The US automotive industry is about to go through a historic transformation.  It is very possible that by the year 2020 we will have largely weaned ourselves off of the pure internal combustion engine.  The key is to make the right decisions about the next 12 years in the next 12 months.  To initiate a transformation of such a huge and critical industry takes planning, investment and a long term view.  Here is a very realistic view of what the US automotive and transportation industry can look like in 2015 and 2020.

The first thing to mention is that there is …

Regular readers of this column know that I have been a clear and forceful advocate of alternative ways to power transportation.  The internal combustion engine was invented more than a century ago.  We are now entering the decade that will take us toward the new definition of automotive transportation. We are about to define what the car of the 21^st century will be. We must, as a country be open to all forms of vehicular power.

More than two years ago I wrote about the electric car.  Since then, in numerous speeches I have said that 2010-2015 will be …

The Great Recession of 2008-2010 in having a profound effect on the way we all live.  Yes, there is much hardship, there is much pain, there is much loss, there is a sense of damage we all feel.  That said, there are changes in the wind that point to profound long term benefits when we finally emerge into a new growth period in 2011.

First, as I predicted last fall “thrift would become the new extravagance, thrift will become the new cool”.  This has clearly become the case.  In recent months, the media is full of stories of how people are …

Last week G.E. announced an incredible breakthrough in storage technology.  This breakthrough allows the equivalent of 100 DVDs of content to be put on one disc.  This is another dramatic step in the on-going revolution of storage of the last decade.

As long time readers of this blog know I have consistently written about this revolution for three years.  It is one of the most profound yet least discussed technological transformations to occur in this decade.  Almost three years ago I wrote this column about the staggering development of a 1 gigabyte flash drive, up from the128mbs flash drive …