Billionaire T. Boone Pickens, who has made national headlines with its approach on natural gas and green energy now shifts to heavy duty cars because of America's love for cars.
It is no secret that billionaire T. Boone Pickens is betting big on alternative energy. Back in 2008 he introduced the Pickens Plan which amongst other things advocated that natural gas should comprise 38% of the nation's fuel for transportation.
Two years into things, Pickens is having a slight change of heart. It seems he underestimated his nation's love of the automobile, Pickens told the New York Times “America is nuts about cars. I don’t quite understand this thing about horsepower. Cars are not a big deal to me, but they are a big deal to a lot of people."
All Pickens would have needed to do was visit any auto show or watch the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction on television to figure out that for many Americans, the automobile is heart and soul and not just transportation.
In the face of this reality, Pickens now is moving away from converting cars and pickups to natural gas power and instead focusing on larger commercial vehicles. Pickens told the NY Times, “We have to target the heavy-duty vehicles, which is where you can get the volume."
Fleet vehicles are usually fueled and serviced at centralized facilities, which would require less of an infrastructure roll-out. Time will tell if Pickens is on the right path.
Written by Michael Sheena
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