Posted on 01/31/2005 8:17:49 PM PST by newgeezer
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - The head of Nissan Motor Co., breaking ranks with some of his leading rivals, said on Saturday that building fuel-sipping hybrid vehicles makes little sense in today's world because of their high costs.
"They make a nice story, but they're not a good business story yet because the value is lower than their costs," said Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn.
Nissan will, in fact, start manufacturing a gas-electric hybrid version of its Altima sedan for the U.S. market in 2006.
But Ghosn said the model was only intended to help Japan's second-largest automaker comply with strict fuel economy and emissions standards in states like California, not because he expects it to be a money-maker.
Nissan will license some technology for the hybrid Altima from Toyota Motor Corp., which is the world leader in hybrid production along with Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
The hybrids made by Toyota and Honda are in high demand, but production levels are still relatively small.
Toyota plans to nearly double production of its hybrid Prius car for the U.S. market this year, with production totaling some 100,000 vehicles.
Ford Motor Co. is alone among U.S. automakers in producing mass-market hybrid models; Ford recently announced plans to introduce four new models between this year and 2008.
Ghosn's comments, which are likely to draw criticism from environmental groups, came in an address to the National Automobile Dealers Association, which opened its annual convention in New Orleans on Saturday.
In his speech, he noted that only about 88,000 of the 16.9 million light vehicles sold in the United States last year were hybrids, adding that they are still considered "niche" products and something way outside the automotive mainstream.
He also poured cold water on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which many automakers see as the industry's next big technological breakthrough.
"The cost to build one fuel cell car is about $800,000. Do the math and you figure out that we will have to reduce the cost of that car by more than 95 percent in order to gain widespread marketplace acceptance," Ghosn said.
Ghosn, who is credited with a dramatic turnaround at Nissan, is poised to take over as chief executive at France's Renault SA in May.
His future role, simultaneously running operations at two major automakers, is thought to be an industry first.
Nissan -- owned 44 percent by Renault -- scored the biggest sales jump of any major car maker in the United States last year, with a 24 percent surge to 986,000 vehicles.
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God forbid environazis have their religion, "environmentalism," challenged with the truth.
They can't handle the truth because it conflicts with their faith. Facts - most recyclying causes more environment damage than it saves. Alternate fuels such as H2 and Ethanol burn more hydrocarbons than just straight hydrocarbon fuel to start with. Solar energy will never be economically feasible. Global warming is a lie. These are the facts that the unwashed freaks in the enviro-movment can't face.
Conserving fuel isn't going to change anything. The Saudis will still be selling us oil because they can sell it for less than anyone else.
You mean they would lower the price of oil to compensate for the reduced demand. They could do it too. Saudi oil is extracted for about five bucks a barrel.
But North America already has the oil resources and the technology to produce oil for at least the next 100 years if the price goes high enough.
So were automatic transmissions back then. The state of the art in hydraulics has improved quite a bit.
Hydraulic fluid is lighter than batteries, less flammable and toxic than gasoline (it's made of vegatable oil).
Not true.
No Prius battery has yet needed replacement, and Toyota has been selling them since 1997.
The big news flash for me was the 800k for a fuelcell car. I hated them to pieces before hearing that. Now I'm just happy that they are a joke.
You too, huh?
I thought I was the only one.......
In the new Prius's, the batteries are segmented. Which means that only the bad cells, or sections, need to be replaced, not the whole battery pack.
Hey! This thread has drawn all the crack-pots out of the woodwork!!! I don't hafta "come up with this stuff," when the gibberish I put up with sluvenly languige/spelling is equivalent to buying into all this uneconomical wishful daydreaming in the twilight zone such as "Hydrogen Highways" and "Tilting At Windmills," etc., etc.
This thread needs a thorough going over by Fred Zarguna and some of the few other sanity inducing FReepers and legitimate scientist FReepers, because the "zoners" have the "legitimate" somewhat out-numbered on the first 50 replies!!!
As you know, when I see FR threads start to have flash floods of "zoners," I launch into that overwhelmed, slovenly mode just for laughs... something about "illustrating absurdity by being absurd..."
Oh! The new CA Hydrogen Highway will be driven by Arnold and his harem of CA lady legislaturds, Pelosi, Boxer, Feinstein, and about another half dozen liberal bay area biddies whose names have mercifully escaped my fuzzy mamory!!!
Please don't ping me.
'Wonk, when you check in today, be sure and notice how it seems like ol' SW is bummed that we're not gung-ho on these feel-good hybrid whackjobs.
I sure hated to disappoint him like that. I sure did.
I'm still trying to figure out who the "zoners" are, and who are "legitimate".
They are very reliable, much more than electric. The difference in the use in trains is there are no batteries in a locomotive. They are used in loading dock cranes in many places now. They are also used in many manufacturing installations because of the reliability and power.
The weight is favorable compared to the battery load in a car. Hydraulic fluid is safer than batteries also. One thing that makes people nervous is the lines and tanks can get to 3-5k psi. There is no explosion hazard, but if a line were to burst, you may not know the difference. The spewing fluid could cut like a knife, but probably would expend the pressure quickly enough that it wouldn't cut you in half unless the line was located in the cockpit.LOL
Here's a look LINK
Time is too precious to be pung to that sh*t.
good for him. no american ceo apparently had the courage acknowledge this farce publicly.
Irregardless of the relative merits of a hybrid, if it is "the" car to own, it will be the one that is bought.
Of course, costs underly all that, but it sometimes amazing what the American consumer can justify/rationalize.
I don't hear battery disposal in the discussions of enviromental-friendly electric cars.
I'll bet, that when a rational person reviews the facts, hybrid cars are far more damaging to the environment than gas cars. When you factor in the manufacturing process and its problems, infrastructure to support the battery, then the disposal of the car in its waste stage, this thing probably is far less efficient than your average vehicle.
Then again, who wants to spoil the hippies vehicle utopiotic dream...
I wouldn't want to buy a car from anyone that simply built it for CAFE standards. The product loses them money, which leads to resentment, which leads then to a very crappy car.
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