Does WIRED think GM and Ford will kill off Toyota with PHEVs?
If you were to say "Bob's coup de grace," would you mean the death stroke of mercy that Bob administers or the stroke that is administered to Bob to end his suffering? Either way, I think the term – changed slightly to match the topic at hand – is being misused by WIRED in this article on Ford and GM's plug-in hybrid concept cars.
Called Coupe de Grace (get it?), the article describes how the Chevy Volt and Ford HySeries Edge concepts will, "leapfrog current hybrid designs and could put pressure on Toyota's popular Prius by offering consumers better value." So, it seems that these vehicles will either put Ford and GM's rivals out of their misery, or they embody the last act of a dying company. Doesn't seem right in any case, does it?
While I agree that choosing between a PHEV and a standard hybrid is going to become more and more of a no-brainer in favor of plug-ins, implying that Detroit's PHEVs will put the Motor City back on top for good is far-fetched. Asian auto companies have been gaining ground in the U.S. because they make good cars that people want to drive. I want to see the Volt reach production as soon as possible, but no one – not even the future prognosticators at WIRED – should count out the company that brought us the game-changing Prius.
Gallery: Ford Sustainable Mobility Test Lab
[Source: WIRED]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Peter 2:52PM (2/12/2007)
I don't see any reason why Ford or GM would be able to produce a better plug in hybrid than Toyota or Honda in the next few years. Toyota and Honda both have a wealth of accumulated knowledge in electric drive systems from their hybrid programs. All they need to do is add a charging system and they're essentially ready to go.
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Travis Rassat 8:57PM (2/12/2007)
Since we're doing the bad play on words thing here, I think they're just rooting for PHEV's because their magazine is called Wired (Get it?).
Sorry. I just couldn't help myself.
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Mr. Guiyotinne 3:32PM (2/12/2007)
I´d just like to see how any of these PHEVs get real and soon; not in ten years time. I´m tired of those companies (not just Ford and GM, but Citroen and the rest here in Europe) claiming to have the car of the future. I just want it now. 2010? We´ll see.
It´s like a free adaptation of a typical bar quote here in Spain: Tomorrow we´ll fee, but not today.
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