THE PERSONAL AUTOMOBILE IS EVOLVING TOWARD GREATER
EFFICIENCY, BUT AUTO MAKERS HAVE BEEN CAUTIOUS TO CHANGE THE TECHNOLOGY OF MOTORING— NOT THE PERFORMANCE.
Driving Forces I 22 BY MATTHEW POWER
t’s an exciting and terrifying time to be in the automobile and light truck business. The number of uncertainties is daunting. How long can we afford to burn fossil fuels to get around? What are the hidden costs of switching to alternatives? Will changing our fuel sources mean starving the world’s poor or making global warm-
ing worse? For those in the home construction indus-
try—along with those who hope to one day build a new home, the future of the automobile is a linchpin. Without super-efficient means of transportation, the old suburban development patterns are dead. Who wants to live in a ghost ’burb? At the same time, contractors, lumber- yards, and window makers need to move heavy goods from here to wherever. Can working trucks change with the times yet still remain powerful enough to get the job done? Nothing is certain. The U.S. auto industry is
losing market share each year to international firms like Toyota and Honda. At the same time, the global connectedness of the auto industry is
GreenBuilder July > August 2010
now deeply structural. Parts and raw materials come from all over the world. But such connec- tions offer both perils and promise. Perils? Take a look at at other industries. Home-wrecking Chinese drywall has found its way into Florida homes. British oil company BP unleashed a torrent of toxic oil into our jewel- like inland sea. Globalism is risky. On the upside, a kid in India can invent a
new type of propulsion motor, and investors in San Francisco will know about it in minutes. Information is hard to suppress. It’s unlikely, for example, that we’ll ever see a repeat of “Who Killed the Electric Car,” where big automakers shut down early EV efforts. On the contrary, ev- ery auto maker we spoke to is looking at various levels of electrification in future vehicles.
Incremental Change Electrifying. That’s the word that might sum up where Ford is steering its automotive R&D. But don’t expect a wide range of electric vehicles gleaming on showroom floors—not yet. In- stead, Ford is taking things one step at a time.
www.greenbuildermag.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60