AutoblogGreen

Gee, aren't they working together already, and that's why the car companies keep stalling on green technologies? You know, like the Volt that can only go 40 miles on a dream battery when the EV1 could go like 75-150 miles on nickel-metal hydride?

No, I don't know, but it seems to me the worst thing would be closer ties between car companies and big oil. The car companies need to sever that tie and move on.

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The last time that happened, didn't this happen:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy

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Shell, like BP and others, simply doesn't have the vast proven reserves that e.g. Exxon Mobil was able to secure (for a variety of reasons). Combine supply risks in the Middle East with PM and CO2 emissions issues and, certifying alternative fuels (such as xTL liquids) for use in a large range of vehicles becomes a priority for the European oil industry. They cannot cut over to a new fuel grade unless (a) they have sufficient confidence in demand growth and (b) they can free up pumps by phasing out fuel grades that are no longer needed (e.g. Euro 98).

All-electric vehicles would indeed disrupt the oil industry's current business model. There is a reason Chevron picked up Ovonics when GM abandoned its EV-1 program. Perhaps it will take a startup like Tesla to shake things up.

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Ok - I'm with Chris and Anthony - aren't they already working a little too closely? One makes it, and one burns too much of it. The other makes more, the other burns even more... seems pretty symbiotic to me.

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I wish that I could buy a Chevy Matiz. A car like the Matiz is all I need for getting about locally.
I want one with the 800cc motor not the 1000cc.

Does anybody out there know of a buisness that makes importing economical cars from Europe to the US easy?

Americans tend to make the right choice after first exhausting all other options.

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The oil companies want to make sure the money keeps rolling in, so no alternative fuels that they don't control! From their standpoint, H2 and biofuels and "coal-to-oil" is ok, as they can still control distribution.

Plug-in electrics scare the bejebus out of them!

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Oil and Auto have worked together ever since the IC engine was first invented. We may never know the true cost (money, deaths, pain and suffering) of our intentionally manipulated addiction to Oil. http://internalcombustionbook.com What a shame we are too blind to see, too afraid and too greedy to do anything about it.

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