I saw an Exxon Mobile commercial this evening on CBS. A man was talking about how they were developing a screen to go into lithium-ion batteries. When he mentioned hybrid cars, they cut to an image of some teeny tiny sub-compact box of a car that no one would be caught dead in. The commercial did more to discourage people from wanting hybrids, than it did promoting battery technology. What a dirty trick. I think we can count on Exxon trying to kill the Volt and other cars like it. I just hope the majority of the public can see through their propaganda. I'll do my part to spread the word about how cool electric cars will be.

I saw an Exxon Mobile commercial this evening on CBS. A man was talking about how they were developing a screen to go into lithium-ion batteries. When he mentioned hybrid cars, they cut to an image of some teeny tiny sub-compact box of a car that no one would be caught dead in. The commercial did more to discourage people from wanting hybrids, than it did promoting battery technology. What a dirty trick. I think we can count on Exxon trying to kill the Volt and other cars like it. I just hope the majority of the public can see through their propaganda. I'll do my part to spread the word about how cool electric cars will be.

You are smart to catch that. Notice how they didn't have a video featuring a fire engine red Tesla with a beautiful model in the passenger seat? You got it.

Although it's obvious to most of the posters on this forum how cool EVs and hybrids can be, most people think golf cart when you say electric car or think of the Prius when you say hybrid. I can't wait for the marketing machine to get into gear. I'm sure they have not forgotten that sex sell cars.

Whatever women think is hot or what men think women think is hot is what will sell. Otherwise most of us would be quite happy spending only $10 a month on transportation costs. Quite happy indeed.

The car is on Exxon's web site:

http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/news_features_20080425_batterysep.aspx

Harris predicts that electric and hybrid cars and light trucks may be running on lithium-ion batteries within the next two years. “We have already seen the first commercial launch of an electric vehicle that uses ExxonMobil’s battery separator film. In January, Electrovaya introduced the Maya-300, which is a low-speed vehicle with a range of up to 120 miles and designed for urban and neighborhood driving patterns.”

BP, Shell and others are doing it to, it's all over TV with their propaganda, we're at war MikeC

The best way to combat this type of propoganda, and to break long held stereotypes, is for the Volt to be a well styled, cool looking car. Most people I talk to think "Prius" when they think of hybrid cars and even worse images when they think about EV's.

The biggest mistake GM can make is to turn the Volt concept car into a lame, ugly, Prius-like aero-bubble. GM has a chance to really make a difference in public perception of the "green car". That it doesn't have to be ugly to be green and affordable.

If the Volt looks good, and is fun to drive, it's photo will be plastered EVERYWHERE! It won't matter what Exxon says.

CNN Money has an article and list of five electric cars you can buy now. They include the Tesla and 4 of the ugliest things I've ever seen on four wheels, or three.

It's no wonder the public is lukewarm on electric cars when all you see are these things as your choices. Yikes!

Come on, GM. Break the mold with the Volt, and keep it looking cool and stylish, please! You've got an opening. Don't miss it.

The commercial did more to discourage people from wanting hybrids, than it did promoting battery technology.
What a dirty trick. I think we can count on Exxon trying to kill the Volt and other cars like it.
I just hope the majority of the public can see through their propaganda
Let the oil companies try their hardest to discourage BEV's & Plug-In Hybrids, it will do no good.
One big piece of good PR in favor of BEV's & Hybrids that the oil companies can do NOTHING about is the fact that gasoline is $4.15 a gallon.
Let them hem and haw because it is the outrageous price of their product that is going to get us to buy the very things they're railing against....BEV's and Plug-In Hybrids.
They're caught in a conundrum, victims of their own logic bomb.

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Guy Incognito, your right about the oil companies pricing themselves out of the market. In a way I hope the prices keep climbing until the public is screaming for EV's. I have a feeling the price will drop suddenly to get people to quiet down about EV's and alternative energy. Like a drug dealer lowering his prices before his junkies go somewhere else.

I've found that the main concern a lot of people have about EV's is their range, and having to wait hours to recharge. The public seems pretty unaware of range extending generators like the Volt will have. People don't seem very convinced when I try to explain the concept. I hope GM does a better job than me of explaining how the car will work.

I've found that the main concern a lot of people have about EV's is their range, and having to wait hours to recharge. The public seems pretty unaware of range extending generators like the Volt will have. People don't seem very convinced when I try to explain the concept. I hope GM does a better job than me of explaining how the car will work.

I've found that most people don't understand how the current generation of hybrids work, forget the Volt. My neighbor (an I.T. guy like me) has asked me twice in 3 months if I HAVE to plug in my 08 Camry hybrid (asking like it's a BAD thing). To which I reply I wish I could, and then jump on my Volt soap box and give a short sermon.

I think GM will need to really educate the public as to how E-Rev's and PHEV's work. And for that matter... most "reporters" need a HUGE clue too, because I rarely hear one come close when talking about the Volt.

Chris

Oil companies, from small to large, are not going to be too worried about electric vehicles and such taking away from the money that they make. Demand will still be high and steady and it will take dozens of years until hybrid and electric vehicles take away a big portion of demand. Much of the demand is from the trucking and shipping industry and that's not going to new technology any time soon.

A decrease in demand could actually bring higher fuel prices in the future. If demand decreases oil companies may shut down some refining capacity due to under-utilization and ship to other plants to maximize production margins. They could, in essence, create an even worse refining capacity problem and drive up fuel prices. A 20% decrease in demand with a 20% increase price (or whatever the value needs to be) could offset each other when it comes down to revenue.

The oil companies will turn to other commodities such as natural gas, coal, uranium, lithium and other resources. The lager companies are likely to diversify into energy production and technology and the smaller guys will likely stick around and meet the oil demand that will exist in the future.

Don't worry about the oil companies, they'll find ways to be sustainable.

I saw an Exxon Mobile commercial this evening on CBS. A man was talking about how they were developing a screen to go into lithium-ion batteries. When he mentioned hybrid cars, they cut to an image of some teeny tiny sub-compact box of a car that no one would be caught dead in. The commercial did more to discourage people from wanting hybrids, than it did promoting battery technology. What a dirty trick. I think we can count on Exxon trying to kill the Volt and other cars like it. I just hope the majority of the public can see through their propaganda. I'll do my part to spread the word about how cool electric cars will be.

NASA director, Jim Hanson, wants CEOs prosecuted for crimes against humanity because of their lies and deception on global warming. Big Oil is funding a disinformation campaign with hundreds of millions of dollars including advertising, PR, and sponsoring pseudo-research shills.

Link (http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1445962/nasa_scientist_wants_oil_company_ceos_tried_for_gl obal_warming/index.html?source=r_science)

It would send a strong message to the industry if a few of these criminals were locked up for 15-20 years.