This year kicked off with news from Detroit. The once-proud leaders of the car industry, the epitome of capitalism, are, with the exception (so far) of Ford, lining up to relieve US taxpayers of large amounts of money. Europe's car-makers are also waving begging bowls around at the EU. The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) has even assembled an "FAQ on the economic crisis".
The industry seems, perhaps belatedly, to realise that technology can play a part in its revival. ACEA seizes on this in its bid for support, observing that the industry "is the largest private investor in R&D in the EU and thereby a driver of innovation and economic growth".
The North American International Auto Show, on until 25 January in Detroit, also went all technology on us. The show is usually where the Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) show off their newest products. They may also exhibit the odd concept car, stuffed with neat technology that may never make it to the showroom.
As well as news of the industry's financial doom and gloom, this year's show also brought tales of "green cars" - a concept that is hard to square with Detroit's historical allegiance to gas-guzzlers. Hybrids and electric cars grabbed headlines, if not orders.
Look out for an electric version of the Ford Focus in a couple of years. The company's auto show web site has no less than a dozen separate pieces on electric cars.
GM, meanwhile, continues to talk about the Chevy Volt (see Transport Commentary, 12 August 2008). Among the company's Detroit announcements was that it will manufacture the Volt's lithium-ion battery packs in the US.
The more interesting story from GM came in a speech by Larry Burns, the company's vice president for Research & Development and Strategic Planning. He called for what GM describes as "the creation of a new public/private partnership to rapidly commercialise key US automotive technologies". The focus for this work would be "electrically driven and connected vehicles".
Mr Burns has a vision: "As we electrify and connect our vehicles, we will see a transformation in the basic 120-year-old DNA of the automobile. A US partnership focused on the new DNA of the automobile will ensure that the US continues to be a leader in this vital area of national interest."
We can overlook the bit about "a leader in this vital area of national interest," and wonder why technology was considered less relevant for so many years. (Wasn't it Japan's superior use of technology that got the US motor industry on the road to oblivion?) But it certainly makes sense to extract something of lasting value from the car industry in return for financial support.
Maybe Europe should take a similar line when it deals with the entreaties of the car makers. The EU could make any backing conditional on the adoption of some of the many technologies that it has supported as R&D projects over the years.
By coincidence, the EU has just splashed out on a flashy presentation of its support for R&D. The people who run the car companies might like to do some homework on the site before they next carry their begging bowls to Brussels.
http://www.acea.be/index.php/news/news_detail/faq_on_the_economic_crisis/
http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=29683
http://media.ford.com/mini%5Fsites/10031/2009NAIAS/
http://media.gm.com/servlet/GatewayServlet?target=http://image.emerald.gm.com/gmnews/viewmonthlyreleasedetail.do?domain=74&docid=51281
http://ec.europa.eu/research/transport/news/article_8520_en.html
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