Photo: www.american.com
After having reported that President Obama may be shifting his focus from the (still very promising) hydrogen fuel cell technology, towards the more commercial and frankly less interesting and promising plug-in EVs and hybrids.
However, according to autonews.com, despite Obama’s support for the plug-ins, the auto industry is apparently shifting its focus from them, towards making the good ol’ internal combustion engine more efficient, so that we can keep it as viable option for the future.
As manufacturers like Toyota and Ford are launching small controlled fleets of plug-in vehicles, they are also hard at work on marketing their new, more efficient, conventionally powered cars. According to Mark James, director of Lotus Engineering, "Everybody rushed toward EV vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Now, they're going back, and saying, 'Actually, we need to look at engines.'"
The key to all this, is with us, thankfully, as the automakers would be dead in the water without feedback from their current and future customers and their wants and needs. If the market would have demanded more hybrids and plug-ins, their development would have been accelerated.
The fact of the matter is that people still want petrol and diesel powered cars, as it’s what they’ve been accustomed to for the last century or so - it’s going to take a bit more time for people to start making a noticeable (mass) shift towards the ‘green’ mindset.
As manufacturers like Toyota and Ford are launching small controlled fleets of plug-in vehicles, they are also hard at work on marketing their new, more efficient, conventionally powered cars. According to Mark James, director of Lotus Engineering, "Everybody rushed toward EV vehicles and hybrid vehicles. Now, they're going back, and saying, 'Actually, we need to look at engines.'"
The key to all this, is with us, thankfully, as the automakers would be dead in the water without feedback from their current and future customers and their wants and needs. If the market would have demanded more hybrids and plug-ins, their development would have been accelerated.
The fact of the matter is that people still want petrol and diesel powered cars, as it’s what they’ve been accustomed to for the last century or so - it’s going to take a bit more time for people to start making a noticeable (mass) shift towards the ‘green’ mindset.
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