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Lovins 26 (1:41)
Topic(s): Auto Industry / Efficiency / Electric & Hybrid / Future Transport
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Video Transcript

If Henry Ford woke up, sat up in his grave today, he would instantly recognize everything in the modern car except the microchips and he'd catch on to those pretty fast. The car has not changed fundamentally since his time. However, he would be really dismayed that it weighs two tons. He always kept asking, "how can I make cars lighter and stronger, because that's the way to make them better and cheaper and safer." He understood all that and somehow we've lost our way since then.

You know, this is not a new set of concepts; the Hybrid car was invented by Doctor Porsche in 1900, it's just that he didn't have the electronics and software to do it properly. Now we do. Most of our cars used to be electric and then the gasoline engine gradually took over because we didn't have the good batteries and motors that we have now or the electronics and software to control them. I think it's much the same with light-weighting. It will be viewed, I think, by auto historians as a correct path that the industry started off on under Mr. Ford but then gradually we lost sight of that and cars are now getting heavier and heavier. There's no reason they should. We can make them arbitrarily safe without making them heavier. In fact, it is partly the weight of the other cars that is requiring more weight to protect you. But it doesn't have to be more weight; it can be smarter materials and better design.