This Week It’s All About Detroit
“Green” eyes are on Detroit this week, as the world’s leading car manufacturers come together for the 2008 North American International Auto Show. The idea of an electric car as an alternative to traditional gasoline-fueled vehicles has already garnered unprecedented coverage. Toyota was out in front over the weekend with an announcement that it plans to deliver a plug-in electric hybrid to commercial customers by 2010. Late yesterday, GM announced plans to deliver its own electric-powered model by 2010.
Other major manufacturers, including Mazda, Honda and Ford are also expected to discuss plans to cut fuel costs and emissions with new technology.
Former SAP executive Shai Agassi is among a handful of Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurs pursuing this. Agassi has teamed up with Idan Ofer to develop “the infrastructure and scale necessary” to make electric cars a viable alternative to fuel-based vehicles. Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal covered the various electric car projects and the players behind them.
EcoGeek (our guest blogger at CES) is closely following on-site developments at the show, as are a number of automotive and technology blogs. In case you missed it, there was quite a bit of “green” coverage overnight, including NPR, MSNBC and Reuters.
As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts on what’s being announced.
