National Network of Manufacturing Innovation

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by zenMachine, Mar 10, 2012.

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  1. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    http://www.fraunhofer.de/en/research-topics/transportation-mobility/elektromobilitaet.html

    Engineers have been working on electric cars for a surprisingly long time. In fact, the first trials stretch back well into the 19th century. There were some 30,000 electric vehicles on the road in the USA alone in 1912.

    Climate change, particulate pollution and oil prices have prompted renewed interest in electric cars. By 2020, a million electric cars should be on the roads in Germany according to plans tabled by the federal government. 33 Fraunhofer institutes are cooperating closely to promote the development of electric vehicles, focusing not just on the drive concepts, but also on the specification for solar-powered charging stations, and the kind of challenges that lie ahead in terms of power supply and urban planning...
     
    #21 zenMachine, Mar 12, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  2. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    What's up with all the propaganda?
     
    #22 FL_Prius_Driver, Mar 12, 2012
  3. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Jobs.
     
    #23 zenMachine, Mar 12, 2012
  4. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    For the government.
     
    #24 FL_Prius_Driver, Mar 13, 2012
  5. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Dense.
     
    #25 zenMachine, Mar 13, 2012
  6. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    I'm much more interested in your viewpoints than just reading the results of a google search. I'm definitely not interested in deterioration from what could be a worthwhile discussion from different vantage points. Why do you think that will work? It's a serious question about a serious subject.
     
    #26 FL_Prius_Driver, Mar 13, 2012
  7. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Calling the researched articles "propaganda" is certainly not conducive to serious discussion. But let's not dwell on that.

    The reason I posted those findings is because I myself wanted to learn more about what's already out there. To see what participants in the industries think about these things. What other countries are doing, etc. This is the first step in determining whether or not this initiative has potential.

    My research shows that the US indeed has fallen behind some other countries in terms of manufacturing innovations. Taiwan, Korea, Germany, to name a few. If we don't do anything to reverse this trend, our competitiveness will only worsen.

    The concept being proposed was a result of a study and is based on models that have worked elsewhere. There is always a risk that our investment would not yield the returns we hope. But there is also a real chance for substantial rewards. Success or failure will depend on us, IMO.

    I think it is very prudent to start small, with money that's already available, on a pilot project to test the concept first. This cautious approach is what gives me confidence for the long term.

    Speaking of which, if this idea works I think it will be able to generate a lot of jobs far into the future. And if it fails, we'll only lose a little bit of money, nothing comparable to that bottomless pit called Iraq.
     
    #27 zenMachine, Mar 13, 2012
  8. FL_Prius_Driver

    FL_Prius_Driver Senior Member

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    Research is a great thing. My difficulty is every reader extracts different viewpoints from any article. Without any commentary, it's impossible to figure out what your take on the article is and why pick that excerpt from the 100s possible.

    This I am in total agreement with. I have one, first hand, long story of of one reason we have suffered from self inflicted wounds in manufacturing. Not worth boring anyone with unless there was interest.

    I don't have a conceptual problem with this, just a political problem with it. The root of that problem is the failure of the national US government to successfully execute these programs previously. That is not objection to many cooperative undertakings done at an industry or local level....of which many of these have succeeded. A great many industry associations also do this.

    Again, no issue with that being an essential element of successful cooperative efforts. More interestingly, who determines the success or failure of the effort? I would be interested in your view on this very critical aspect.

    Military spending has many problems to solve, but that is a different topic. I'm not really worried about the money so much. I am much more bothered by continuation of US government programs that do not succeed, nor ever die. They become welfare. Take for example the "existing programs" that would be source of the money for this. Those cannot be working out too well as nobody questions or complains about them. In fact most everyone assume that no loss will occur by doing that funding transfer. Why?. (e.g. Why was a department of homeland security created when we already had a huge department of defense? Hopefully you can see the analogy since this is not an attempt to change subjects.)
     
    #28 FL_Prius_Driver, Mar 14, 2012
  9. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    From what i've read, the $1B is a one time appropriation.
     
    #29 zenMachine, Mar 15, 2012
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