At a recent economic conference, Ford's CEO Alan Mullaly told reporters "in 10 years, 12 years, you are going to see a major portion of our portfolio move to electric vehicles."
The car company is planning an electric commercial van for 2010, an electric sedan for 2011 and a plug-in hybrid SUV for 2012. Beyond those plans, Mullaly believes that ten years will bring a substantial improvement in the internal combustion engine and, more importantly, that the focus across all car companies will turn to all-electric vehicles instead of hybrids.
In the interview he stated that he believes low oil prices are only temporary and that prices will continue to go up over time.
It has taken the big auto companies a while to figure all this out, but I'm glad that they've finally come around. Let's hope this is a sign of a major turn-around for Ford and the rest of the American car makers. I'm looking forward to the future if this is true.
via All Cars Electric
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written by Carrie, March 06, 2009
Will the government ever truly allow that to happen. Each time you go to the pump Uncle Sam collects a federal Gas tax. I think that may be the true reason, the big 3 haven’t moved into this area a lot faster, not that it would openly effect them but it would effect their relationship with the government.
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written by Anthony, March 06, 2009
I've said it before - the problem with pure EV is the recharge time. If I want to drive from LV to LA and the car only gets 200 miles per charge and takes hours to recharge, it'll take me 7-10 hours to get to LA. Even if you figured out how to get the batteries to accept a quick charge, the problem is the conductors - huge conductors to recharge 65kWh in less than 30 minutes.
Plug-in hybrids are the way to go, and I fully expect that governments are going to switch to a mileage-based tax rather than a fuel tax once PHEVs and EVs are non-trivial portions of the US LDV fleet.
Plug-in hybrids are the way to go, and I fully expect that governments are going to switch to a mileage-based tax rather than a fuel tax once PHEVs and EVs are non-trivial portions of the US LDV fleet.
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written by Kyle, March 07, 2009
"Electric vehicles" could mean either Hydrogen Fuel Cell or Battery powered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicles
Of course with battery power, the recharge time is a huge inconvenience when going long distances. That of course is completely negated by fuel cell cars, which are part of the definition.
It may have been cause for concern if they said 10-12 years will be mostly BATTERY operated, but I don't read it that way, and clearly a hydrogen fuel cell car is an electric car by definition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicles
Of course with battery power, the recharge time is a huge inconvenience when going long distances. That of course is completely negated by fuel cell cars, which are part of the definition.
It may have been cause for concern if they said 10-12 years will be mostly BATTERY operated, but I don't read it that way, and clearly a hydrogen fuel cell car is an electric car by definition.
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written by dialtone, March 07, 2009
Carrie - the correct usage is "affect" - but I agree that someone is going to miss the money from the gas tax - I believe in California they have already discussed a mileage tax on electric cars
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written by dialtone, March 07, 2009
check out this website --
http://www.coatesengine.com/
greatly increased efficiencies from an ICE engine (internal combustion engine) - not invented by a major car company so it wont see the light of day until the patent expires - use this engine in a car like the volt or any PHEV for vastly improved MPG, range etc. - also it greatly reduces all the bad stuff coming out the tail pipe - now only if GM, Ford or Chrysler would talk to this company & start using this invention.......
http://www.coatesengine.com/
greatly increased efficiencies from an ICE engine (internal combustion engine) - not invented by a major car company so it wont see the light of day until the patent expires - use this engine in a car like the volt or any PHEV for vastly improved MPG, range etc. - also it greatly reduces all the bad stuff coming out the tail pipe - now only if GM, Ford or Chrysler would talk to this company & start using this invention.......
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written by BruceMcF, March 07, 2009
There is, after all, no need for the battery to be in the vehicle while it is charging. A battery change station could swap a discharged battery for a fully charged battery in less time than it takes to add gas to a tank.
And of course, driving is not the only way to get to LA from San Francisco ... the process has already started of getting these large electric vehicles called "trains" that run at 220mph to be able to run that route. We impose a lot of mandatory inefficiency on our vehicles by requiring them to support both long distance and local transportation at the same time.
And of course, driving is not the only way to get to LA from San Francisco ... the process has already started of getting these large electric vehicles called "trains" that run at 220mph to be able to run that route. We impose a lot of mandatory inefficiency on our vehicles by requiring them to support both long distance and local transportation at the same time.
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written by Jessica, March 08, 2009
Wow, I am very glad to hear that American car manufacturers are starting to come around. After watching "who killed the electric car", I wasn't sure if it would ever happen.
I'm with you: sincerely hoping it's true, and kinda excited about it.
I'm with you: sincerely hoping it's true, and kinda excited about it.
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written by matt, March 09, 2009
What % of EV battery capacity would have to be sacrificed to warm the interior of a vehicle in the colder climates? Not everyone lives in SoCal.
I have not seen this adressed yet.
I have not seen this adressed yet.
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written by Joe, March 09, 2009
Electric cars will still kill people and spoil places. We need a Carectomy.
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written by Jill, October 14, 2009
I'd really like to see that happen. Electric vehicles taking over is definitely something not only Ford should be working on. I fear though, that the timeline the CEO draws, won't be accurate. I guess it'll take much longer until there's a sufficient network of stations for the cars to fill up and until the cars reach an acceptable level of power.
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