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Non-Tech : IMPCO Technologies (IMCO), formerly AirSensors (ARSN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Oravetz who wrote (115)	12/12/1998 10:52:00 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 298

I have not looked around for additional background info on the Ford supplier of "10,000 ''flexible- fuel''vehicles" mentioned at the end of the text below. I'm not sure that IMCO has the resources for this gas-ethanol combo. I think they only deal with Nat. gas/Propane + gas systems. I would also think that a tie-in with Ford would also get some press from them. For what it is worth, I had recently read an article in Machine Design about EV's. It did not paint a very promising outlook for the technology -- still too much $$$ per/KW to run even with today's "state of the art" battery tech. Although many mfg are coming out with EV's, they are basically giving them away at a huge $ loss. Note the grant total vs. the # of vans. This clip sounds like it is a given that the EV's will fly. ***************************************************************** DETROIT, Dec. 7 (UPI) _ Ford Motor Co. and New York-based Baker Electromotive Inc. are launching a pilot project that could put the nation's mail carriers behind the wheel in zero-emissions, battery- powered vans. Company officials today announced a $2 million grant from the State of New York for the project to convert 10 Postal Service delivery vans to electric power. If the project is successful, officials say the Postal Service could convert ''several thousand vans'' to battery power. The Postal Service operates the world's largest vehicle fleet. Baker, a specialty vehicle maker headquartered in Rome, N.Y., says it will combine mail vans with the Ford-made chassis and drivetrain currently manufactured for Ford Ranger EV pickup trucks. Ford's director of alternative fuel vehicles, John Wallace, says the mail van is ''a perfect use for an electric vehicle because it doesn't require extensive range. The vehicles can be placed in the areas that have the greatest need for air quality improvement.'' Ford also has a Postal Service contract to deliver 10,000 ''flexible- fuel''vehicles, which run on gasoline or ethanol, by spring. Those vehicles are being built on the Ford Explorer chassis. _- Copyright 1998 by United Press International. All rights reserved. _-