Bill Ford to turn automaker into "Green Oval"?
Bill Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford himself, is reportedly hedging his bets on green technology for the automaker that bears his name. Ford has spoken directly with President-elect Barack Obama about energy, especially as it relates to the automotive industry, and the Blue Oval exec likes what he hears from our next President. According to Mr. Ford, he's shared his plans for his company's future with Obama and has plans to continue to do so. One big issue Bill Ford sees with future automotive tech lies with batteries, but not the actual technology that goes into making a good pack. The problem is that nearly all of the world's batteries come from Asian countries, and if our cars go electric, the US could be exchanging one foreign dependence with another. According to Ford, "It's all about fuel economy and energy independence," he said. "I passionately believe that Ford can and should be part of that solution." Bailed out or not, Ford plans to improve the fuel efficiency of its cars, definitely a good thing to hear.
[Source: The New York Times]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paulwesterberg 11:38AM (11/24/2008)
Your daily dilbert:
fordexec1: Our low mpg cars arnt selling well, we need to do something.
fordexec2: You mean like redesign our cars and sell EU models in the US?
fordexec1: That would be costly, time consuming and we don't have the technical skills to make our cars more efficient than foreign models. How about we make the logo green.
fordexec2: Great idea, now we can use the R&D budget for Christmas bonuses!
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Josh 4:02PM (11/25/2008)
That's the best comment of the day. Brilliant!
Joey Mazz 10:51PM (11/25/2008)
You have certainly dreamt up a clever scenario, but you seem to be unaware of what is actually happening right now. Ford IS unveiling redesigned new models and Ford IS retooling it's factories to start selling 6 euro models within the next couple years, and many Ford cars are actually more fuel efficient than their Japanese competitors.
AlexNC 12:00PM (11/24/2008)
This brings up a huge point that keeps getting glazed over by all these green tech proponents. We can not simply trade one dependence for another. Sure, we are in good relations with the asian markets, but that is besides the point. The US has to build it's own batteries if they want energy independence. Otherwise, we will never have a stable energy transportation market.
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Peter 12:32PM (11/24/2008)
1...2...3... Greenwash! Talk is cheap. I'll be more excited when Ford starts producing efficient cars instead of just talking about it. What have they done lately except license Toyota's hybrid technology for the Escape/Mariner hybrids?
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John Rowell 12:57PM (11/24/2008)
I don't see how it's a problem being dependent on Asian countries for batteries. After all - unlike certain oil-producing middle-east countries - they're not funding terrorists. The Asian countries are dependent on the US for a range of commodities as well. What's so bad about trade? BTW, I don't think Ford has any plans to turn their logo green, but I wouldn't complain if they do - I love that emerald color, lol.
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GoodCheer 1:44PM (11/24/2008)
I've heard that line from Ford before. It sounds to me like an excuse not to be proactive.
If our oil supplies were cut off, all fossil fueled vehicles would stop moving in about a week (give or take).
If our battery supplies were cut off, how long would it take for vehicles to stop moving? That's right, they wouldn't. The stopage would occur in vehicle manufacturing, not in vehicle use.
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jeff 1:14AM (11/25/2008)
I don't think this is greenwash at all. Bill Ford's been known as a promoter of green advances since before he was CEO. If anything he struggled against shareholders to push the hybrid development, and from what I've read, Ford's hybrid lineup would have been a lot more aggressive today if he had had his way. Not every conversation he has is gonna focus on all the blow-you away plans he might have, this was him just talking about an important issue that needs to be considered when we switch over to more and more electric transportation.
EVs to me are definitely the way too go, but we have to put a lot of thought into where these batteries are coming from, how costly (economically and ecologically) they are to make, and what can be done with them when they've reached the end of their usable life.
It's very important not to lose sight of this in our excited push towards fancy new fuel energy efficient technology, it's easy to get carried away!
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David Hyne 7:02PM (1/01/2009)
Basically he's saying that the Big Three allowed Asian countries to get the edge on them in battery tech! We can't reward them for that! God forbid!
I'm sure the Asian battery producers would be willing to set up shop in the US and make the batteries for Ford, given the chance. (If they don't end up buying out Ford first!)
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