Re: No more Ford Th!nk EV

["David Roden (Akron OH USA)" <roden@ald.net>]

On 30 Aug 2002 at 8:16, josh wrote:

> Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - News) on Friday said it was
> pulling the plug on its Think electric vehicle division due to poor customer
> demand and lack of government support for the environmentally friendly cars.

"Poor customer demand"?  When did they ever attempt to market them?

"Lack of government support"?  Who is it that filed suit against California 
for passing laws promoting EVs?

What a bloody shame that our news media are such sheep, slobbering over 
every word that the news releases hand them to print.  With some real 
investigation, they'd find out what a snow job this is.  But that would be 
too much work.

Ford's betrayal is the same old song, Nth verse.  Detroit has done this 
again and again -- promised us EVs, thus killing off the little conversion 
companies barely surviving by selling to utility companies and a few 
individuals, then said "Oops!  We can't do it after all.  We were just 
kidding anyway.  Sorry!"

Nothing has changed: if you want an enclosed road EV, you have to build it 
yourself.  

But there is at least some good news.  At least now you can get a usable 2-
wheel open EV.  That's a start.  And there's still a decent chance of 
enclosed road EVs eventually coming here from Asia and Europe.  

If that happens, Detroit's fate isn't hard to predict.  In the mid-1970s, 
the big three took a huge hit when the Japanese automakers were ready with 
small, fuel-efficient vehicles and they weren't.  When the next oil crunch 
hits, you'll see a repeat performance.  But this time the competition will 
come from the hungry, aggressive, smaller countries, and this time I'm not 
sure Detroit will bounce back quite as well.  Maybe not at all.


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David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
1974 Avco New Idea rider 36vdc
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