Miss Electric Meets with GM’s Former Vice-Prez, Larry Burns
November 12th, 2009 // 10:00 am @ Miss Electric
This past week has been particularly exciting for me. I got a chance to hear Larry Burns, GM’s former vice-president, speak at Columbia University. His talk, entitled, “Reinventing the Automobile,” was based on the core ideas that will be found in his upcoming book by the same name. I uploaded a ten-minute snippet that explains his major thesis, the “Power of And.”
For Burns, the “Power of And” is about taking an inclusive approach towards alternative vehicle technologies. Rather than believe that there will just be one dominant technology in the future, Burns states that there are specific places and purposes for plug-in electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, and bio-mass vehicles. Each technology is optimal for different uses. Moreover, to achieve the kind of greenhouse gas and fossil fuel reductions that we would like, it is imperative to think of these technologies as valuable parts to an integrated whole.
This was also my third week as a co-host on the EVCast. We discussed several fascinating topics on Tuesday, including the possible death of Chrysler’s ENVI program. If you’d like to listen in, feel free to check us out.
Finallly, I got a chance to connect with Trudee Lunden, a former electric vehicle marketing specialist at Environmental Motors and a singer/songwriter for electric cars. Hopefully, we can bring her in during the next EVCast to hear more about her experiences and current artistic talents to promote the field. Listen to her song, “Electricity,” for an inspiring boost to your day.
Category : Miss Electric On the Road