Seven Generational Ruminations

While processing the update on the Dagne motorcycle a thought resurfaced. One thing that's necessary for the EV Industry to take off is that there be trained low level EV technicians just as today there are a wide range of technicians for servicing oil burning vehicles. While electric vehicles tend to be very reliable they can and do break. Nothing is perfect and as the Buddha said everything in the manifest universe is impermanent. I think he really said the only permanence is impermanence.

In todays context we face two major challenges both of which stem largely from the abundance of gasoline driven cars on American roads. On one hand the U.S. and the world is facing high oil prices a looming shortage of oil as oil fields around the world go into depletion. On another hand the whole world is facing a global environmental catastrophe that's destabilizing environmental conditions world-wide. On yet another hand (we must be from Mars) the U.S. style of building cities is wasteful of land and ties our hands to possible solutions because of the highway infrastructure.

Earlier today while talking with a colleague she asked me for advice about different kinds of electric vehicles. She's thinking about getting some kind of scooter to tide her over until full size electric cars are available (e.g. Chevy Volt) and since I've owned several small electric vehicles that probably means I have some useful advice to give.

Let's start by cutting the field into some major clumps:-

• Bicycles
• Scooters that pretend to be bicycles (have pedals)
• Scooters with max speed of 30 miles/hr

Brad Templeton is a high tech pioneer, having been involved with some of the very earliest attempts to commercialize the Internet. This makes him an entrepeneur, and he has published a series of articles outlining a vision of robotically driven cars that can improve human safety on the road and reduce or eliminate the poisonous emissions produced by normal cars. In reading this I remember that I met Brad once, sometime around 1993, during a job interview while he was running ClariNet. He offered me the job but for some reason I turned it down. Oh well.

Plug-in hybrids generate buzz in San Jose The Plug-in 2008 conference was just held in San Jose and there were several great things announced, demonstrated, and discussed. General Motors is now developing a type of plug-in car called the Volt, which the company plans to start selling in 2010. GM also plans a plug-in version of the Saturn Vue sport utility vehicle. Ford has its own plug-in program, as do Toyota and Daimler.