Talk and do: EVs and alternative fuels
I’ve had a series of discussions with some bright and successful people in Orange County who have looked seriously at electric cars (EVs). Some own them. Some want them. Some are skeptical about them....
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Of projections and policies – natural gas and transportation fuels
Between half-time breaks in football games and during free evenings, I read the recent projections from Exxon Mobil Corp. and EIA for future energy consumption. Both analyses, one by a major global oil...
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Subsidies: the American way
“Picking winners and losers” is a canard routinely trotted out against subsidies for replacement fuels. But if government is playing favorites with any industry, it’s oil, and so it’s gone since Henry...
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Strategic planning — moving the fuel markets from irrelevance to relevance
I wrote a book in the early ‘70s called the “Irrelevance of Planning in the ‘60s.” It was published by The MIT Press. The reviews were good. It sold enough copies to permit me to eat out at a middling...
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Elon Musk, Tesla and car dealers — monopoly vs. competition
I think highly of Tesla founder Elon Musk, America’s newest space impresario and the individual who created PayPal, as well as the Tesla car. And he is only 15! Just kidding, with respect to the...
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And that’s the way it is or isn’t — stable oil and gas markets
“And that’s the way it is” was used by my favorite news anchor, Walter Cronkite, to sign off on his highly respected network news show. And that’s the way the content he generally delivered generally...
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Are We Entering the Age of Batteries?
Last week in Houston, Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz told CERA Conference attendees that storage batteries may be the next big energy breakthrough. “It’s pretty dramatic,” he said. “The...
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Japan bets big on hydrogen fuel cells
Remember when Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) used to sit atop the Japanese industrial complex, steering it like some giant Godzilla hovering over the entire world? Those were...
View ArticleAnd that’s the way it is or isn’t — stable oil and gas markets
“And that’s the way it is” was used by my favorite news anchor, Walter Cronkite, to sign off on his highly respected network news show. And that’s the way the content he generally delivered generally...
View ArticleAre We Entering the Age of Batteries?
Last week in Houston, Secretary of Energy Dr. Ernest Moniz told CERA Conference attendees that storage batteries may be the next big energy breakthrough. “It’s pretty dramatic,” he said. “The...
View ArticleJapan bets big on hydrogen fuel cells
Remember when Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) used to sit atop the Japanese industrial complex, steering it like some giant Godzilla hovering over the entire world? Those were...
View ArticleReport: New battery charges quickly, has a long life span
Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a lithium ion battery than can charge to 70 percent in 2 minutes, and which has a life span of more than 20 years. Check out...
View ArticleReport: Electric car buyers hate the dealer experience
Researchers at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis have made a startling discovery: Consumers in the market for an electric vehicle hate dealing with the...
View ArticleThe battle between gas and electric cars isn’t new
In the late 1800s, the Studebaker company was the world’s largest manufacturer of wagons and buggies. When the company began making automobiles, they chose to power their engines with electricity, not...
View ArticleWill falling gas prices hurt alternative vehicles?
Everyone is saying that falling gas prices will ruin the market for alternative fuels and vehicles. But it isn’t time to give up on them now. Ethanol and methanol are still two liquid fuels that will...
View ArticleMore problems for Tesla: Analyst cuts sales forecast
Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas has been bullish on Tesla Motors. But he added to the company’s woes Wednesday when he slashed its sales outlook in the face of falling oil prices. Jonas predicts...
View ArticleElectric company: GM makes statement with Bolt, Volt
General Motors CEO Mary Barra has sent a strong message to the auto industry: It’s serious about producing electric cars for the middle class. One of the most talked-about vehicles unveiled Monday at...
View ArticleSwappable batteries make a comeback, in the Smartscooter
Shai Agassi had a great idea. Buy an electric car in which you can swap out the battery for a fresh one. That way you bypass the recharging time, which may be up to 4 hours. It was a great idea, and...
View ArticleTesla hits some speed bumps
Tesla’s stock was down around $200 again after its fourth-quarter report disclosed that neither its sales nor profits had met analysts’ expectations. At the same time, the company went into what one...
View ArticleCar Dealers Not Plugged into the EV Revolution
How do we get information when we want to buy a new car? Often, it’s online with car review websites and automaker’s sites & advertising, and hopefully UCS’s clean vehicle information. But when it...
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