MEDIA ALERT: February 3, 2010
Attention: automotive, technology, and green living reporters/editors
ELECTRIC CAR HISTORIAN, BUSINESS PROFESSOR AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT
ON CHEVY VOLT, AUTO INDUSTRY
Electric car historian David A. Kirsch, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, is available to comment on the outlook for electric vehicles with GM’s introduction of the Chevy Volt and news of Nissan’s electric Leaf. Kirsch can weigh in on whether the Volt could represent new life for GM, which is looking for all opportunities including capitalizing on Toyota’s recent mechanical recall problems.
Kirsch’s book, The Electric Vehicle and the Burden of History (Rutgers University Press, 2000), examined the history of the electric vehicle in the U.S. in the early 20th century and the implications of that history for contemporary transportation policy. After test driving the Chevy Volt last week, he can provide personal insight into:
Volt: the jolt GM needs?
“This vehicle represents the right strategic direction for the incumbent players; startups can build pure electric vehicles but established integrated manufacturers should not. The flip-side of manufacturing an electric vehicle is that the price – despite lower operating costs and federal tax credit – will be a turn-off to some customers and policy makers.”
How Chevy’s Volt drives:
“The car has good handling and effective power settings, in addition to smooth, always-on, shift-free acceleration. The absence of range anxiety, present even in a $120,000 Tesla, is especially impressive.”
Where the Volt falls short:
“The 2+2 seating configuration is adequate in the front but severely limited in the back, and the amount of seating makes it less feasible as a family car. In addition, the cost of running wiring to a garage, despite the Volt’s comparatively lower need for power-charging, might be a deal breaker for some.”
CONTACT:
David Kirsch
Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship
Office phone: 301-405-0559; cell phone: 301-760-4185 (Google Voice)
dkirsch@rhsmith.umd.edu
The Smith School has an in-house facility for live or taped interviews via fiber-optic line for television or multimedia content.
Media Contact
Greg Muraski
Media Relations Manager
301-405-5283
301-892-0973 Mobile
gmuraski@umd.edu
About the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.