant would always be in a different department. It might be Personnel, then Manufacturing, then Product Engineering, etc. In my 4 years I basically did 16 internships traveling through every department in my division. By the time a student graduated from GMI they were schooled not only in the theory of Engineering, they also had a complete education in the practice of how GM conducted its business and accomplished its goals. GMI grads were almost always made an offer of permanent employment and the conventional wisdom was that you were set for life. Many of GMs managers came from the ranks of these GMI students. That, was/is part of the problem. There is a GM way of doing things that each GMI grad learns. Taking risks is discouraged. There is a lot of emphasis on business, management and engineering competence, but very little on leadership or vision. Fitting in with GM group think is highly encouraged. So much so that it is hard to get ahead any other way than to fit in. GM is not unique in that regard. Large corporations often fit this mold. How does this impact the EV1 electric car experience? The EV1 would have been a startling new direction for GM. It was only pursued at all because it was the brain child of the GM Chairman of the Board; Roger Smith. When a top GM executive pushes something new, it gets done. If that executive stops pushing, the fact that it is new, means that corporate inertia will begin to resist the change. See this auto industry trade journal (Wards Auto World) for a discussion of Roger: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3165/is_n7_v26/ai_10395219 In the article, Roger says that most people underestimate the opportunities for such a vehicle referring to the EV1; how true and how prophetic. By most people I think that Roger was referring all of those carefully schooled GM executives and managers that were all encouraged to think the same. There is book called The Car That Could that chronicles the development of the EV1. It is a very interesting read. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/067942105X/102-3430365-2309706?v=glance&n=283155 In the end, I believe that GM simply could not make the mental shift to a world of electric vehicles. Many within GM probably felt threatened by the EV1. Low maintenance electric vehicles (no spark plugs, mufflers, oil changes, tune ups, minimal brake pad wear, etc.) means existing business lines and profits are threatened all over GM. Once Roger Smith retired, the vast momentum of GM direction began to assert itself leading eventually to the intentional destruction of the EV1; even so far as to the crushing of all of the existing vehicles. Some company will eventually mass produce an electric vehicle and we will all wonder why it took sooooo long. It will not likely be GM. It could have been. It is a terrible shame for our country, our economy and the many GM employees that now have to sit by and see their once mighty corporation be slowly dismantled. As a former GM employee, I feel that sadness. A few years following the Arab Oil Embargo of the early 70s I submitted a sketch of a gas/hybrid electric power train design to my manager. It would have used electric motors that our division built. After a few days, my manager came back to me and kindly counseled me not to do that again for it could hurt my career opportunities. You see, my engineering job was to make factory processes more efficient not to lead product design in some new direction. So, now, I no longer work for GM. I do drive a diesel car (designed in Germany) and most of my miles are fueled by 100% American-made BioDiesel. I can buy no such car from my former company. Marc. Marc Franke Renewable energy advocate Ely, Iowa Date: Sun May 28, 2006 12:32 am Subject: Re: [irenew] who killed the electric car? hint: it was gassed laurabelin My husband had a high school friend who was working for GM in the early 1990s on this electric car project (he's an engineer). We didn't talk about it at great length, but I certainly got the impression from him that GM wasn't ever serious about developing this technology for the mass market. Laurie Belin Get your daily alternative energy news Alternate Energy Resource Network 1000+ news sources-resources updated daily http://www.alternate-energy.net Next Generation Grid http://groups.yahoo.com/group/next_generation_grid/ Tomorrow-energy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tomorrow-energy/ Alternative Energy Politics http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alternative_Energy_Politics/ > -------Original Message------- > From: Doug Turner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [Biofuel] who killed the electric car? hint: it was gassed > Sent: 31 May '06 15:05 > > They changed the name to The Nohomers so they are a little harder to kept > track of. > > > -----Original Message----- > FROM: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] BEHALF OF John Beale > SENT: May 30, 2006 1:27 AM > TO: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > SUBJECT: Re: [Biofuel] who