But now the NYT reports:
The Italian automaker Fiat agreed on Tuesday to take a 35 percent stake in the struggling American auto company Chrysler, which was forced last month to seek a federal bailout amid fears it might not survive.
And, as the article notes, this creates a real eco-opportunity for Chrysler:
The agreement will allow Chrysler to use Fiat’s technology and vehicle platforms to build more fuel-efficient, small and midsize cars at its factories and sell them in North America. Fiat will give Chrysler access to distribution networks in other parts of the world, particularly Europe. The companies said they expected “substantial cost savings opportunities” but did not specify an amount ...
“The agreement will offer both companies opportunities to gain access to most relevant automotive markets,” Mr. Marchionne [Fiat CEO] said, “with innovative and environmentally friendly product offering, a field in which Fiat is a recognized world leader while benefiting from additional cost synergies.”
... “This transaction will enable Chrysler to offer a broader competitive line-up of vehicles for our dealers and customers that meet emissions and fuel efficiency standards, while adhering to conditions of the government loan,” Chrysler’s chairman, Robert L. Nardelli, said in the statement.
As for Chrysler’s plan to go electric, I was not the only one suckered inspired by them. Consider L. A. Times car columnist Dan Neil, who wrote in mid-January, “The company has a long history of pulling itself out of deep trouble. This time, it’s counting on electric cars to save it”:
The public will get a good look at Chrysler’s electric-car plans today when it reveals two new “production-intent” vehicles at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show: a plug-in hybrid version of the Jeep Patriot compact utility, and a pure electric vehicle, called the Circuit, based on the British sports car Lotus Europa.
These join three ENVI prototypes unveiled last year: a plug-in hybrid Chrysler minivan and Jeep Wrangler, and another electrified Lotus, similar to the Tesla Roadster. Chrysler has committed to bringing at least one advanced electric vehicle to the market next year.
“These are not concept vehicles,” says Quigley. “We can’t afford that anymore. These are intended for production.”
Take your best shots, ye of little faith!
This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
Capturing the massive social benefits of fuel efficiency requires regulation
Comments
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Pompey Road Posted 8:20 am
21 Jan 2009
To little to late and when even mighty GM is tettering on the edge of bankruptsy the privately owned number 3 Chrysler will be history.
They will not meet the requrements for the next round of borrowing from the tax payers to stay afloat.
If only we had put the same restrictions on Wall Street.
The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.
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biodiversivist Posted 10:04 am
21 Jan 2009
You walk onto the lot looking for a smallish black car and drive off in a white Patriot, because according to the salesman, big is small and black is white. It's all a matter of degree don't you know.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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racc Posted 10:33 am
21 Jan 2009
No automaker can be green. The automobile simply uses too much energy and resources in its manufacture and operation to be "green". Roads and parking have a huge environmental impact that will not be "solved" by electric cars.
It is not about us, it is about everyone.
http://www.everyoneforever.org/
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Steven T Posted 2:41 pm
21 Jan 2009
Okay, I'll play anyway. First of all, the electric cars Chrysler has announced are boutique models -- even if they were stellar designs they would sell in relatively small numbers. And -- truth be told -- none of the designs are particularly competitive. Add to that the very real fear of buying an "orphan" and you can bet with a high degree of confidence that these cars will be asterisks in automotive history.
That's all assuming Chrysler survives long enough to actually build these cars. At this point I don't think you can guarantee that scenario occurring.
I don't say any of this to belittle the idea of electric cars. I do say this as someone who follows the auto industry pretty closely.
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Pangolin Posted 2:52 pm
21 Jan 2009
My guess is the auto industry is on life support and starting to rot. We're all still driving around but it's partially for lack of other available solutions.
I'm looking for a used car and biking home in the rain later tonight. New anything simply isn't an option in this economy.
Put the Carbon Back
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amazingdrx Posted 10:18 pm
21 Jan 2009
"Forced" is the operative word. Would any of the big three prefer bankruptcy to abandoning steel and oil, in favor of carbon fiber and renewabley charged batteries? I think so. This is exactly why the present management must go, including board rooms.
Meanwhile on "morning joe" RGK jr surprises with an excellent explanation of how a smart grid integrated with plugin cars and large great plains wind and desert solar could power the nation. He says 150 billion is needed to upgrade the grid and start a real free market in electricty.
Get this line, excellent:
"A smart grid can turn off a million water heaters rather than firing up a natural gas generator".
Good job Bobby, but I noticed you strsesed great plains wind excluding any mention of offshore wind/wave power. You won't fully rehabilitate your integrity until you address your opposition to offshore wind power.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog John Schneider, Northern Wisconsin
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edarnold41 Posted 3:37 am
22 Jan 2009
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biodiversivist Posted 4:49 am
22 Jan 2009
If these cars cost too much we will see a repeat of that. One way to offset the battery cost is to build smaller cars, which of course is also the cheapest way to gain efficiency.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
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ken1 Posted 5:06 am
22 Jan 2009
It would be good for US industry for at least one of the big3 to die off. Or re-direct their energies to wind, nuclear and rail.
-- Sustainability Best Practices & Peer Network --
SustainLane Government
http://www.sustainlane.us
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