e2

Another thing worth watching online right now is the very well done e2 series from PBS. I just caught the Growing Energy episode and it was chock-full o' tidbits like:

In Brazil, flex technology has increased car sales by 20%, with a continued 22-23% rise over the last year. They will be increasing production to meet demand. "This technology has helped us sell cars." (translated from Portuguese). Though this is in a country where people actually put ethanol
in their flex vehicles, it's a good indicator of gains to be had by developing a system that isn't reliant on a single source of fuel (gasoline).

It only costs $50 more to make a car in Brazil with the flex technology. And we're not talking about some third-rate home-grown car company with no other overhead, we're talking about BMW and Volkswagen. I'd be interested to find out how much it costs the Big 3 to do the same - I honestly don't know if it's more or less, but either way this factoid underscores exactly how little the American car industry has done in terms of rethinking transportation technologies.

My only gripe is that you'll have to pay attention to the viewing schedule - the episodes are available online for limited times depending on when they're supposed to be aired.