Iain — I have another peeve if I may. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm keeps saying that if we don’t bailout the big three “we’ll be replacing our reliance on foreign oil with a reliance on foreign batteries because it’s going to be the battery that’s driving the electric vehicle in the future.”
I don’t think it’s the case that the big three are at the forefront of battery technology. There are scads of start-ups working at the cutting edge of that stuff. But, sure, okay, if the big three go out of business (which isn’t what we’re talking about anyway, we’re talking about them going into bankruptcy), it might hurt battery innovation here in the States. Or it might not. Who knows?
But, what really bugs me is the idea that relying on, say, German or Japanese batteries is like relying on Middle Eastern oil. The analogy is wrong on so many levels it’s hard to know where to begin. “Fuel Cell Sales Fueling Terrorist Cells,” is not a headline in any foreseeable future. Granholm’s one-liner is really just cheap fear-mongering.