For years American car companies went at each other to see who could build the biggest and meanest SUVs. Now with the climate crisis on everyone's minds and an industry on the brink of collapse, this is the best time to change and retool the auto factories of America. Plenty of others have already and now it is our turn. The automakers may have killed the electric car before, but now it is back with avengeance.
From CNN Money:
While General Motors is moving ahead with its Volt electric midsized car, Chrysler says it already has plans in place, not just for electric cars, but also for minivans and even off-road vehicles.
Chrysler's strategy hinges on keeping it cheap. The carmaker will dispense with flashy designs in exchange for low cost and flexibility. And it plans to pile on more electric-powered models quickly once the program launches in 2010.
"We aren't a one-electric-vehicle company," Lou Rhodes, Chrysler's vice president for advanced vehicle engineering, told CNNMoney in an exclusive interview.
That is great news to hear. Watching the electric car market come into its own will be the day I celebrate though. Talking about a new future for American cars is exciting for now, but really, this should have been happening decades ago. I hope Chrysler and the rest of them are really serious about changing the way they do business, because our planet can't take too much more of our recklessness.
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