Google And The 100-Mpg Car
Posted on June 20, 2007
Google is again breaking new ground and pushing further into uncharted territory. This time instead of dealing with search and web 2.0 apps, they are investigating plug in hybrid electric cars under the ResearchIT.org Project. Google is providing $1 million in grants and another $10 million in funding to develop plug in hybrid electric cars with the capability to achieve 70-100 miles per gallon. Google.org, the for-profit philanthropic arm of Google, has given the $1 million grant to Brookings Institute, CalCars, Plug-In America, Electrical Power Research Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the University of Delaware. Google has chosen to keep Google.org on the for-profit side instead of creating an independent non-profit organization for a few advantageous reasons. Katie Hafner from The New York Times states the advantage of for-profit status:
“Google’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, believe that for-profit status will greatly increase their philanthropy’s range and flexibility. It could, for example, form a company to sell the converted cars, fund that company in partnership with venture capitalists, and even hire a lobbyist to pressure Congress to pass legislation granting a tax credit to people who buy the cars.”
I have owned my car for about four years now and intend to keep it at least another three to five years if not longer if possible. Living in Florida when the air conditioner goes in a car it becomes very difficult to not justify trading it in. I have been burned financially a few times attempting to fix air conditioners and have never had success. With my next car I fully intend to purchase hybrid technology and having the plugin capability would be huge. I watched the documentary Who Killed The Electric Car? a few months ago and have been fascinated with the possibility of large savings and high MPG ever since. Google is bringing us one step further to achieving what Detroit and the other big automakers have been dodging for years: the 100-mpg car.
Related Posts
When Will Google Apps Take On Personal Finance Software?Top 5 Free Microsoft Office ReplacementsHow Much Is Enough In Silicon Valley?» Filed Under Energy Savings, Saving
Comments
Leave a Reply
