Editor’s Note: The history of development and deployment of alternate-energy vehicles underscores the problems facing the American Auto industry. Where and what are the big three’s plans for next-generation vehicle development? Do you feel that Hybrid technology is a “bridge” tech, or one with a viable future? IMHO, Hybrid tech provides the refuel capability (and operating range) to compete with fuel-only vehicles, and plug-in functionality is an excellent way to further extend the electrical performance of the system.
(HybridCars.com) – Since their introduction in the US in late 1999, hybrid cars have been repeatedly dismissed as a “bridge technology”—a euphemism for a short-lived second-rate technology that briefly serves a purpose until it can be replaced with something better and longer lasting. But in recent statements coming within days of one another, executives from Honda and Nissan are reconsidering the role that hybrids will play in the coming decades. For both companies, the plug-in hybrid is seen as the next stage of hybrids and as the key to the technology’s longevity. Honda was banking on a transition to fuel cell cars, while Nissan was primarily moving toward the pure battery-electric vehicle. Click Here for the rest of the article. |
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