One of the main reasons why Detroit (or Japan) hasn't embraced Goodwin's technology is because of the hidden costs, which are not mentioned at all in the article. Batteries are the first and foremost. Current battery technology is just not up to doing the task in an efficient and cost-effective manner. I applaud Goodwin's drive to make a change and hope he continues to do so.
Mike Montalvo
Phoenix, Arizona
Goodwin is a clever mechanic. Bravo to him for his efforts. What all the "genius" presented in the article boils down to is high-efficiency diesel engines rigged for multifuel and lower emissions. Perhaps the most "genius" parts, though, are contained in Goodwin's comment that everyone should be driving a plug-in hybrid and his observation that diesel hybrids offer perhaps the best transitional platform for higher-efficiency transportation on the way to fully electric.
He would certainly display much more genius by performing any of these modifications to a lighter vehicle. Why do we have to strap our fat fannies to 3 tons of metal to move them forward? Finally, the article perpetuates a myth that Brazil has "weaned" itself from gasoline. My understanding is they've reduced gasoline use in a significant portion of their "light" vehicle fleet (i.e., passenger cars) but are nowhere near weaned from gasoline consumption.
G.T. Rumsey
Exeter, Rhode Island
It's great to hear about people like Goodwin and what they are doing to wean us off oil and develop alternative fuels.
Goodwin is probably doing very well by charging $28,000 for a basic conversion. But there are only so many people he can reach by himself. If he franchised his work to major cities, he could reduce his conversion cost and spread out his environmental impact.
Noel Palmer
Edmonton, Alberta
My husband is originally from Kazakhstan and still has friends who live and do business there. I was very impressed with how closely your description of the country's business culture mirrors reality. Though I do feel very bad for Mark Seidenfeld, "Nightmare in Boomtown" (November 2007) is a good warning for foreign investors who go to Kazakhstan, Russia, or any other country without having a good understanding of its culture and history. The hope is that with Kazakhstan's fast- growing economy and large number of foreign investors, the Wild West rules of business will give way to fairer and more civilized business dynamics. However, it might take decades and another generation of local entrepreneurs before that change will occur.
Ivetta S.
Belmont, California
Just a quick note to say I enjoyed Peter Lewis's article, "Do You Want to Play?," in the November issue. A run-on, annoyingly long article about World of Warcraft--style games would have been easy to write, but Lewis managed to pare down the content and deliver a great interview and nice synopsis of Richard Garriott's latest efforts.
Andy Cross
Minneapolis, Minnesota
In "Reinventing the Reel" (October 2007), we incorrectly said that a 1992 Diet Coke commercial "resurrected" Gene Kelly. He did not pass away until 1996.
In "Motorhead Messiah," Johnathan Goodwin drove a Hummer H1 from Denver to Kansas in 1999, not 1990.
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