Comments on: Recent Reports Highlight Commercialization Targets and How We Can Achieve Them

By: Philip A. Block

Philip A. Block — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:28:13 +0000

It appears that the day of innovation of American car companies ended with the Studebaker and the Tucker back in the late 1940s. GM conviently destroyed the smaller auto makers, the street car system, and effectively became the leader in fish tails, cheaply built but flashly autos, and a great distributor of parts that was needed to keep their junk running. Their financial system kept people in new GM cars every two to three years (before they rusted out). The remaining companies became monkey see, monkey do. The stick shift is a left over from the pre WWII era as are drum brakes. Yet the automakers still insist on putting drum brakes on the rear wheels. Why? Chrysler in the 50s did away with the stick shift on some models and went to push buttons. Great for rocking the car out of snow drifts. Why they did away with them? Their answer was because GM did not have them. Marketing ruled the big three and still does. The big three (maybe Ford) will never make it against the foreign mfgs, no matter how much tax payer money is pumped into them. The needed psychology does not exist inside those companies. And, it does not exist with their dealers.They are brain dead. Richard is asking these companies to do something that is beyond their mental capacity. Look at the Congresssional hearings, they came not with a plan, but to market themselves. Look at me, I am the big shot, you better give me what I ask for or I will drive this country into a depression. Need more be said?

By: Richard P. Horwitz

Richard P. Horwitz — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:05:56 +0000

Since our gov’t has decided to help the auto industry why not get them working on a
different and necessary product than some of the lame car models they make now. They could hook-up with a fuel cell company and begin to turn out home heater/electric generator combinations that would get people off of the grid. This for when those god/awful ice storms hit and the utility poles are toppled they would have heat and hot water making survival possible

This was done in WW2 when many companies had to switch to making things they had never made before. But it made a lot of sense then and it should now.

By: Philip A. Block

Philip A. Block — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 20:22:54 +0000

Well Richard, you are 100% correct. A number of problems exist that are delaying the FC auto. One is the terrible lack of knowledge of our politicians and the general public of Fuel Cells. Two is the lack of the management of most of the power companies in the U.S. to implement a Fuel Cell program into their Organization (do something different? — forget it). Three is the very poor job the Fuel Cell companies themselves have done to get the word out (Smart Fuel, a German company, is opening an office in Atlanta, Ga. Their web site is in the German language. I sent them an email politely suggesting they put an English language version on. Never heard back from them. Great PR). I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.

By: Richard P. Horwitz

Richard P. Horwitz — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:39:46 +0000

December 9, 2008

I hope that you saw the oil sheik this past Sunday speaking to “60 Minutes.” While showing off the immense new oil operation in the desert he told Leslie Stahl “that he hoped the United States would not switch to Electric Cars” What more proof does the U.S. need that we should work harder for a successful switch to fuel cells?

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By: Philip A. Block

Philip A. Block — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:25:59 +0000

Not a bad idea Jim. There are many good ideas floating around out there. The problem is that the piston heads in Detroit are so hung up on ICEs that they cannot see the future is electric automobiles. My experience with mechanical engineers is that if it dosn’t move, smoke, have lots of parts, lots of chrome, and go raroooom, they don’t understand it. Anything like a nice quiet, simple, electric auto befuddles them. The asian auto companies are progressing nicely with the Fuel Cell powered auto while Detroit is still mentally stuck in the 20th century. Some 20 years ago Detroit badgered the Congress to limit imports to allow Detroit to “catch up.” Congress acquiesced for a period of time. Now Detroit is back demanding 25 billiion dollars of our money to, again, “catch up”. There isn’t anything wrong with the American worker, they are producing some pretty nice cars in foreign owned plants throughout the U.S. It’s the management, stupid (the management, not you).

By: Jim Ahlstrom

Jim Ahlstrom — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:28:31 +0000

The fuel cell automakers can jump start the FC market by installing portable hydrogen fueling stations at selected dealerships. Bottom line…they sell the FC car and the owner comes back to the dealership for his fill up. Every oil company will soon see the handwriting on the wall and join the surge. Also the HomeGen unit from Plug could be subsidized to make the hydrogen in your garage for the car and the home electric needs.Jim AhlstromColumbus

By: chinaman

chinaman — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:42:17 +0000

Hi
I like your posts, It sets me thinking.

By: Philip A. Block

Philip A. Block — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:12:30 +0000

Well, Pete, not a bad idea. What a great business to be in. Now develop one. The advancement of the current automobile has just about put the basement experimenter out of business. Now, coming up with a practical H2 generator is open to all. Every parking lot, every business, school, post office, UPS, FedX, and not the least, every home. A service and installation business could be a real money maker. WOW! Excuse me while I go back down to my basement

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Greenhouse Gas Reduction Technologies — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:06:05 +0000

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