Sep 15, 2008

Electrics, Not Hybrids, Get Ford Endorsement

Certainly this has been the decade of the hybrid vehicle, but hybrids may never achieve the dominance some have predicted for them, while a previously discredited vehicle type -- the electric car -- might get a second look. According to a recent report in The Detroit News, Ford’s Derrick Kuzak, an engineer who runs the company’s global product development, is high on electrics and not nearly as enthusiastic about hybrids.

“The ultimate solution is the electrification of the vehicle,” he was quoted. While some have been thumping the tub for hybrid power trains, Kuzak sees inherent difficulties in making them affordable to the masses. One of the key reasons is that hybrids use essentially two power trains rather than one, as in a conventional internal combustion engine car -- or a “pure” electric.

The report also noted that in Kuzak’s opinion, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles -- another much-touted future vehicle possibility -- are fraught with technical difficulties, and in addition, they will require a completely new and very expensive fuel-delivery infrastructure. He considers that impractical, but an electric vehicle, in contrast, could use the already existing electrical grid to secure its energy supply. The key drawback to electric vehicles has always been their limited range and longer battery recharge time. To hedge its bets, Ford continues to develop a wide variety of power train types.