On September 8, 2009
“Cars for Idiots”: Carmakers Get Personal About New Technology
Sometimes carmakers take the competition personally, especially when new technology is involved. Toyota executives recently went out of their way to disparage the plug-in hybrid (even though their own company is building one). Irv Miller, Toyota’s group vice president of environmental and public affairs, told me back in June that after the batteries were depleted on a plug-in hybrid, they became a heavy “boat anchor” until the car plugs in again. “The dog doesn’t hunt,” Miller said. “We may be trying to change the world for a very small part of the market.” Last week, Audi North American President Johan de Nysschen reportedly called the Chevy Volt a “car for idiots,” though he later denied using that word. He also…
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