Audi's CEO is "Going Lutz"

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The Critic

The Critic

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When an automotive executive says something brash and outrageous, we sometimes call it "Going Lutz." The green car world has it's own special phrase – "Going Musk" – and we always look forward to the next item that makes us go, "Huh? Really?" They're so much more exciting than the daily press releases.

Today's edition might make people use "Going Johan." Audi of America President Johan de Nysschen, a big diesel vehicle fan, recently gave veteran auto journalist Lawrence Ulrich a few choice morsels about how terrible electric cars, including the Chevy Volt, are.

To start, he said the Volt is "a car for idiots." It's too expensive, he said, adding that "No one is going to pay a $15,000 premium for a car that competes with a (Toyota) Corolla. So there are not enough idiots who will buy it." He predicted that the Volt will fall fail, which will cause the federal government to have to step in and subsidize the Volt in order to save face and boost sales.

As for pure electric vehicles? "They're for the intellectual elite who want to show what enlightened souls they are." de Nysschen isn't completely against plug-in hybrids, but believes that diesel technology should be a much bigger piece of the puzzle (big surprise, considering Audi's diesel push). He also claimed that a huge shift to EVs will give us a net increase in carbon dioxide emissions thanks to all of the coal powered power plants. He can have his opinion on the Volt, but science tells us that he's wrong about th
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e CO2 emissions.


http://green.autoblog.com/2009/09/03/audi-of-america-president-calls-chevy-volt-a-car-for-idiots-s/

Until battery technology improves, I may just have to agree with this guy.
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One of the smartest things I've heard out of an auto/govt. executive recently.

Finally, someone who 'gets it'!
 
You mean they have to burn coal to make the electricity to power all those cute little EVs? The horror!!! I thought the little electricity fairy brought all the electricity to our homes/businesses.
 
Electric light bulbs, TV, and home computers originally were also for the elite. Early adopters are by definition 'the elite.' There can be no other way for new technology to emerge. (Although the Volt is still doomed for being too plain mostly. EV1 was not doomed per se, except for being a child of GM.)
 
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Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
You mean they have to burn coal to make the electricity to power all those cute little EVs?


Every home will have a windmill that goes into the stratosphere to power the electric cars!
 
I predict that the Volt will be the nail in GMs coffin..........until the government once again resurrects GM from the dead..........on our dime.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
He can have his opinion on the Volt, but science tells us that he's wrong about the CO2 emissions.


Unless we somehow magically build powerplants that don't emit CO2. But even proponents of wind power don't want them in their backyards!

http://nov55.com/evfr.html
 
Ah the Germans have always had a love affair for oil motors since the war, no question VAG group would be biased. Diesel definately has it's strong points, but seriously, an (pure) EV is a much better idea for the manjority of consumer motorists. No emissions problems, fractioned mechanical problems, easy operation, climate tolerance etc etc. The problem is that it's just still in it's infancy. I see the EV as the intelligent child who's parents felt threatened by, and thus endured it's life from conception being constantly undermined by the jealous idiot parents. It's a sad story, and the high component cost and delayed development is nothing short of a tragedy. Also, the manner in which we produce our electricity is nothing short of barbaric IMO, but hey.. who sells coal? who regulates nuclear?
 
Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I predict that the Volt will be the nail in GMs coffin..........until the government once again resurrects GM from the dead..........on our dime.
If they keep resurrecting GM then they will be nailing us in our coffins because the taxpayers can't possibly pay any more.

For once I have to agree with the Germans...
 
Hydrogen Fairies too?

Not to mention that leaked hydrogen directly depletes the ozone layer.

A pure EV is a better answer than hydrogen.

Ed
 
Leaking hydrogen? Liquid natural gas? Exxon is building a huge LNG plant in Qatar. Burning NG gives off far less CO2 than coal. The trouble is to keep NG liquid, you have to keep cooling it, most often done by letting a little evaporate. Thus a big trail of methane across the Atlantic. Methane is a far worse greenhouse gas than CO2.

That won't do much towards energy independence either.
 
if your looking for CLEEN electric vehicles then the only clean Reliable energy source is nuclear power. Notice i said reliable.

Clean COAL is about the stupidest thing i have ever heard. Its simply impossible, cant be done, and cant happen. A coal fired power plant emits more radiation in a day than a nuclear power plant does in a year.

Second is hydrogen, unless you have nuclear power generating hydrogen is NEVER going to be cost effective on a mass or even a micro scale.

Clean diesel is here and now. Granted clogging up the tail pipe with a particle filter and shoving massive amounts of EGR down the intake has killed the efficiency of the diesel but it is a Clean technology now more so than ever.
 
the thing with electric cars is that they are part of the smart grid at a higher level. Distributed energy storage ultimately will allow grid stabilization without huge infrasructure.

The thing with electric is that though the generation is often polluting, it is in a centralized location and can often be controlled, monitored and scrubbed better than a million point sources.

hydrogen is viable and smart if used in a system that derives it intelligently. I see that as gasoline, ethanol, ammonia, etc. compressed hydrogen has issues. Hydrogen produced efficently and effectively at the point of use allows efficient energy conversion without the limitations of carnot.
 
To me, lifestyle seems like the most obvious point of energy conservation, and the Volt is not that. Prius is maybe that, but the best would be an off-grid approch. What if we drove less and simply left out plug-ins plugged-into some solar cells?

Seriously, can someone do the math on a $5000 Smart Car sized plug-in that recharges off $5000 worth of solar cells? Won't that get someone 50 miles driving a week? Instead of $200 in fuel a month, you just buy another $200 worth of solar cells.

My big hang-up with electric cars is where does the interior heat come from? Seriously. Maybe 40% efficient ICE is not so inefficient after you factor in the heater, lol. How about a can of that stuff you heat a buffet with?

Shades of early VWs with gasoline flame heaters.
 
Originally Posted By: Dualie
if your looking for CLEEN electric vehicles then the only clean Reliable energy source is nuclear power. Notice i said reliable.

Clean COAL is about the stupidest thing i have ever heard. Its simply impossible, cant be done, and cant happen. A coal fired power plant emits more radiation in a day than a nuclear power plant does in a year.

Second is hydrogen, unless you have nuclear power generating hydrogen is NEVER going to be cost effective on a mass or even a micro scale.

Clean diesel is here and now. Granted clogging up the tail pipe with a particle filter and shoving massive amounts of EGR down the intake has killed the efficiency of the diesel but it is a Clean technology now more so than ever.


Ummm...burning coal doesn't emit radiation, silly!

:p
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Ummm...burning coal doesn't emit radiation, silly!

:p


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People working at the power plants would be getting cancer in record numbers...

My brother worked in a Nuclear Power Plant & Research center in France (near the German border) (We have relatives that live in Alsace, France so it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down) one summer for his engineering program and was educated on the safety of radiation and what precautions are taken to ensure workers do not see any more radiation than you would see at a yearly checkup at the dentists office during X-Rays. Everyone wears a device that monitors radiation and it is checked regularly to ensure you are safe.
wink.gif
 
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