That's a bit off, from what I remember (in the US). A lot of the reason electric cars of the 1990's failed was precisely because they had to be plugged in. People thought that plugging in a car to charge it was weird because the act of filling up at the pump had such a large emotional value that having a car where you can plug it in and walk away was off-putting. It also felt a little too much like the Jetsons. We weren't/aren't ready to be that far into the future yet.

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You don't have to pretend to like someone just because you are voting for him.

That article is centred around one type of bio-fuel, cassava. I will admit that they haven't perfected the technology for converting cassava into the biofuel without damaging human conditions but there are alternative biofuels like Syngas and Biogas fuels made from landfill gases. Not all work efficiently but some are showing remarkable progress.
They are all possible now and I didn't say we should resort to the pre-industrial era.
Well I'm quite sure it wouldn't happen overnight but the economy would keep going with the products that replace those oil dependent ones. There would also be some oil products still running. I don't think we can quit them cold turkey.
How so? While some individuals are doing their best to be less dependent on oil products, how are they comparable to those who run the show and do everything they can to control prices, influence politicians, wage wars (through the influence and guise of the government, rewrite laws and perpetuate false propaganda.

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America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

Whatever the reasons folks had the opportunity to buy them and didnt.When you invest in an idea,1 billion dollars in the Gm case and have nothing to show for it over the course of 4 years then its time to call it quits.Parts became impossible to find as well as folks trained to fix them.It was a nice try but it failed.

http://fyi.gmblogs.com/2006/06/who_i..._about_th.html

Facts are stubborn things

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Really? Do you know how the patent system in the US works?

There are also some serious math mistakes in the comments on that page.

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Someone hijacked my sig again.

A big fat lie. Every single one they made was sold (leased).
Another lie. The numbers were requested and GM didn't reveal them. Simply having a spokesman quote numbers without the paperwork to show it is not binding. Also when the GM spokesman states that "significant sums on marketing and incentives to develop a mass market for it." and not one piece of advertising or marketing was found then we know how much of a liar GM is.
The guy even admits he didn't see the movie.
GM is right because the GM guy said so.

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America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

Such as...?

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America's Enemies Are Not Mine

All wars represent a failure of diplomacy

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” - Stephen Roberts.

December 4, 1996

Electric appliances come alive to sell their G.M. sibling, the EV1.

By STUART ELLIOTT

COMMON household appliances are the stars of a spectacular spot that signals the start of ambitious efforts intended to create interest in an uncommon car.

The spot, by Hal Riney & Partners in San Francisco, promotes the EV1, the electric-powered two-seat coupe that the General Motors Corporation will make available by lease at Saturn dealerships in four Western markets. The first electric car in decades will be a tough sell because of its high price, more than the cost of a Lexus lease; its limited driving range, 70 to 90 miles, and its lengthy recharging period, 3 to 14 hours.

Indeed, General Motors is expected to lease only 2,000 to 2,500 EV1's annually during this start-up phase.

So if any product needs a brilliant initial commercial, it is the EV1. And that is what Riney, the agency for Saturn, has delivered, in large part because of special effects that make it seem as if entire households have been emptied of small appliances, which hastily unplug themselves to run outdoors and greet their big sibling, the EV1.

The spot, in 30- , 60- and 90-second versions, will be shown on local television stations and in movie theaters. It begins tomorrow, as the EV1 goes on display at 26 dealer showrooms in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego and in Tucson, Ariz.

''The commercial is intended to plant the flag that the first electric car is here and it was General Motors that did it,'' said Joe Kennedy, vice president for sales, service and marketing at the Saturn Corporation in Troy, Mich., to which G. M. has assigned duties for the EV1.

''This is truly a new market and no one knows how it will develop,'' he added, ''because it does in some sense cause a reordering of what people think about cars. But it's also very important that this is not just about technology.''

