Driving Innovation: Washington DC’s Auto Show

What will it take to get more electric vehicles on the road? Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon and James Wisemen of Toyota got a head start at that question at yesterday’s Policy Summit at the Washington DC Auto Show. It was the day after the President’s State of the Union address, where he reiterated his commitment to “double-down on a clean energy industry” as a path to a stronger American manufacturing sector:

On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse…Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number-one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.

We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.

But which part of the American auto industry is back? Last year, Obama called for “a million electric vehicles on the road by 2015,” but we’re nowhere near that number, and most industry analysts thing that goal is unattainable.

Why? You can ask National Journal’s Energy Correspondent Amy Harder, who will join us live tonight from the Washington Auto Show. Ask Amy a question>>

But James Wisemen of Toyota offered his reasons at the Policy Summit, arguing that American workers are failing to get the education they need to be eligible for the jobs on the factory floor.

Part of the challenge: today’s auto plants are not the the ones of our grandfathers. They demand new skills and employ high-tech engineering, zero-waste programs, and some are moving toward being LEED-certified.

But it’s not just where they’re working it’s what they’re working on. All the clean energy that the President is calling for will be converted into electricity. And that electricity will go to powering our cars, but not quite yet according to IHS expert, Rebecca Lindland. Only 2% of drivers are taking on electric vehicles–people just don’t want to buy them.

But if we can get that marketing right, we might see some really cool cars on the road in the coming years. Auto manufacturers are working on more efficient batteries that will be able to power bigger cars for longer trips, advanced hybrid technology and even some traditional internal combustion engine cars that compete with the hybrids in MPGs.

1. 
   On January 27th, 2012 at 6:39 pm Jim Thykeson Said:

   The rest of the world takes climate-change very seriously, thats why they will stay ahead of America in the race to the new fuel. America is controlled by market-forces and ‘big-oil’ and their not ready to move on to hydrogen or CNG. Europe on the other hand are democratic-socialistic countries where the countries set the standard…not the industry. The scape-goated surrogate whipping-boy here is the auto industry. The auto companies have made vehicles that will run on CNG, hydrogen fuel-cells, hybridized electro/motive; yes just like GM locomotive div. or even compressed air cylinders! But ‘big-oil’ says no go. We won’t catch up until the climate calamities become so ferocious that the ins. industry yells ‘calf-rope’ and forces our move to the new fuels. Isn’t it a shame that we damm near have to destroy ourselves and the planet so coal and petroleum can continue..

2. 
   On January 28th, 2012 at 7:38 am Domenick A. Bottini III Said:

   Recently, Governor Jerry Brown of California, in his “State of the State” message asked the legislature to enact a law requiring
   that one out of every new automobile sold be a hybrid or electric vehicle. He is pulling and pushing up the state’s standards for
   emissions to provide clean air. I wish Governor Scott of Florida and other governors would also take a “pro-active” position to
   insure the quality of our air. When it comes to environment and safety regulations, the natural “knee jerk” response is to oppose
   such programs in spite of the fact that the benefit-cost ratio is somewhere around 20 to 1. This is the long-term view which we
   must accept to save the planet for the next ten generations.

   Domenick A. Bottini III