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Microcap & Penny Stocks : DCH Technologies (DCH) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Laurens who wrote (1317)	4/29/1999 7:10:00 AM
From: c.horn	Respond to of 2513

Honda ends battery-powered electric cars- LA Times LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Reuters) - American Honda Motor Co. has stopped producing battery-powered electric cars, becoming the first major automaker to acknowledge that it sees no future in marketing the costly vehicles, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. Torrance, California-based American Honda said its EV Plus has outlived its usefulness as a research platform and did not catch on with the general public. The firm said most EV Plus leases were to businesses and government agencies required by law to use lower-emission vehicles. Thad Malesh, senior analyst and alternate-fuels specialist at J.D. Power & Associates in Agoura Hills, California, told the newspaper that Honda's decision to stop making the battery-powered electric cars ''sends a lot of signals.'' ''They are certainly being more honest than anyone else about (battery-dependent) electrics,'' Malesh said. On Wednesday, in a further blow to the technology, Edison International confirmed that it is closing its Edison EV subsidiary, which installed 250 charging stations in California and Arizona. The Los Angeles Times reported that even Toyota Motor Sales USA , which has committed to continue development of its battery-powered RAV4 electric, said the autos have no real appeal for consumers because of their high cost and limited range. The Times reported that fewer than 2,400 battery electric cars and trucks have been sold or leased in the United States in the last three years, and most of those have been in California. Experts say the problem rests in the storage battery technology. Battery packs add hundreds of pounds to a vehicle's weight, last three to six years, and can cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace. The battery-powered vehicles also have a limited range of about 75 miles (120 km) between charges. The Times reported that Honda has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the technology, but now wants to concentrate on technologies such as fuel cells, which produce electricity directly and do not need heavy, expensive batteries. Honda may also be signaling, the Times said, that it has an alternative zero-emissions vehicle in the works. It is enthusiastic about its new VV hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle, which is scheduled to go on sale in the United States next year. It uses an electric motor to boost a small gas engine to get 70 miles per gallon (112 km per 3.7 litre) with ultra-low emissions. Toyota, General Motors (GM - news), Ford Motor Co. (F - news), DaimlerChrysler (DCX - news) and Nissan say they will continue to develop battery-electric vehicles in addition to pursuing other technologies

To: Laurens who wrote (1317)	4/29/1999 8:26:00 AM
From: Alan Brezin	Respond to of 2513

Thanks Laurens. Re FG's 10 serious reasons not to own DCHT: I could give FG 10 serious reasons not to get out of bed today but it would also be pointless. The reason it is pointless is that no one should own so much of any BB company they do not run themselves and intimately understand and know the management to be on the square that it matters if things go wrong or management is crooked or stupid or broke. IMO, you buy the concept and hope for the best so that a small investment can leverage into a big return if things do work out. Unless you are on the inside you will never know enough to make a sound decision to invest serious money so why even consider it until the company becomes an institutional buy?