The commercial is the cornerstone of a 12-week media blitz with a budget estimated at $8 million, which also includes print advertisements, billboards and a World Wide Web site (http://www.gmev.com). And though the EV1 will initially be offered in only the four markets, it will be the focus of glitzy marketing ploys typically used for national introductions of prestigious cars.

For instance, at the Hollywood premiere tomorrow of the Sylvester Stallone action film ''Daylight,'' celebrities are to pull up to Mann's Chinese Theater in EV1's.

''The idea of an electric car is a huge, huge piece of news,'' said David O'Hare, a copywriter who is one of two executive creative directors at Riney. Mr. O'Hare created the spot with John Doyle, an art director.

''In focus groups, when we'd describe the car, people would come back and say: 'There's an electric car? Wow!' '' Mr. O'Hare said. ''They couldn't get past the fact it was here, let alone what its name is or who makes it.''

So unlike the advertising that Riney creates for Saturn, which is noted for its low-key tone, the EV1 spot has a pronounced gee-whiz attitude. That is underscored by the special effects, which were produced by Industrial Light and Magic in San Rafael, Calif.

The spot begins inside a home as a storm cuts off power to all the appliances. Suddenly, they come back to life and begin deserting their posts: a mixer jumps off a kitchen counter, a fan flies off a living-room table.

They are joined in their animated march out the door by a toaster, lamps, an iron, a vacuum cleaner and, from the garage, power tools. Those that cannot come along, like wall clocks and dishwashers, spin their hands and bang their doors in a frenzy of frustration.

Soon the perambulating percolators and other ''small electrics'' meet up with their counterparts in dozens of homes up and down the street. Their destination: the curb, where they gather as an EV1 glides up in a surrealistic scene that evokes ''Luxo Jr.,'' a short film from 1986 about lively desk lamps; the sequences from the movie ''Star Wars'' featuring the robots R2-D2 and C-3PO, and episodes of ''The Twilight Zone'' in which appliances develop personalities.

The commercial ends as scores of appliances -- some real, some computer-generated -- surround the EV1 and a voice-over announcer, the actress Linda Hunt, intones simply, ''The electric car is here.''

Saturn executives ''love it,'' Mr. Kennedy said of the commercial, because ''we've always sought to have advertising that's distinctive.''

As for concerns that Saturn will suffer if the EV1 turns out to be an electric Edsel, Mr. Kennedy said: ''We're not worried about that because there's a pretty good story for electric vehicles. This is intended to be the start of the market, giving us the opportunity to learn.''

Mr. O'Hare agreed. ''When Apple launched the Macintosh,'' he said, ''was it a perfect machine? No. But it created a whole new category of computer and forced Apple to make the Macintosh better.''

Is the EV1 commercial, which is titled ''Appliances,'' another ''1984,'' the electrifying spot by Chiat/Day that introduced the Macintosh? Perhaps a verdict can be rendered in another 12 years, or if and when the roads are filled with EV1's and other electric cars.

If consumers prove reluctant to lease EV1's, perhaps Saturn and Riney can enlist an appropriate pitchman: Reddy Kilowatt.


nytimes.com
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Limited release of vehicles,nationally advertised.....hmm.

Keep going.

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Tuat, you've completely ignored my comments, which were not in any way offensive, and I'm hurt. Either provide proof that Western nations engage in purely war for oil, or admit you have no evidence to support your point of view. A specious conclusion like this in no way brings anyone on this board closer to the truth.

"So the basic math, according to the cost numbers cited in this article, breaks down to cost of energy consumed by electric car = 1/12th the cost of energy consumed by fossil fueled car. Think about that. If we can reduce out fossil fuel consumption by a factor of 12, it’s an enormous step in the right direction. As the technology improves, so does the ratio. The naysayers here need to realize that this is a dramatic improvement on the current equation."

That for example. But newho... Next you are going to tell me that Big Oil killed Stan Meyer.

No answer on my question?

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Someone hijacked my sig again.