Green Options

Yesterday, Chrysler/Fiat’s new CEO Sergio Marchionne presented the 5-year business plan he hopes will save Chrysler, and bring Fiat back to the US market for the first time in nearly 30 years. The company presented its plan during a live, seven-hour-long marathon webcast, which was notable for two things: first, a virtually unprecedented willingness to discuss future product, and, second, the conspicuous absence of New Chrysler’s much-ballyhooed ENVI electric-vehicle division.

What happened to the Dodge EV? Can we expect some innovative green tech from Marchionne’s new Dodge product future? The depressing reality, after the jump.

Chrysler is arguably in the toughest shape of the Big Three Detroit automakers, both financially and with its future lineup. You can point plenty of fingers at reasons why, including the lack of effective, fuel efficient vehicles, but Chrysler was once considered the most innovative of the big three, always thinking big while breaking the bank.

One little-known car from the annals of the Auburn Hills automaker is the Patriot, a purpose built hybrid electric race car that was to use turbines and natural gas to achieve purported speeds of 200 mph.

This new column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

At the outset of this week, it looked like the Swine flu might be the largest influenza epidemic since the virus that wiped out a significant portion of the world’s population at the end of the first World War. Local economies everywhere have been affected given that people have stopped going out for fear of “The SuperFlu.”

Not [...]

In the last weeks, GM has increased the intensity of its internal dialogue and negotiations with the Obama Administration to keep from being killed off. A summary of where GM is as of right now:

Think a Ferrari is fast? Watch one get schooled below.

Electric cars are no joke. Yes, it’s true that many EVs are small, ungainly-looking oddities, but the other end of the spectrum—the realm of high-performance supercars—might surprise you.

After re-discovering a 1972 electric datsun that can accelerate from 0-60 in 3 seconds, we decided that an important question hadn’t really been answered yet:  how do the electric cars we’ve been hearing so much about stack up in terms of performance?

Below, we’ve listed the world’s top 10 fastest electric cars, based on the best available information (and a little creative license). Note that our criteria does not take into account a variety of important factors like charging time, availability, and cost. All cars are simply ranked by the time it takes them to get from 0-60 mph.

Most of the machines shown here are either not available or otherwise out out of the realm of possibility for most, but then again, so are most high-performance gas-powerd cars.  And that doesn’t keep us from admiring them. Please keep in mind that this post is not intended to be the final word on this topic.

Btw, if you’re interested in joining the first mailing list dedicated to bulk purchasing electric cars, check it out (you can also get cheap solar there too).

The bailout plan is not working. This morning’s New York Times has reported that the U.S. government is facing mounting pressure to add to the bailout kitty. Should the government continue to plug the hole?

Automotive News is reporting that Chrysler is readying an updated version of its Dodge EV concept for the Geneva auto show later this year.

Despite a solid PR launch of Chrysler’s ENVI electric vehicle group, the current Dodge EV is little more than UK-only Lotus Europa with Dodge badges and fly-yellow paint.  This new concept, however, promises to be something more.

From Automotive News:

The Dodge EV shown in September was a Lotus-derived electric sports car. Look for the show version to have more Dodge styling cues and possibly be a four-passenger coupe.

Reading between the lines a bit, then, what can we expect from Chrysler?

A North Carolina Parks Department has bought three electric cars as a way to lighten their impact on nature preserves.

Custom Solar Array

Two of the vehicles charge by plugging into the wall. The third has been specially retrofitted with a solar array over its flatbed, freeing it from the grid and allowing it to charge while in the field. The vehicles, which all have small flatbeds, will be replacing ATVs and trucks for hauling maintenance and landscaping materials. The Mecklenburg County Department of Park and Recreation bought the three GEM vehicles (Global Electric Motorcars - a Chrysler company) with help from the Solar Center at North Carolina State University.

The White House and Congress are near a bailout for the “Big Three” auto manufacturers with a $15 billion loans. This is supposed to be a bridge loan to tide them over until the market improves. Will the market improve enough to pay back the loan or is this a bridge to nowhere?

Daimler-Benz wrote Chrysler off their books and sold 80% of Chrysler to Cerberus. Cerberus is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the US with total assists over $24 billion, yet they lack the faith to make a loan to their own company.

Bankruptcy is still the best tool for restructuring any failing industry!

Business cycles are a necessary part of any free market economy. Old industries and models must be replaced by new industries and ideas. This requires a shift in both human and material resources.
New industries require new skills. The government can best facilitate such a shift by easing reemployment of the workforce through realistic unemployment payments, education, investment in sustainable research and industry and a national health plan.

Healthcare, and pensions are a big part the Big Three’s problem. For every dollar paid as wages, more are spent on benefits for retired employees. Portability of health and welfare with affordable housing can increase mobility of the workforce.

Government should not try to pick winner in the market place. Old industry and models become entrenched into the government through lobbyist, influence pedaling, and just inertia. When Morse introduced the electric telegraph, he had to overcome a congress that was sold on optical telegraph – flashing lights, mirrors and telescopes.

Edison tried frantically to get alternating current banned as unsafe. Using A.C.. technology, Westinghouse drove Edison General Electric into bankruptcy, but GE emerged to become a pioneer and powerful competitor in a.c. technology.

Chrysler rose from the ashes of Maxwell Motors in 1915 by performance and safety innovations. It was reborn in the late ’70. After suffering loses from Dodge and Plymouth, Chrysler hired Lee Iaccoca, the former Ford CEO, who had been fired by Henry Ford II over his plain to market compacts.

While Iaccoca got government backing for loans, changes at Chrysler were well underway. He hired fellow renegades from Ford. The K-car, Omni, and Horizon are automotive history.

It’s been said that going to the moon was successful since it was a well-defined goal. Our primary goal should be greater than any particular market. It must represent a broad set of outcomes.

Maybe the Big 3 shouldn’t have served up all those SUV’s over the years.

The White House and Congress are near a bailout for the “Big Three” auto manufacturers with a $15 billion loans. This is supposed to be a bridge loan to tide them over until the market improves. Will the market improve enough to pay back the loan or is this a bridge to nowhere?

Daimler-Benz wrote Chrysler off their books and sold 80% of Chrysler to Cerberus. Cerberus is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the US with total assists over $24 billion, yet they lack the faith to make a loan to their own company.