Bob Lutz on the Future

[dpeilow]

Ageless love of driving is on crash course with the 'autonomous car' - That's That - IslandPacket.com

[vfx]

Has anyone given Bob a drive in the Model S?

I can't help but think he is quietly grateful he got out just in time.

[bonnie1194]

Based on my experience that he will go out of his way to not be in the vicinity of any electric car (other than the Volt), I suspect he wouldn't be willing to go for a drive in an S. At the Seattle event in September, he made sure that there was no photo op other than in front of the Volt and the Via. I was pretty disappointed in him for a number of reasons.

[brianman]

Based on my experience that he will go out of his way to not be in the vicinity of any electric car (other than the Volt), I suspect he wouldn't be willing to go for a drive in an S. At the Seattle event in September, he made sure that there was no photo op other than in front of the Volt and the Via. I was pretty disappointed in him for a number of reasons.

There may be more to this than a personal decision on his part, Bonnie.

[vfx]

I figured as much Bonnie. But they have ways of making things happen.

[bonnie1194]

There may be more to this than a personal decision on his part, Bonnie.

I figured as much Bonnie. But they have ways of making things happen.

Sometimes there is no mystery and things are exactly as they seem. I also heard him talk about how there is no global warming. Pretty sure there were no puppet masters behind the curtain on that one.

I could go on.

[TEG]

Reminds me of Wrightspeed...
What Tech News and Analysis

...
The race car market is only so big, however — although as Wright puts it, it’s got “great halo effects and good margins.” That’s why Wrightspeed also plans to use its hybrid drive-train system technology to eventually sell into the medium-duty truck market, and is starting out by selling a hybrid conversion kit to companies with truck fleets.
As TruckingInfo put it, medium duty trucks — those commercial vehicles that haul anything from food to furniture — are “the workhorses of the American economy,” and use over 8 billion gallons of fuel per year. Reducing this fuel consumption by just a fraction is both a major market opportunity and can also make a significant dent in carbon emissions. Financier T. Boone Pickens is also eyeing this market by backing natural gas truck conversion kits...

[vfx]

Bob says tax gasoline.

http://www.freep.com/article/20130418/BUSINESS0101/304180142/general-motors-bob-lutz-fuel-economy-taxes

[Doug_G]

Bob says tax gasoline.

http://www.freep.com/article/20130418/BUSINESS0101/304180142/general-motors-bob-lutz-fuel-economy-taxes

He's not wrong. A carbon tax makes a lot of economic sense. It simply isn't possible politically.

[ZBB]

He's not wrong. A carbon tax makes a lot of economic sense. It simply isn't possible politically.

Which is too bad -- since Europe's history proves it works.

For reference, about the same time the US came up with the CAFE approach (which is a supply-focused approach -- ie force the automakers to meet a fleet average fuel economy with a relatively low penalty for non compliance (currently $55 per vehicle for every 1mpg under the standard -- so can easily be priced in). Europe took a 2-prong approach that hit demand by a) charging higher taxes on the sale of cars with higher displacement engines (usually cutoff at ~2.0 liters) and b) raising taxes on fuel. They later decided to give diesel a bit of a tax break since it could lead to higher fuel economy... The result: The US still has plenty of larger cars, many with >3 liter engines; Europe sees much smaller cars on average, most below 2 liters and diesel...