Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Monday November 13 2017, @11:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the Detroit-on-another-deathwatch-and-still-doesn't-know-it dept.

The BBC and many other sources report:

The US car industry will be wrecked if President Trump relaxes emissions standards, California's governor says.

Jerry Brown said China would dominate car manufacture because it was heavily promoting the electric vehicles that would dominate the future.

He said huge investment was needed on electric vehicles, along with federal rules to encourage their purchase.

He said President Trump and US car-makers were "half asleep" and hadn't understood the scale of the challenge.

He told BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth: "There will be a serious threat to the US auto industry.

Unlike many in Silicon Valley, Gov. Brown seems to want the USA car industry to survive this Chinese nationally supported onslaught.

While not specifically mentioned in the article, China is working on cars at all price points, not just early adopters that can afford a Tesla or other luxury car. The Chinese stuff may be junk now (think about the batteries in Chinese "hoverboards") but it won't be for long, they learn fast. Here's a little minivan that's headed to production, https://carnewschina.com/2017/09/28/new-photos-sinogold-gm3-electric-mpv-china/


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 14 2017, @02:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 14 2017, @02:35AM (#596619)

    Once upon a time there were over 100 different auto manufacturers in the USA alone. Many merged or failed early, the next big round was during the 1930s Great Depression. In the "great recession" ~10 years ago, a number of established brands left the market. Here's a prediction for the next round of mergers, acquisitions and failures in the auto industry:

    Acura. Once upon a time this brand allegedly represented Honda’s best thinking, although it rarely lived up to that lofty goal. It turns out that the current NSX would be the last highpoint for the brand, as once Honda merges with General Motors in 2022, Acura will cease to exist. The only thing that will survive from Acura is the “calipers” emblem, which will now grace the front of Honda’s fuel cell and autonomous vehicles.

    Apple. Arrogance intact – no big surprise – Apple enters the autonomous ride sharing market with its “Air” automotive brand. The big selling point, according to Apple, is the ghostly, almost translucent bodywork on its vehicles, which allows people to see how hip the owners are.

    Alfa Romeo. Before the St. Valentine’s massacre in 2019, when the Hyundai conglomerate buys FCA, lock, stock and espresso machines, Marchionne & Co. will spin off Alfa Romeo in the hopes that it will become a gold mine. Instead, it returns to being even more of a niche of a niche Italian brand than it is now, eventually fading from the American landscape by 2025.

    Aston Martin. The British automaker continues to wave its luxury flag high, offering ICE-powered cars for the foreseeable future, while slowly but surely getting its electric/autonomous game face on. After expanding into all forms of luxury, from boats to private jets, Aston will be a survivor.

    Audi. Steadfastly clinging to its “four rings” moniker, Audi will remain the mainstream luxury spear-carrier for the VW Group, adjusting its portfolio to 20 percent ICE entries – mainly for driving enthusiasts – while churning out a dizzying array of electric vehicles with autonomous capability when desired. Against all odds, Audi retains its icy German persona, even after being electrified.

    Bentley. Abandoning all vestiges of its past, Bentley goes fully electric with autonomous capability for all of its vehicle offerings. Then, when its German overlords realize that no one really cares about electric Bentleys, they do an about-face and start churning out throwback ICE luxury-performance cars in 2026, to much industry-wide acclaim.

    For the rest of the alphabetical list, see http://www.autoextremist.com/current/2017/11/13/a-brave-new-brand-world.html [autoextremist.com]

    ** Devs -- this is an article that I'd like to revisit in a few years. Is anyone working on an "auto-resubmit-story-at-future-date" feature?

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +2  
       Interesting=2, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   2