WC Archive

Someone should tell him to look at his fleet of planes while he's at it. Invest in Stirling engines Richard....

I made a WikiNews entry with this.

Feel free to add whatever you think is appropriate, and change whatever you think is incorrect.

Richard Branson should use his influence and fortune to assist in this effort. The oil companies will not allow the government to proceed quickly on the development of energy efficient cars.

Well, yes, the planes, of course... but still.

It's a great idea, though: maybe a little bit of drama and publicity would not hurt to get green technologies into the mainstream.

Just imagine what a lighter weight, well designed, affordable hybrid—say the user-centric approach of a Renaul Scenic, with the styling of a Saab, Volvo or Audi... and have some smart copywriters design a myth around it... (such as the current myth surrounding SUVs, 'equipped to face the harsh realities of the urban jungle while still driving in style ... yada yada yada...'

It'd be an instant hit in Europe. And it would be significant.

I like the idea. There's not much to lose for MG anyway.

More competition in the hybrid car domain can only be good for the consumer and for the environment. I hope that this idea is close to Branson's heart and that if the government doesn't come through he will find a way to inject private money into it.

Is the hybrid approach now universally accepted as the path to take? There have been bubbles of excitement about hydrogen, fuel cells, ceramic engines, and more exotic notions that don't come to mind at the moment. Would it really be opimal for Rover (etc) to jump on this bandwagon, or would it be better off looking for leapfrogging opportunities?

And then, of course, there's still the question of whether the automobile is where fuel-saving/pollution-mitigating efforts belong.

In any case, the idea of an essentially new company dedicated to high-mileage vehicles is exciting, and would probably enhance Europe's long-term economic edge over North America.

Branson has made his priorities apparent. His brash style of taking risks where others are afraid of failure has shown to many his ability to innovate, not copycat. To survive the impending oil crunch, there is no other alternative than to embrace the wisdom of being energy efficent in every aspect. Perhaps MG can be reinvented as a hybrid supplier, perhaps they will realize the wisdom of suppling not only the light duty consumer vehicle, but that of larger commerce driving delivery vehicles. A diesel electric delivery van could replace most in city supply vehicles.

We all have to survive together on this dirtball, unless we want to follow the fatalistic view of the christian right; that it doesnt matter how badly we screw up, we're all going to heaven (except those heathen bastards, why dont we hurry them to hell) Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites may not have a solid business plan, but they have enough of one to make Branson invest, why cant the rest of us get the clue?

Hybrid cars may not be the end solution, fuel cells may not be the perfect technology, but if either one gets us that farther down the road we might just have the opportunity to replace it with something even better. Whatever that technology may be, we MUST continue to evolve and innovate, or we WILL eventually kill ourselves off. Sooner or later is all up to us.

If the EU dips into its collective coffers and converts MG Rover to a global supplier of smart, energy frugal vehicles, they stand to survive the comming oil crash. Will they be able to reach beyond their nationalistic furvor and cooperate in an effective multi-cultural setting? Branson thinks so, and while everyone should not drop their own ideas of success and copycat Branson, they can also learn a little from a man who has proven himself capable of success, relentlessly.

My dad used to drive a 1968 MGB. If Branson could make a hybrid version of this memorable sports car, I'm sure he'd sell a million.

It's an excellent idea, but it's just an idea. There are a lot of practical obstacles to it.

First: there are significant obstacles within liberalised EU markets to Government supported enterprises that compete with commercial ones.

Second: getting the EU en masse to support a very English marque is going to be next to impossible. Why should that money not go to Citroen? Fiat? BMW? Nationalism within the EU is still exceptionally strong; in some cases more so, as a reaction to the perceived loss of national self-determination and identity,

Airbus is a consortium made up of companies of a variety of nationalities, so the comparison isn't very apt (the other article referenced probably says the same).

Third: Rover failed for a reason. The other car companies mentioned above have an advantage outside of national pride. They are not bankrupt, and their designers have not been producing lackluster unimaginative suburban blightcrawlers.

Okay, except maybe Fiat.

Branson's blue sky brainwave? No - MG Rover were already planning hybrids!
http://www.evuk.co.uk/news/index.html#Branson_hybrid
EVUK had already reported in February in some detail that MG Rover - with partners MIRA, Powertrain Ltd. and Pi Technology - were, pre-collapse, set to exhibit their government-funded hybrid concept/prototype in some shape or form(MG TF or saloon?) at the upcoming Clean Energy/Transport Expo(May 5-7 2005) at London's Business Design Centre.
Strange then that Mr. Branson should appear to be claiming the idea as his own....
See EVUK for full report....