Here are some more pictures from the Detroit Auto Show:

Chrysler
Chrysler introduced three electric car concepts:

Dodge ZEO

Chrysler ecoVoyager

Jeep Renegade

Ford

Lincoln MKT

Ford Verve

Toyota

Venza Concept

Plug-In Prius

GM

Cadillac Provoq

Chevy Volt Concept

Hummer HX Concept

Tahoe Hybrid

Cadillac CTS Coup

Buick Riviera

When I was a kid, I never wanted an electric car. I wanted one that flew. Like the Delorean in Back to The Future II. It’s almost 2008 and still no flying cars.

Why is that an important question? Because it underscores that maybe our dreams and our needs aren’t always the same thing. I now know that a flying car would be a really bad idea (if you doubt me, drive on the 405 in Los Angeles and then imagine it in 3D). But perhaps the design challenge wasn’t in making a car fly, but making it as ultra efficient and human-friendly (not just earth friendly) as possible.

That’s the difficulty with what the cleantech industry is trying to do, I think. While we want bigger houses and bigger/faster cars, it is coming at a price. Our environment at large is suffering. Air pollution still causes severe health effects in our cities. And gas is expensive (economically) and costly (politically) .

The electric car wasn’t killed by Big Auto, Big Oil, or SCAQMD.

We killed it.

We just didn’t want it. Oil wasn’t expensive in 98-2001 (pre-9/11). But electricity was/is. Remember Enron bilking old ladies on their electric bills in California? Remember the rolling black-outs? So plugging in my car? To only drive a few miles? That makes sense if you’re a stay-at-home mom or an actor in Hollywood. But not road warriors or service workers who can’t afford to live in the neighborhoods in which they work. We killed the electric car.

I bring this up towards the end of this year in order to recharge the greater dialog in which cleantech industries exist. Mostly it’s to say that in developing new business opportunities, technology isn’t more important than understanding how our products affect peoples’ lives.

We talk about hybrids, biofuels, plug-ins, and hydrogen (hell, I devoted an entire blog to it). At the end of the day, these decisions are extremely important, but not very relevant. We need to think about making great cars that meet our individual needs. We live very complex lives that change constantly. We deal with sick children, traveling salesmen, snow, crime, and more. Electricity and ethanol won’t change that. And it shouldn’t.

The dialog, then, should ultimately reserve a level of humility for the fact that no group can purport to speak to the needs of such a diverse set of people. The clean energy dialog takes a rather blue-sky, hippie mentality. This is good – it’s what drives the desire to create new things. But the world isn’t made up of hippies – it’s made up of people who have to make extremely difficult decisions every day. While I have lived amongst the Californian optimism for a long time, I’m still a Detroiter. And in Detroit, we don’t talk about new opportunity, we talk about paying the rent. And I don’t think this perspective is any less relevant.

Still. A flying car would be pretty cool.

(Detroit News Image)

I’ve been critical of PHEVs and EVs lately. Mostly because advocates don’t seem as though they are representative of the population at-large. I was in Chicago when this storm hit. A foot of snow came and buried everything. This image gives a small glimpse of what snow can do to a car. There are a few things to take away from it:

1) Where do I plug-in? This is a typical urban street – filled with apartment livers who park on the street. In a PHEV world, where do they plug-in? What if they forgot (like I forget to plug-in my phone every night and rely on recharging it in my car)?

2) This is pretty cold weather. I’ve seen metal bent and reshaped in temperatures this low. So the notion of a battery or electric motor scares me a bit. Will they withstand the cold. Will they stand-up to the salt (if the city could actually get around to salting).

3) Would you want to drive around with a plug-in without a gasoline engine? You can refill your gas in a few minutes. But recharging seems like hassle in weather like this.

Let’s be clear: I’m not against PHEVs or EVs. I actually think they’re great ideas that have some really great prospects. But they’re only one solution that meets only some of individuals’ needs. I have issues with their viability for many people in different walks of life. This recent Midwestern storm underscores my concern. The Midwest represents around 25% of the U.S. Population (consider also the demographics of similar climates in Asia and Europe). So it seems as the prospect of a sale of PHEVs or EVs would be tough.

If I had a choice, I’d much rather have a Chevy Tahoe in this condition (a hybrid would be fine – but I wouldn’t bother plugging in during weather like this). I only add this commentary to add to the debate. PHEVs are great – but they’re only part of a solution.