[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by Number 3

GM's current position is that there will be many different alternatives available and much of that depends on the customer. In the forseeable future there will be a HUGE need for people that need trucks to do business. They will need to have vans full of parts and tools, trucks to tow equipment from lawnmowers to bulldozers. So the current Gas and Diesel engines will be necessary for those tasks. Even with high fuel prices, there will be a market for full size trucks and vans for people who simply have to have them for work. The "I like the commanding view of the road in my BAT" people will be the ones that fuel prices will drive to cars and smaller vehicles.

Bio Fuels are also now coming on board. But today they take more cost and energy to produce than the "Jed Clampett" oil (shoot a hole in the ground and up comes the bubblin' crude). So, yes, a thoughtful person could fill up with E85 in many GM vehicles today, but unless it is subsidized it is, at least for now, a more expensive solution and most folks will simply choose E10 or less.

Hybrids, Plug in Hybrids, REEV and EVs are still heavily dependant on the chemical storage of energy. Batteries will continue to evolve and chemistries change over the next several years.

Hydrogen and CNG both require a new infrastructure that does not currently exist. CNG needs refueling at very high pressures. Hydrogen? 10,000 psi to store enough hydrogen for a trip over 200 miles with very large, very expensive tanks. There is an ability to get Natrual Gas to your house, but certainly not Hydrogen. And having both so that you could stop at the 7-11 and fuel up is a ways away.

So in the near term, the cost leader is gasoline and diesel. The other alternatives are finding their way. But costs must come down drastically for batteries or hydrogen fuel cells to be competitive with crude oil.

Gasoline is just too easy to transport, store and deliver to the customer. And until either that cost goes way up, which is possible, or the others come way down and offer competitive range and flexibility there is not a clear cut winner.

So long answer to a short question, it depends on who wins the technology race. And there will be little in the infrastructure investment required until that winnner is declared. Kinda like betting on Beta or VHS, blu Ray or HDDVD.

The good news is that currently...only ONE automaker is prepared for all of them.