Despite a spate of recent setbacks, plug-in hybrids are here to stay, and consumers and automakers need to be patient as the technology struggles toward competitiveness.
That's what experts are saying in the wake of three difficult months in which the reputation of electrified vehicles was marred by a fire and a temporary manufacturing shutdown for the Chevy Volt, as well as high-profile problems for startup manufacturers Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive.
"Every major car company in the world is developing plug-in technology right now because it has great promise," David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research, told Design News. "The fundamental concept is a solid one. It's just not ready for prime time yet."
The Prius PHV looks like a conventional Prius, except for the charge port near the left front wheel.
Cole and other experts interviewed by Design News over the past two months have blamed the recent unfavorable impressions on an overzealous consumer market that wants electric vehicles to succeed today. As a result, low sales of Chevy Volts and Nissan Leafs have clashed with high expectations, as have other public problems, such as the Volt's fire, Tesla's $40,000 replacement battery, and Fisker's fiasco at the Consumer Reports facility.
"For any new technology, there will be occasions where you have to learn from mistakes," noted Hrishikesh Sathawane, an analyst of EVs and energy storage for Lux Research. "This happens all the time."
Cole argues that the auto industry knew that EVs and plug-in hybrids would have a slow uptake, but says that many executives were swept up in an electric vehicle euphoria that wasn't grounded in reality. "Any way you look at it, the technology was really too expensive," Cole told us. "The people involved knew this. But when the $7,500 federal tax credit arrived, everything started to change."
Unfortunately, the government has gotten involved instead of letting the market determine what the public wants. The $7,500 tax credit skews the market, and we might never find out what will really work. It is time to let nature take its course.
EV batteries are expensive, dangerous, poisonous on a large scale, and not very efficient. Why would you go this route, unless someone was paying you to go in that direction. What does the government know about consumer affairs, other than taxing and spending? What about fuel cells? How about more efficient hybrids where the market determines how far the battery should take you before the gasoline kicks in? Is there something else we aren't considering because Government Motors has taken us down a rabbit hole? How about 75 miles per gallon gasoline-fueled cars?
Hmmm. It will be interesting to see what kind of storage is available these days. With alternative energy, grid storage has certainly become an major issue.
There's an article about grid storage on our site tomorrow morning, Rob. Unfortunately, the people who did the study didn't include pumped hydro because they didn't see it as an emerging technology.
The more I read about batteries, the better the lake on the hill sounds. Until alternative energy sources such as wind and solar can produce energy to meet real-time demand, the lake on the hill may be our best bet. There's nothing wrong with a bunch of lakes dotting our landscape.
That should be interesting, Chuck. Hope the new storage you're covering is an improvement on the lake on a hill. Though I have to admit, the lake on a hill is a heck of a way to store energy.
Except that you are the one claiming all the geologists are wrong, just like the people who claimed the round Earth scientists were wrong. And what is criminal about this is that instead of trying to deal with the real problem of finite oil resources, people like you want to delude others into not preparing for this approaching severe threat. It was the religious fanatics who thought the Earth was flat, the earth is young, and there are infinite and renewable oil resources.
We either have to get really busy with batteries or hydrogen, because nothing else will likely work in about 20 to 60 years.
That is a wonderful suggestion - make it a crime to not believe what you believe. Come to think of it, they used to do that... The earth was flat, and we bled the sick. Perhaps you would suggest burning me at the stake.
I have read a number of textbooks referencing that it takes over 100 million years for oil to natually ferment. If you feel the scientific community is in error on this accepted fact, then I suggest you publish your miraculous findings. Unitl then or you show anyone else published who agrees with you, your view has no merit. It would be criminal for someone to try to delude the public into believing oil did not naturally take over 100 million years.
Tesla Motors plans to roll out a “compelling, affordable electric car” that will sell for about half the price of its high-profile Model S by the end of 2016, company chairman Elon Musk said last week.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
40 
