Chuck
09-26-2007, 07:52 AM
The Japanese are way ahead in manufacturing hybrid cars. The good news: American entrepreneurs are cashing in on side products like souped-up batteries. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20920172/site/newsweek)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/TMC_President_Behind_Wheel_of_Safety_Equipped_Lexus.jpgDaniel Gross – Newsweek – Sept. 25, 2007
Toshiaki "Tag" Taguchi, President & CEO of Toyota Motor North America behind the wheel of one of Toyota's flagship Hybrids.
When it comes to hybrids, the heavyweight tussle between American and Japanese automakers appears to be a hopeless mismatch. Toyota introduced its gas-electric hybrids in 1997 (when regular was $1.18 per gallon), and in June announced its 1 millionth hybrid sale. In the first eight months of this year, Toyota sold 189,945 hybrids in the United States, with Honda notching a respectable 24,000. As for the Americans? Don't ask. Ford doesn't break out sales of Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids. At General Motors, hybrids—like long-promised market-share gains—are mostly concepts.
Toyota clearly stole a march on its slow-footed U.S. rivals and shut them out of a hot new market, much as Apple crushed its competitors with the ubiquitous iPod. But the iPod, and the broader innovation it represents—making huge quantities of music and video portable—has created a small entrepreneurial ecosystem. There's a large and growing aftermarket of iPod holders, speakers, car mounts and headphones, developed and sold by companies not run by Steve Jobs. In the same way, the big idea behind the success of Japanese-made hybrids—the proposition that electric batteries can displace gasoline as fuel—has its own coattails. Across the United States, enterprises big and small are developing souped-up batteries, plug-in kits and technology that hold the potential to turn cars from gas guzzlers into power generators… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20920172/site/newsweek
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/TMC_President_Behind_Wheel_of_Safety_Equipped_Lexus.jpgDaniel Gross – Newsweek – Sept. 25, 2007
Toshiaki "Tag" Taguchi, President & CEO of Toyota Motor North America behind the wheel of one of Toyota's flagship Hybrids.
When it comes to hybrids, the heavyweight tussle between American and Japanese automakers appears to be a hopeless mismatch. Toyota introduced its gas-electric hybrids in 1997 (when regular was $1.18 per gallon), and in June announced its 1 millionth hybrid sale. In the first eight months of this year, Toyota sold 189,945 hybrids in the United States, with Honda notching a respectable 24,000. As for the Americans? Don't ask. Ford doesn't break out sales of Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids. At General Motors, hybrids—like long-promised market-share gains—are mostly concepts.
Toyota clearly stole a march on its slow-footed U.S. rivals and shut them out of a hot new market, much as Apple crushed its competitors with the ubiquitous iPod. But the iPod, and the broader innovation it represents—making huge quantities of music and video portable—has created a small entrepreneurial ecosystem. There's a large and growing aftermarket of iPod holders, speakers, car mounts and headphones, developed and sold by companies not run by Steve Jobs. In the same way, the big idea behind the success of Japanese-made hybrids—the proposition that electric batteries can displace gasoline as fuel—has its own coattails. Across the United States, enterprises big and small are developing souped-up batteries, plug-in kits and technology that hold the potential to turn cars from gas guzzlers into power generators… http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20920172/site/newsweek