New Nissan Electric Sports Car

GENEVA (AP) — What do you get if you cross Nissan's Leaf electric compact with one of the Japanese car maker's Z-car racers?

Possibly the Esflow, an unlikely mashup the Yokohama-based constructor unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show this week.

On the outside it's all flash, with a gleaming silver aluminum body and sexy sportscar curves inspired by Nissan's long racing lineage.

Under the hood, though, Nissan has opted to go with two electric motors, indistinguishable from those it builds for its Leaf electric compact car that began selling late last year.

Ford Motor Co. Hedging Its Bets

Nissan Motor Corp has made a huge bet on its all-electric Leaf, including a battery plant built with US$1.4 billion in U.S. government funding in Tennessee. That strategy carries a risk; the car needs to be a hit. "If that thing doesn't sell what are they going to do?" Ford says.

By contrast, Ford is going green but hedging its bet on how many electric cars customers will want. Its Wayne, Michigan plant will build all kinds of Focus sedans -- from pure electric to conventional gas-engine -- depending on customer orders.

"We're going to have a plug-in, a conventional hybrid, a pure electric and a gasoline engine all going down the same assembly line," he said. "It will be up to the customer then to decide what best fits for them."

Read more: http://www.financialpost.com/Ford%20became%20Detroit%20last%20standing/4077351/story.html#ixzz1AOluOLoV

Bad Actors in the Automotive Drama

Bad Actors in the Automotive Drama

There are too many bad actors in the automotive drama. Corrupt managers control the Big3. In the late 1990's they sank $1 billion into the development and testing of the EV. They delivered prototypes in California to upscale consumers and trend setters. The EV cars proved superior in every way to gasoline models.
The new autos were pricey primarily because GM included the anticipated fuel savings into the price of the car. It was very unpopular with big oil, as it would have cut the demand for petroleum products. When an alternative comes along, the cost at the pump 'magically' drops. When the Administration suffered from high gas prices, big oil answered the challenge with price reductions. If the Obama Administration seriously pursues alternative power sources, gas and heating oil costs will plummet.
The $700 billions bail out did not encourage the banks to extend credit to consumers and to small businesses. Thus, consumer durable goods markets declined. The drop in demand coupled with a dry up in working capital has led to big lay-offs, a higher unemployment rate and a marked increase in pessimism among consumers and producers.