Why American Auto Manfacturers Should Close

Give it up already Ford. Get lost Chrysler. Take a hike General Motors. You are extinct dinosaurs that have forgotten to fall down into a pit of goop.

The oil crisis has been looming for decades. Gas prices have been rising for as long. Real environmental concerns have been on the minds of consumers for years. Yet, Ford offers the Expedition, which is roughly the size of the Hoover Dam, can seat the population of Vermont, and gets a stunning 16 miles to the gallon, just parked in your driveway.  Don’t actually turn the key.

Meanwhile, go to the Chrysler home page and the Chrysler 300 is splashed all over the opening web page, talking about attitude. It took me a great deal of searching on their site to discover that the miles per gallon on this car was 15. So long as you were on the downward slope of a long highway, the engine was off and all passengers were leaning forward and holding their breath.

GM on the other hand, has been running those awesomely irritating Cadillac commercials. The Cadillac CTS is advertised as possibly obtaining “up to” 17 miles per gallon. Further research found that this was the MPG the vehicles got while riding on top of one of those car carriers being delivered to the dealership.

Sure, all of these companies have smaller vehicles and even a few lame hybrids. But their bread and butter continues to be SUVs so large they have their own zip code, or luxury or sports vehicles that promise to get you from zero to a $300 speeding ticket in 3.2 seconds.  Assuming you can find any highway in an American city that isn’t gridlocked of course.

Now let’s take a look at Honda. They get it. They really do. Honda, this summer, 2008, will begin leasing in Southern California the FCX Clarity.  This is an electric car. I know, I know, you are just about to say that electric cars don’t go fast enough, far enough or cost too much. Wrong. Is 100 MPH fast enough for your daily commute to and from work, as well as your run to the local grocery store? Probably. Far enough? As long as your round trip to and from work isn’t more than 270 miles, this car will be fine for you. How’s that for range?

Price? Not more than $1,900 higher than a comparable gasoline Honda vehicle. So, affordable to most of us.

But it gets better. Remember I told you that Honda really “gets it”. This car doesn’t plug in. It runs on hydrogen.  A hydrogen engine generates the electricity to charge the fuel cells to power the vehicle. Last time I looked, hydrogen was about as plentiful as. . .  air. Talk about energy independence!

OK, I hear ya – where the hell am I gonna get hydrogen? Right now, only in Southern California. Eventually, more and more markets will have hydrogen stations.  But here is the really best part. I’ve saved the best for last. I mean, this is so cool it makes my ears wiggle.

Honda is developing home energy stations. What is that? A way to refill your hydrogen powered car? Ha! Not just that my friendly bloggers, but more! This is a concept where a home energy station will provide home heating and electricity using natural gas and as a byproduct produce hydrogen for your car. They have an experimental home energy station in a home in California and are working to perfect it.

So, when all the pieces come together we can use natural gas to heat and provide electricity to your home, and at the same time generate hydrogen to power our Hondas.  What’s to prevent a gas station/convenience market from doing the same thing?

So, while American car makers are stuffing MP3 players into their giant gas guzzling cars to entice consumers, and only beginning to think about hybrids, Honda has been working for years on a long term viable solution to the gas crisis.

Isn’t it also interesting that while American auto makers are closing plants and moving them to Mexico and other countries, Honda has several plants in Ohio and other states? Who really is demonstrating the traditional value of American ingenuity?

I think it is time for Ford, Chrysler and GM to just give it up. They are just decades behind in innovation, and they are more of an embarrassment to our national pride than anything else.

SCG