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To: Ray who wrote (4118)	10/19/1999 8:29:00 AM
From: Ray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8393

More about GM's plans. Major Business News October 19, 1999 GM Is Set to Unveil New Push for 'Green' Car in Auto Lines By JEFFREY BALL Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL General Motors Corp. plans to roll out a strategy Tuesday to move ahead in the race for a "green" car, showing off a concept vehicle that could use either electric or gasoline power and thus, GM said, would reduce the cost of bringing environmentally friendlier autos to market. GM Chairman and Chief Executive John F. Smith Jr. is expected to unveil the company's so-called Triax concept at the Tokyo Motor Show. The model on display will be a sport-utility vehicle powered by an electric motor in front and a combined electric-and-gasoline power plant in the rear. So-called hybrid vehicles, which combine the fuel economy of an electric motor with the long driving range of a gasoline engine, already are on the road. Toyota Motor Corp., which is displaying a new hybrid concept somewhat similar to GM's Triax at this week's Tokyo show, and Honda Motor Co. each plan to start selling hybrids in the U.S. in the coming months. GM contends its Triax concept is different because the vehicle has a frame and suspension designed to accommodate a range of power sources -- all-gasoline engines, hybrids, or all-electric systems powered by either batteries or fuel cells -- as well as a variety of body styles. The theory is that GM could sell a vehicle like the Triax in widely varying markets around the world. It could pop in a hybrid or an all-electric power plant in regions where gasoline is expensive, such as Europe and Asia. It could install a traditional internal-combustion engine in places where gas is cheap, such as the U.S. As for the exterior, GM could bolt on a sedan body in one market and an SUV or pickup-truck shell in another. All this would help GM spread the huge costs of developing new environmental technologies over more vehicles, said Robert C. Purcell Jr., GM's executive director for advanced-technology vehicles. The Triax "is as much about the business of advanced-technology vehicles as about the technology," he said. But the future of GM's concept is unclear. So far, GM's primary experience in marketing green vehicles is the EV1, an electric-powered car that has sold poorly, largely because of its short range between battery charges. Mr. Purcell says many of the lessons the EV1 taught GM about electric-vehicle technology have been applied to the Triax, which has a gas engine and transmission built by Suzuki Motor Corp. While Mr. Purcell says GM has "a lot of work going on" to commercialize a vehicle based on the Triax, he won't say when such an auto might go into production. Other auto makers already have announced their hybrid plans. Honda plans to become the first auto maker to sell a hybrid in the U.S. when its Insight coupe goes on sale in this country in December. Then, next spring or summer, Toyota plans to start selling its own hybrid, the Prius sedan, in the U.S. Toyota already sells the Prius in Japan. The second-generation hybrid concept that Toyota is displaying at the Tokyo show broadly resembles GM's Triax in that each vehicle delivers power to both its axles. Toyota's Prius and Honda's Insight each uses its hybrid system to power only the front axle. -- Norihiko Shirouzu in Tokyo contributed to this article. Copyright ¸ 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Ray who wrote (4118)	10/19/1999 9:15:00 PM
From: Michael Latas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 8393

There is an interesting four page article in the current Oct. 25th issue of Fortune magazine entitled "Reinventing The Wheel". It does a pretty decent job in discussing all of the many changes that are taking place in the present and future of vehicles. There's also a good full page article on the front page of section 2 of today's Wall Street Journal on global warming. The most interesting part to us is the reference to Royal Dutch/Shell Group's commitment to the environment. It made mention of "their entering the promising world of fuel cells." Furthermore, "next month, Shell will open a solar panel plant in Germany that will eventually produce about 13 million solar cells annually, to make it the worlds largest". Rather interesting. Reference was also made to BP Amoco as "being among the forefront of the multinationals in reducing global warming both in the US and abroad". With this knowledge, if only we could just get lucky enough to have BP Amoco join Royal Dutch/Shell Group in our solid state hydrogen fuel technology development. Now, wouldn't that be a break for us. Some food for thought. There are over thirty different companies,(Does anyone have an up-to-date count?) including auto mfgr's worldwide, and counting, that are in the process of developing fuel cell technology. Ballard happens to be just one of them. And look how much money Daimler/Chrysler and Ford have invested in their fuel cell. Amazing! It really drove their stock up. And what do they really have, but one of a number of different possible fuel cells? On the other hand, all fuel cells, regardless of who makes them, including Ballard, need hydrogen as their fuel. Up until ECD came upon the scene with our solid state hydrogen fuel technology there was no known safe, viable, cost effective, practical means of storing and distributing hydrogen fuel. Now that's a fact. When will this become public knowledge? Furthermore, our solid state hydrogen fuels can be used by internal combustion engines now, while the oil industry builds their infrastructure for future fuel celled vehicles that could be ten or more years down the road. Of course, very expensive concept cars are expected by 2004. The race is finally really heating up, thank goodness. Nobody wants to be left behind. Everyone is in agreement that the 21st century will not be the internal combustion engine driven by gasoline. We have that much going for us to help our cause along. Perhaps some new light will be shed by ECD's new quarterly newsletter due out later this month. Regards.