Welcome to the first world tour of a vehicle powered only by solar energy!
Visiting General Motors 24.08.2008
Comments: 3
On our long tour around the world it was time for the first visit of an automobile manufacturer. We were pretty much surprised to get a warm welcome at General Motors, the company which is known to have shredded all their electric vehicles after they were successfully introduced some years ago. But GM has learned in the meantime, and we have also learned that in the area of Detroit, FORD has stored 700'000 cars that they can not sell. The automobil industries all over the world are worrying about the next economical crisis, and specially the American manufacturers are busy looking into solutions that may save them, otherwise they could go down like Titanic.
We were very happy to see that GM now looks into new electric vehicles very seriously. Who hasn't heard of the new Chevi Volt yet? In short, this is an electric car with four seats and nothing freaky like tha solartaxi, It is a full size vehicle that looks like all others, may be even more sexy than others. You can plug it in and charge it over night with electricity from the grid that costs much, much less than petrol. With one full charge of battery, the Volt can travel up to 40 miles (65 km). This is enough for most commuters, for urban traffic, for bringing kids to school or going out or shopping. For more, just turn on the additional petrol engine. That will generate the electricity to keep you moving, as far as 500 miles or so. What a great concept!
We discussed some of the details with John Lauckner and Robert Peterson, two of the leading forces behind the project, during a Lunch in a nearby Italian restaurant.I can just say that I fully support GM for these efforts. Of course it would be nice to see a fully electric or even solar powered car coming from GM. But everyone can do only one step at a time. This is te first step in the right direction. The battery technology will improve, and so will the electric cars.
What we have seen here was something like a sign of hope, or even a remarkable light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
by: Charlie Garlow
27.08.2008 03:08
It looks like you met the Michigan Solar Car team, long time winners in our races. What were your/their reactions to each others' vehicles?