% Could the automaker's money/donated items to SAE had an effect? (Like the humongous push GM made to have SAE's ccs combo be used by European Automakers?). Or is it just that SAE is so old-world stoic? (as in: stodgy, vapid, quondam, blowsy?) %
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160412/BLOG06/160419965/in-detroit-lots-of-ev-talk-but-no-nod-to-tesla?X-IgnoreUserAgent=1 In Detroit, lots of EV talk, but no nod to Tesla [20160412] Richard Truett Something astounding happened in Detroit Tuesday at the 2016 SAE world congress. A panel convened in a ballroom overlooking the Detroit River. The purpose: Discuss the prospects of consumers having an electrified vehicle in their future. The panelists droned on for more than two hours, speaking of everything from global emissions regulations, the hydrogen fueling infrastructure, driving range on battery power, cost of ownership and a dozen other topics. Finally, an hour and 53 minutes into the discussion, the “T” word was mentioned and only once and in passing. The “T” word: Tesla. It’s been less than two weeks since Tesla knocked the auto industry on its heels with the $35,000 Model 3. The California company has booked more than 325,000 preorders for the compact EV with a promised 215-mile range. Those 325,000 preorders account for far more EVs than all other automakers have ever sold combined. And not one speaker on the panel mentioned Tesla in his or her presentation. Tesla wasn’t even the 800-pound gorilla in the room. It didn’t even appear to be on anyone’s mind -- not the speakers, not the moderator or even the 200 or so engineers in the room. It’s not that the panelists -- Larry Nitz from General Motors, Kevin Layden from Ford, Jacquelyn Birdsall from Toyota and Yasuyuki Sando at Honda -- were expected to bow down to Elon Musk. But it’s worrisome -- that on a panel entitled “Why It’s Likely There Will Be An Electrified Vehicle in Your Future” -- that no one used the Model 3 as a proof point that consumers may actually want to buy a sensibly priced, attractively styled, battery powered vehicle. Sitting there listening to the speakers going on about their business as if Tesla doesn’t exist had me wondering if history is going to repeat itself with a twist. In the early 1970s, Detroit’s automakers didn’t take the first wave of fuel efficient Japanese small cars seriously. Later, Detroit blew off the Toyota Prius. And the entire industry didn’t take the rise of Hyundai and Kia seriously. And now we are seeing even Japanese automakers -- externally at least -- turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to Tesla. I am no fan of Tesla. I don’t care for the way the company conducts business in some ways. I am deeply suspect of the reliability of Tesla’s vehicles. And I don’t think there is anything technical Tesla can do that GM, Ford, Toyota and Honda can’t do better. But Tesla has captured the imaginations of early adopters and consumers who are starting to disrupt the industry. The Detroit 3 and Asian automakers better figure out what Tesla is doing in terms of marketing and brand image and they better try to capture some of that magic. It’s the difference between consumers waiting in long lines for long hours -- Apple iPhone-style -- to buy a Tesla Model 3 and the rest of auto industry slapping money on the fenders of EVs, bribing people to drive them. [© Crain Communications] ... https://www.sae.org/events/cyberauto/cyberautofaq.pdf Society of automotive Engineers SAE International, a not-for-profit, obtained funding to offset costs through sponsorships from ..... automobile trade associations (e.g. Auto Alliance or Global Automakers) ... http://www.sae.org/membership/ ... http://ev.sae.org/ For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-SAE-in-Tesla-3-denial-unmentioned-as-if-they-didn-t-exist-worrisome-tp4681597.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
