The electric car....

Question

I just met Edmond X Ramirez in a super market(about an hour ago),hes 73 years old and we got to talking,he told me about how he had invented the mini van,and a version of the electric car with a computer way before they were putting computers on board automobiles.Edmonds stories were interesting I thought, then he told me to look up amectran.com.Im amazed that weve had this technology for 20 years and we havent pushed it.This guy was way ahead of his time. If you have a moment look up amectran.com and tell me if you think this guy got a raw deal(much like Tucker did),Have the auto manufacturers been hiding this tech,so they could get govt grant money and squander it?

Answer 1

Company's do restrict developments that might commericaly damage them ( such as the 'everlasting lightbulb)  but electric cars have a slightly different issue.   they are caught in an infrastructure trap which they must break out of to be commercialy viable for a large market.

To gain mass acceptance and there by be a big commercial success  they need a mass market.  For a mass market in a new car type a new kind of infrastructure is needed.  Charging facilities and mechanics parts to support the new engine etc.  These wont occur with out demand, demand wont occur with out them since people are leery of buying a car that will be hard to fule and maintain. Catch 22.    Many car manufacutes do research in to alternate car engines, hydrogen fule cells etc. So that should a big switch happen there not left behind the market curve.  But they wont develop it for general release  because it would loose them money, why make an electric car that will be a loss for several years, when a new petrol engine design will make you money this year?  So you get slow incremental growth of the 'alternate' car market  occasionally built up when circumstances like the current oil price make selling a non-petrols car a good marketing prospect.

Answer 2

Invented the Minivan? The minivan has been around in one form or another since the 1930’s. The technology is nothing more than lead acid batteries and a traction motor, computers have been on cars in the 60’s.

His electric car claimed to have a range of 72 miles with a top speed of 70 mph.  Edmond X. Ramirez Sr. was sentenced to more than 5 1/2 years in federal prison for bilking investors out of more than $1.5 million. He was convicted on 12 counts of fraud and money laundering. Of course he claims it wasn’t fraud it was big government and big oil.

Ramirez claimed he was beaten in public by security officers who worked for auto manufacturers. Federal prosecutor Lizabeth McKibben said there is no support for his conspiracy allegations.

So basically it wasn't his fault it was the government, big oil, the car companies, the federal prosecutor and raciest investors

.  

Answer 3

We had virtually free oil from the end of Gulf War 1 so it hasn't been worth developing.  We had weapons inspectors touring Iraq and a cuckholded Saddam undercutting OPEC for years so electric made no sense economically and couldn't attract investment.

Beware the environmental arguments, shipping the chemicals around the world to make the batteries then disposing of those poisons is vastly more dirtly than clean combustion at source.  The lifetime carbon footprint of small electrics that are disposable/waste after not many miles is greater than even Land Rovers or Jeeps.

Answer 4

yes this guy did get a raw deal, and so did we, think of the progress that could have been made if he had not been thwarted at every step.

however he did get to sell to china, so I guess the real looser was us.