$300 million Prize

GM developed the EV1 to comply with the then new California law to have a certain percentage of cars sold there to be ZERO POLLUTING (no emissions). This proved impossible for most manufacturers, so the rule was later scrapped, and immediately with it the EV1. GM leased these cars to selected customers and was prepared to subsidize them for ever so as not to lose the California car market. GM was categorically opposed to making anything innovative unless forced to the wall!!

The Volt seems like a more leasurely effort, since it cannot be subsidized by larger vehicles this time around. I still bet that the likes of Toyota will have a plug-in hybrid on the market before GM. China already has a plug-in hybrid going into production late this year. It is made by a battery company that bought a small car company!

The problem is the same as it ever was. Batteries with sufficient energy density to be used in plug-in hybrids do not exist, let alone for an electric-only car. It didn’t work then, it doesn’t work now, and it didn’t work in between.

I would be in favor of a multi-billion dollar “prize” for the first automaker that could mass-produce a car that sat at least 4 adults, cost less than $20,000, and got at least 100mpg. If 5 or 10 billion dollars were waved in front of GM’s face, I’m sure they could figure out a way to make this happen, and this new vehicle would undoubtedly sell like crazy, everyone is happy. If we can even contemplate a 300 billion dollar bailout for people that bought homes they couldn’t afford…10 billion to expedite the transformation of transportation seems like small potatoes.

I have a question about the workable electric car battery and with the batteries on today’s hybrids. What happens to the batteries when they are no longer rechargeable? How will they be recycled? I know that the traditional lead/acid battery is recycled. Is the recylcing of the battery included in this $300 million prize?