Geneseeonline.com -- The Voice of Reason since 2003

November 16, 2008

Is Claimed Research Really Resulting in Progress?

Tagged: Auto Bailout, Alterative Fuel, General Motors.

...["During] this year General Motors at one time employed more workers than all of the foreign nameplates operating in this country," he said. "The big three spends more money on research and development than NASA." ...

UAW chief says US carmakers in need of urgent loan

The amount spent by the big three automakers maybe does exceed the amount spent by NASA.

However, what has it achieved? Plastic trim that looks more like wood?

The automakers have had 35 years to find an alternative source to petroleum based gasoline fuel. Distribution problems are often cited. Distribution problems would be resolved by demand and competition. So, really any alternative fuel becomes an issue of consumer acceptance and it is partly driven by confidence in availability.

A capital expenditure is needed towards alternative fuel production and its availability in the marketplace. So far, it has been made on a commercial basis only in ethanol85 fuel. There is an existing demand for ethanol85 fuel, fueled by the number of multi-fuel vehicles in the market. So perhaps, some of the research dollars cited as spent above has had some benefit apart from cosmetic.

However, at the current cost of oil per barrel, corn based ethanol may not be cost-efficient. There are other cellulose based alternatives.

If the problem was given the same emphasis as "Putting a Man on the Moon" was, I think it would have been resolved as of now -- in reality, the problem has not been resolved.

There is more at stake -- the investment that is in the production and distribution of current fuels. Maybe, taxpayer money would be better spent on making alternative fuel available to consumers, enhancing consumer confidence that the alternate fuel will be available to them and thus cancelling the purchase reluctance that alternative fueled personal vehicles have today?

Maybe, General Motors and other automakers should die out? We do not have Livery Stables or Buggy Whip manufacturers anymore ... the internal combustion engine powered by gasoline made them obsolete.

The automobile manufacturers and the oil refining and distribution companies have a choice -- to either evolve or to perish.