Thursday at the Auto Show

Yesterday there were a series of panel discussions right in front of our booth. One was a very honest discussion about where and how hybrids have a place in the market, with a smart panel and sharp moderator. I learned a bit and especially liked the comments of the CEO of Oshkosh, the specialty vehicle manufacturer.

Later there was a panel by the Center for Automotive Research, with a smart moderator with style and grace. There was a question that got danced around, which was: Is there a net reduction of CO2 by shifting to electric vehicles. It was a shame to see this question avoided.

It is clear that the whole electric program is still very much on the bubble. I learned a lot about load distribution and concede that 1 million electric vehicles by 2015 in the US may well be an improvement, as long as we get some type of smart charger scheduling system in place.

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of meeting the chassis engineer for the Ford GT, who is now independent and works on the Karma. He was knowledgeable and helpful, and saw our car as well done. This is a meaningful endorsement for our team.

I also really enjoyed walking by the Tesla booth. They had on display the 1000^th Tesla Roadster. The moment reminded me of Lamborghini building the 700^th Miura. While it is not my thing, Tesla has nice people, do a nice presentation without going overboard and are an honest, efficient effort. There is a place for them and I wish them well. - Oliver 

Detroit Auto Show: Wednesday

I am taking stock of my business card collection. It has an astonishing number of presidents and CEO’s. Only here, at the Detroit Auto Show, would these powerful and busy people engage in a conversation. These smart, experienced people are taking note of what we are doing. A giant from the world of aviation stopped by, got what we are doing and reinforced that we nailed the aerodynamics 100%. When I told him about Barnaby (Barnaby Wainfan, our Chief of Aerodynamics) he said he expected someone like that.

Yesterday was an industry day. It is the day when you can find out what a metal stamping company can actually do and what they cannot. The day you can begin to get a small idea of what something might cost. You find out about the real engineering talent on some people’s staff. You meet some of the people who actually make things happen in this field. Today will be more of that.

We are learning a lot here, and meeting a lot of people. Most people do not quite get it, but if they do they really do.

The best part is when someone comes back with someone else to show them what we are doing. - Oliver 

More from the Detroit Auto Show

Detroit Auto Show: Tuesday

Tuesday was the second press day at the Auto Show, and we had a steady flow of press people but also notables from the autoworld. It was fun and exciting and our rolodex is growing. I also had a chance to talk about electrics and efficiency with experts who have thought hard about these things.

I have believed that the efficiency of the electric car is as follows. Starting with input at 100%, deduct 5 – 10% for charger, average ability of battery to return power 20%, controller 3%, inverter 5 –10%, motor loss 10%. This gives a power return of about 60%, plug to output shaft of the motor. Today I met with a man from the Mercedes hybrid electric program. He flat confirmed to me that they see 60% as the norm number to achieve.

He also agreed that after the added weight of the gear (15%) and deducting for generation, grid and oversupply losses it leaves an electric car with efficiency of around 25%.

At a place like this you get honest discussion. That is great.

The car I liked the most is ironically an electric car. The Audi E-tron 2. It is distinguished by its small and clean shape. It is a niche car with impressive (by electric car standards) performance standards. They confirmed that their 0-60 record times can only be done a very few times in a row. I guess that is physics.

I thought that all the companies – Toyota, Audi, GM, etc – are somewhat time inappropriate as they are still rolling out ever larger more feature ridden examples of the same idea. However in auto introduction what we see today is what was laid out 2 to 4 years ago.

On the political front it is sad to say that it is mostly hot air and self-congratulations. Local, national, both sides.

I would like to say though that in the OEM supplier world I have met some very sharp people.

Some good ideas at this show but ours are unique and important, and a lot of people are stopping by and learning about the Very Light Car. - Oliver 

Report from Detroit

Detroit Auto Pre-Show: Sunday

This is clearly the big time. I have been to auto shows before but never where they build the sets. The energy in this room (large enough for several football fields) is powerful. There are thousands of people really busy building their show. It ranges from a German director choreographing a dance troop rehearsing for the unveiling of a new Mini concept to an executive practicing his speech on loudspeakers. There are cameras and carpenters and cranes and forklifts. There are acres upon acres of carpet to roll out and new stuff to place. There are 100 Asian guys speaking in a foreign tongue placing 20 different mini cars for postal and police applications, showing their wares next to a car manufacturer building a tent so they can build their display in secret. It is all very cool.

The show is spectacular. It is hard to compete in this context for attention but we are looking forward to it. We are not trying to “spin” our way to the spotlight, but just let our car speak for itself – Oliver

Detroit Auto Show: Monday

Yesterday was a day for press, politicians and industry execs. We are on Electric Avenue – a bit of irony, since we rejected electricity and batteries as power sources – with 20 electric vehicles, including 4 of our X Prize competitors. Oliver says the other X Prize cars are our camouflage, as we lurk in their midst with our E85 powered Very Light Car.

We had a great day, with lots of visitors. There are some amazing people here. What fascinated us was who actually spent time seeing the Very Light Car and “got” it – why what we are doing is so different and so important. Not the media, generally, who were distracted by the flash and glamour that is the Detroit Auto Show, but industry insiders: executives, designers, board members, research and development types, from companies such as Michelin, VW, Honda, Toyota and ConocoPhillips, just to name a few.

A very good day for Edison2 – Brad

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