On September 29, 1993, President Clinton and the chief executive officers of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors (the “Big Threeâ€) announced the creation of what was to become known as the Partnership for a Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The primary goal of the partnership was to...

On September 29, 1993, President Clinton and the chief executive officer of Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors (the "Big Three") announced the creation of what was to become known as the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). The primary goal of the partnership was to develop a...

Much of the developing world is experiencing rapid economic growth. Motor vehicle fleets in many megacities are doubling every seven years, creating a huge infrastructure backlog, escalating air quality problems, and imposing constraints on economic development. Besides rapid growth, the very...

The future manufacturing costs of emerging technologies are difficult to assess because of the complex dynamics of both product and process innovation, and because cost data often are proprietary and difficult to obtain. One method of forecasting potential future technology costs uses the...

The concept of the fuel cell traces its roots all the way back to William Grove’s famous experiments on water electrolysis in 1839, but the commercialization history of fuel cell technologies remains rather limited over 150 years later. Throughout the later part of the 19th and early part...

Neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs) are small, very efficient EVs that are designed to be used for urban trips at relatively low speeds. They provide the potential for greatly reduced air pollution, energy use, petroleum imports, greenhouse gas emissions, and roadspace. Because they are very...

As populations and economies expand, increasing quantities of natural resources are extracted and processed, more goods are moved, more people travel, more energy is used, and more wastes are generated. One outcome is over 800 million motor vehicles operating in the world today, consuming around...

The debate over electric vehicles (EVs) pivots largely on issues of market demand: Will consumers purchase a vehicle that provides substantially less driving range, yet can be refueled at home, than an otherwise comparable gasoline vehicle? And what role do other unique attributes of EVs play in...

The future costs of electric-drive vehicles, like those of any new technology, are uncertain. One method for forecasting cost reductions uses the concept of the ‘experience’ curve. Experience curves take into account sale economies, technological improvements in production...

Cars account for half the oil consumed in the U.S., about half the urban pollution and one fourth the greenhouse gases. They take a similar toll of resources in other industrial nations and in the cities of the developing world. As vehicle use continues to increase in the coming decade, the U.S....