Ferrari Mailing List: Those Sneaky Bastards!

[red5hilser (red5hilser]

And I thought the Hun was sneaky after bombing Pearl Harbor! Maybe those old 
stories about the 100mpg carburetors weren't so far-fetched after all?

Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba





 




















ABOUT IDE



FAQS



ARCHIVES



PRODUCTS



CONTACT US



WHITELIST US

 

















 








Technology For Electric Vehicles Is Moving, Only It Is In Reverse







NATO UPDATE




























 

MaryEllen Tribby
Publisher



 

Jedd Canty
Business Director



 

Nicole Reynolds
Marketing



 

Jon Herring
Editor















 

Charles Delvalle



 

Andrew M. Gordon



 

Dr. Russell McDougal
D.D.S.



 

Rick Pendergraft



 

Lynn Carpenter



 

Andy Carpenter



 

Christian Hill



 

 



















Thursday, December 04, 2008

















 

Technology For Electric Vehicles Is Moving, Only It Is In Reverse

 











 









 



Christian Hill





My previous articles on General Motors and the EV1 generated quite a bit of 
reader feedback, and many of you asked the same question:

If GM could build the EV1 to go up to 150 miles on a full charge 10 years ago, 
why can the Volt only go 40 mi
les on a full charge today?

Excellent question. Surely, battery technology has advanced in the past 10 
years, right?

Yes, but that’s not the real problem.

The battery pack powering the EV1 was NiMH (nickel metal hydride).  The Volt 
will be powered by lithium ion batteries like the ones in laptops and cell 
phones.

So, yes, battery technology has advanced in the last 10 years, but I think the 
problem of reduced battery range goes beyond that. I think the “regression” in 
battery capability is intentional. Here’s why:

In 1994 General Motors bought a controlling stake in ECD Ovonics. By doing so, 
GM gained control over the development and manufacturing of Ovonics large NiMH 
batteries. This move also provided GM with all the patents on the batteries.

As mentioned, these NiMH batteries were used in the final examples of the EV1 
in 1999, and reportedly worked flawlessly.

Fast forward a couple of years to 2001, and a relatively unpublicized 
transaction took place. GM sold its share of ECD Ovonics (and the patents) to…

Texaco.

Yep, the oil company.

Six days later, Chevron completed its’ purchase of Texaco. So now the battery 
technology that allowed the EV1 to run for 150 miles without a single drop of 
gasoline is in the hands of one of the largest oil companies in the world.

In 2003, Texaco Ovonics Battery Systems was renamed Cobasys, a 50/50 joint 
venture between Chevron and ECD Ovonics. Independently, Chevron owns a 20% 
stake in ECD Ovonics.

By=2
0now, you are probably guessing that an oil company with the patents to a very 
effective battery technology would never let that technology see the light of 
day. It could very well put them out of business.

To state that the technology was buried is not entirely true. But what Cobasys 
did is extensively limit the ability for any one to get their hands on NiMH 
batteries. And anyone found utilizing the NiMH battery technology that Cobasys 
had the patents on were sued and sued often, such as Panasonic. In essence, 
Cobasys controlled the market for NiMH batteries, and they were doing their 
best to make sure none of the batteries made it into any electronic vehicle.

And that brings us nearly full-circle to the current crop of electronic 
vehicles, including the Volt. The Volt, as mentioned, will run on costlier 
lithium ion batteries, which will drive up the cost of the Volt. GM could have 
used the cheaper and proven NiMH batteries, but alas, they sold the patents to 
Cobasys (Chevron). Do you think Chevron would allow the Volt to be produced 
with NiMH batteries, eliminating the need for a gasoline engine to supply power 
after 40 miles? Not a chance.

Now, to be fair, Cobasys is allowing their NiMH batteries to be used in the 
Chevy Malibu hybrid, the Saturn Aura Hybrid, and the Saturn Vue Hybrid. But all 
of those vehicles are hybrids, so they still rely on gasoline. Not one vehicle 
is utilizing Cobasys batteries as the sole source of power.

But it gets better. The company chosen to supply th
e Lithium Ion batteries for the Volt is called A123Systems. Guess who they are 
partnered with? Cobasys.

Great.

So, to bring this all together, the battery technology from 10 years ago that 
powered a car 150 miles, is now controlled by an oil company, and any new 
hybrid vehicle in production now relies on batteries from an oil company.

Is it any wonder that we are 10 years down the road from the EV1, but have yet 
to see a true mass market electric vehicle? Not when the technology is owned by 
an oil company. I guess we can only sit and wait until 2014 when the patents 
expire.

P.S.  To let me know what you thought of today's article, send an e-mail 
to: feedback [at] investorsdailyedge.com.





INTERNAL ENDORSEMENT



The Coming Gold Rush of 2009 Could Hand You Safe Gains of 408%


If you think it’s too late to make big money in the precious metals bull 
market, it’s time to think again. The financial crisis has caused tremendous 
pain… but the “solutions” are likely to make the situation even worse in the 
long run. But there is a way to protect and grow your wealth… with inflation 
proof, depression proof gold!


Click here to learn how to turn the gold rush of 2009 into safe gains of 408%


























 



 












 


 




 


 











 



 




















0A