There is a lot of hate for Bob Lutz in here. Honestly, Lutz is exactly what we need right now. He doesn't care about the environment, he doesn't care about sustainability, but he still sees that electrification has significant benefits. The low cost of electricity means you can drive for less dollars, the simplicity of electric motors lets them be quiet and smooth. And the torque is generally phenomenal.
We don't need people to understand *all* the reasons that EVs are better. We need people to understand enough reasons to convince them. We have the environment (globally and locally), Limited supplies of fuel (both total supply, and the fact that oil is a conflict mineral), we have performance, EVs have torque, and the torque is always available. We have a quieter ride, and better safety. We also have the convenience of charging at home, and preheating or precooling the vehicle before you get in. We have range and charging speeds to support a leisurely pace on roadtrips. We are close to having a better value than ICE cars (I'd say the model S has a better value than competitive vehicles, but no low end EV makes sens from just analyzing the cost).
Lutz is a figurehead of the old industry, and he is a figurehead of the shift that is coming. They are slow to adapt, but plug in hybrids are a step in the right direction. If we can get Bob Lutz to support electrification, we can get a lot of other people like him.
And he is right to an extent about plug in hybrids making a lot of sense for larger vehicles. We've had hybrid ships for over a hundred years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel-electric_transmission. Trains, and heavy trucks use hybrid drive systems. All you have to do is put in a battery and a regenerative braking system, and a plug, and can you get significant gains in efficiency, especially for short trips. And with big vehicles you have more space to put the systems in. Look at the BMW i8, it has room for two people and not much else, but a pickup could have a full sized bed, and still have an ICE, a pretty big battery, and all the other required systems. What it comes down to is price. Tesla was a small company, they couldn't build any sort of mass market vehicle, and in a sports car you can sell that emotion you get when you step on the accelerator and just go, in fact, that is what sports cars are really built for. I think GM probably could have gone the Tesla route and built a pure electric sports car, and then a luxury offering, and then proceeded from there. But I think for plug in hybrids, they could have offered trucks, vans, and fleet vehicles that have a lower total cost of ownership. I don't know whether or not Via will succeed, but I think it is possible, and I hope they do succeed.
plug in hybrids are an excellent stepping stone between gas and electric, and they may even see a long term niche market.
In short, Bob Lutz is a convert, not a visionary, but that doesn't mean he is blind. And what we need now is a lot more converts.
