tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567859015477147199.post888538078863492242..comments2024-02-19T00:33:18.098-08:00Comments on Plugs and Cars: Lutz Chats Volt with "Fellow Bloggers"Marc Gellerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10713605804380494009noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567859015477147199.post-77852877082118190002007-04-19T20:55:00.000-07:002007-04-19T20:55:00.000-07:00This stuff about nickel mining is so lame. The la...This stuff about nickel mining is so lame. The last time I analyzed the Dust to Dust hatchet job against hybrids, they claimed 1000 tons of nickel going into NiMH batteries, and blamed the devastation around the nickel mines in Sudbury Ontario on that, so I looked it up. World Nickel production was 1,425,509 tons in 2005. At 0.07%, the 1,000 tons attributed to the hybrid batteries is not the cause of Sudbury mine environmental devastation. In fact, 60% of nickel production goes into making steel according to Wikipedia [1]. So the Hummer, with all of its steel, is probably much more responsible for the Sudbury mine devastation than the Prius. Why isn't Lutz concerned about that?<BR/><BR/>[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel<BR/>Nickel consumption can be summarized as: nickel steels (60%), nickel-copper alloys and nickel silver (14%), malleable nickel, nickel clad and Inconel (9%), plating (6%), nickel cast irons (3%), heat and electric resistance alloys (3%), nickel brasses and bronzes (2%), others (3%).eakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02786033328066911039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2567859015477147199.post-64869962931987979362007-04-17T12:10:00.000-07:002007-04-17T12:10:00.000-07:00I watched the PodTech video, and your assessment n...I watched the PodTech video, and your assessment nails it, Marc. (Kudos to Matt Kelly of PodTech for asking Lutz the right questions!) Lutz contradicted himself about the NiMH batteries -- first saying they're not good enough, and then saying GM might use them in the end. Those of us who have been driving electric cars that have 3 times the range of the Chevy Volt on NiMH batteries know the batteries are good enough. Lutz is a good actor, but GM is stalling. <BR/><BR/>His comments about how Washington, D.C. should focus on supporting new technology rather than require higher fuel efficiency from gasoline cars sounds like another bait-and-switch, in the same way that Detroit's Big 3 automakers bamboozled the government in the 1990s with the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. Like Marc said, if Lutz was serious about plug-in hybrids, he wouldn't mind higher CAFE standards, because PHEVs will exceed them.<BR/><BR/>Sherry Boschert, author<BR/>Plug-in Hybrids: The Cars that Will Recharge AmericaSherry Boscherthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669179735463149140noreply@blogger.com