Posted on Tuesday 1 May 2007
Inside any major carmaker, there are executives trying to predict what kind of cars we’ll all be driving ten, twenty years into the future. When Ford’s Susan Cischke looks into the future she still sees internal combustion engines powering cars, but they are smaller, weigh less and are much more fuel efficient than today’s motors. Cischke, who spoke recently with Associated Press reporters, is the Blue Oval’s newly appointed senior vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering.
One of her key tasks is to predict consumer tastes, gasoline prices and the future development of powertrain technology. Ford has had trouble predicting trends beyond five years, but to be sustainable it will need to look out more than twenty years down the track. According to Cischke, Americans want better mileage but they don’t want smaller cars. “I want what I have today, but I want double the fuel economy of what I have today,” is the general attitude of the American car buyers she said.
Beyond 2012, Cischke sees more efficient gasoline engines but also a rise in the popularity of clean diesels and biofuel cars. Hybrids will only be sold in significant numbers if there is a breakthrough in battery technology and by 2030, she predicts, hydrogen fuel cells will play a major role. Cars will also be much smaller and constructed from the latest in lightweight materials.
Ford has a lot of options on the table, but limited resources to further develop them. “Technology is moving so fast that you’re just trying to figure how do you place your bets. And you only have so many chips,” Cischke warned.
Ford is hopeless. It’s now 2007 and we still don’t have a decent city car or economical hatchbacks. A lot of Ford buyers live in congested areas in major cities. I would not even consider any model from Ford, or GM for that matter, and I know there are a lot of other people out there with similar attitudes.
The problem with Ford and GM is anything they do is too little too late.
I disagree, I fully concur with the statement:
“I want what I have today, but I want double the fuel economy of what I have today,”
I own both a Ford Mustang GT convertible and an Expedition which I use to tow toys and haul a large family. I would like this same size and power, but with a much more economical engine. The technology is there, it will become available soon…
Smaller engines? More fuel efficient? Lighter vehicles? Well duh! Where has Detroit been for the last decade (or more) while the rest of the World has been scaled back forever, they keep on building bigger and bigger.
All the “sheep” out there think that they absolutely must have a three ton SUV to haul around their child. One gets an SUV and they all have to have one - or two!
I believe the “thinking” public is ready for smaller vehicles, but Detroit just can’t change it’s mindset to providing what we want but what we MUST have.
What’s really sad is that these same Detroit (AND foreign) car companies actually DO have some better, more efficient vehicles marketed outside the US, that they won’t bring here, probably because the profit is so much higher for the SUV’s they produce….rape the American buyer all the while complaining that they can’t compete against there foreign automakers. BooHoo - I feel sorry for the poor laborer that sees the writing on the wall if sales continue to tank - of course, the executives will continue on collecting their perks and bonuses for running the industry into the ground until they have to deploy their golden parachute taking their early retirement and fat pensions.