killed the electric car? hint: it was gassed > > See, now I was taught that it was the Stonecutters who held back the > electric car. > > What about that? > > -John > > > On May 28, 2006, at 9:30 AM, Kirk McLoren wrote: > > Something even bigger than automobiles (solar thermal) was also > killed. Mike MacCormack the senator from the state of Washington and > former research scientist at Hanford got the "Solar Energy Demonstration > Act" passed and I believe the aformentioned senator, also known by the > nickname "Mr Atomic Energy", was very active in SEDAs implementation. The > act basically placed such burdensome tests on solar products that only > multimegadollar corporations could afford to enter the marketplace. Mr > AtomicEnergy put an icepick into the heart of solar and to this date the > industry has not recovered. > > Kirk > > _ALTENERGYNETWORK <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>_ wrote: > > Who Killed The Electric Car? Hint: It Was Gassed > > < http://www.telluridewatch.com/052606/electric.htm > > > > It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever > built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and > catapulted American technology to the forefront of the > automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never > wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush > its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert? > > Local director Chris Pains film Who Killed The Electric Car? > chronicles the life and mysterious death of the GM EV1, > examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how > they reverberated through the halls of government and big > business. Inspired by his own experience with the EV1 in > 1997, Pain set out to solve the mystery of the cars > disappearance from the American marketplace. His first > feature documentary as a director, Chris Paines 90-minute > film will be screened at Mountainfilm on Sunday at the Palm > Theatre at 9 p.m., followed by a question and answer session. > > The year is 1990. California is in a pollution crisis. Smog > threatens public health. Desperate for a solution, the > California Air Resources Board targets the source of its > problem: auto exhaust. Inspired by a recent announcement > from General Motors about an electric vehicle prototype, > the Zero Emissions Mandate was born. It required 2 percent > of new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by > 1998, 10 percent by 2003. It is the most radical smog-fighting > mandate since the catalytic converter. > > With a jump on the competition thanks to its speed-record-breaking > electric concept car, GM launched its EV1 electric vehicle in > 1996. It was a revolutionary modern car, requiring no gas, no > oil changes, no mufflers, and rare brake maintenance > (a billion-dollar industry unto itself). A typical maintenance > checkup for the EV1 consisted of replenishing the windshield > washer fluid and a tire rotation. > > But the fanfare surrounding the EV1s launch disappeared and > the cars followed. Was it lack of consumer demand as carmakers > claimed, or were other persuasive forces at work? > > Fast forward to six years later... The fleet is gone. EV charging > stations dot the California landscape like tombstones, > collecting dust and spider webs. How could this happen? Did > anyone bother to examine the evidence? Yes, in fact, someone > did. And it was murder. > > The electric car threatened the status quo. The truth behind > its demise resembles the climactic outcome of Agatha > Christies Murder on the Orient Express: multiple suspects, > each taking their turn with the knife. > > Who Killed The Electric Car? interviews and investigates > automakers, legislators, engineers, consumers and car > enthusiasts from Los Angeles to Detroit, to work through > motives and alibis, and to piece the complex puzzle together. > > The film is not just about the EV1. Its about how this > allegory for failure reflected in todays oil prices > and air quality can also be a shining symbol of societys > potential to better itself and the world around it. While > theres plenty of outrage for lost time, theres also time > for renewal as technology is reborn in > Who Killed The Electric Car? > > > Get your daily alternative energy news > > Alternate Energy Resource Network > 1000+ news sources-resources > updated daily > > http://www.alternate-energy.net > > > Next Generation Grid > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/next_generation_grid/ > > > Tomorrow-energy > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tomorrow-energy/ > > > Alternative Energy Politics > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alternative_Energy_Politics/ > > _______________________________________________ > Biofuel mailing list > Biofuel@sustainablelists.org > http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 > messages): > http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ > > > Feel free to call! Free PC-to-PC calls. Low rates on PC-to-Phone. _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
