Kill the Messenger - this time the LA Times

[glatt]

Originally Posted by tw

Twelve years after the US government gave GM money to build a hybrid - and this is their best? GM will be running to the US government for protection. Why? Two new engines in 2006 - and both be 1950 technology pushrods - no overhead cam. Somehow they have a hybrid that does not drive the wheels? Plenty of Bull in an industry that is instead about power of horses.

According to this Wired article, GM has literally torn apart the competition to help it decide that hybrids are not the future, and that it should focus its efforts in the hydrogen fuel cell side of things.

GM thinks it has a better idea. [than hybrids] In the back of the teardown building, alongside the dissected Prius and Malibu, lie the parts of a GM demonstration vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Although the vehicle has more total parts than the Prius, almost none of them move, eliminating many of the finely machined gears and engine components of the traditional auto. The tables bearing the drive trains of the Prius and Malibu are laden with parts; those for the fuel cell car are nearly empty. The three teardowns tell the story of GM's plans: Go directly from gasoline to fuel cells with a mere nod to hybrid tech. At the Tokyo auto show in October, GM unveiled its fuel cell-powered Sequel. Larry Burns, GM's vice president for R&D and planning, announced that the company would be able to "design and validate a competitive fuel cell propulsion system by 2010."