Thomas Edison to Henry Ford: Forget Electric Cars (Is this advice from 1896...
The wisdom of the ages applies to energy. The smartest-guys-in-the-room approach to energy transformation by DOE secretary Stephen Chu, based on a false premise of the unsustainability of hydrocarbon...
View ArticleAn Electrifying Irony (False hopes and promises in the transportation market)
To those who have a memory that transcends more than a few weeks, recent events in the auto sector must induce a great feeling of irony. Back in August of 2008, then-candidate Obama called for 1...
View ArticleThomas Edison to Henry Ford: Forget Electric Cars (Revisited)
[Editor note: This post from February 19th is reprinted and expanded upon given the Obama Administration's release of $2 billion this week for electric car components built in the U.S] The wisdom of...
View ArticleHorsepower Sure Beats Horses! (Part I: remembering what came before cars–and...
The energy policy debate is well informed by history. So many ‘silver bullets’ being proffered by the Obama Brain Trust (‘smartest guys in the room’?) energy interventionists/transformationists are...
View ArticleRare Earth and Lithium Supplies Cloud Renewables
Rare earths refer to some 17 elements found in Earth’s crust by themselves or combined with other chemicals. Some are scarce and others abundant, but in most every case Rare earths create risk in the...
View ArticleObama, Hybrids, and Electric Vehicles
Last week whilePresident Obama was touring a factory in Charlotte, N.C., one of the workers asked the President why he didn’t use an electric limousine. According to the LA Times , the President, who...
View ArticleThe All-Electric Car: Think 132-Year Payback (DOE’s Sandalow shows us what...
“When David Sandalow writes about energy and the environment, we should all pay close attention.” - Al Gore endorsement, 2007 The term energy encompasses a plethora of technologies, and each attracts...
View ArticleElectric Car Verdict: Another Government-Subsidized Bust
When government tries to pick losers and winners, it typically picks losers. Why? Because in a free market, consumers pick winners to leave the losers for government. The U.S. energy market is rich...
View ArticleThomas Edison and the Electric Vehicle (chapter 1 of EV’s Chapter 11)
“When government tries to pick losers and winners, it typically picks losers. Why? Because in a free market, consumers pick winners to leave the losers for government.” - R. Bradley, Electric Car...
View ArticleThe Struggle to Mainstream Electric Vehicles
“Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told the Brookings Institution audience in Washington, DC regarding his company’s 500e EV: ‘I hope you don’t buy it, because every time I sell one it costs me...
View ArticleGasoline vs. Electric Cars: Energy Usage and Cost
“Should electric cars become ubiquitous, electricity will be taxed to yield that revenue. Electricity cost would also be higher if some 95 percent of U.S. electricity were not generated by the cheapest...
View ArticleElectric Vehicles: Perennial Subsidies, Hope, Fail (data point from 1996)
“Successful demonstration of the [Ovonic NiMH] battery’s capabilities have resulted in numerous commercial developments: … General Motors has entered into a joint venture with Ovonic…. Honda and Toyota...
View ArticleElon Musk’s Tesla: Rigged Markets for Failing EVs
“Tesla is redefining ‘too big to fail’ as ‘politically correct, so bail’.” I publish a monthly post at Forbes.com, Political Energy. My fellow scholars Michael Lynch and Alex Epstein also have columns...
View ArticleEVs: An Ancient, Not Infant, Industry
“No electric car since 1902, regardless of battery or drive train, had been able to compete effectively against its contemporary internal combustion counterpart.” – David Kirsch, The Electric Vehicle...
View ArticleFord’s Electric Cars in China: Good News or Bad?
“Even with more wind and solar power, coal will continue to supply around two-thirds of the power for China’s expanding electric car users.” “Think in terms of opportunity cost. The resources for...
View ArticleHome Car Charging: A Primer
“People buying EVs that cost $100,000 aren’t concerned about the cost of adding charging stations to their homes, but people in the market for EVs costing $35,000 may find the additional cost...
View ArticleNorway Wrestles with Costly EV Subsidies (world leader at a crossroads)
“What happened in Denmark was similar to the experience in Georgia, where the state’s legislature voted to end its nation-high EV incentive program of $5,000 per vehicle, and to add a tax to EVs to...
View ArticleChina’s EV Problem: Battery Depletion
“Analysts are saying that China’s EV market is highly dependent on government policies and subsidies. That was supported by Nielsen, a market research company, who said that among potential EV buyers,...
View ArticleEV “Range Anxiety”: Real World Issues
” … since the cost of battery packs represents a significant percentage of the initial EV purchase price, the older the battery or the more mileage on the vehicle, the greater the erosion in the car’s...
View ArticleAre Electric Vehicles ‘CO2 Friendly’? (Swedish study raises questions)
“Based on calculations using the Swedish study’s various battery CO2 emissions estimates, as well as the methodology described by the EPA, I estimate that the carbon emissions sinkhole would equal...
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