GM wants to trademark ‘range anxiety’ phrase, Tesla releases its opinion
Recently, with all the development of electric vehicles that has been going on, the automotive lexicon has expanded greatly, and now GM seeks to trademark part of that expanded vocabulary; the company has filed for a trademark on the term “˜range anxiety”. The term refers to the concern that traveling a given distance will leave one with a dead battery, and thus no means of returning home. It is one of the leading reasons consumers give for avoiding purchasing such a car.
The phrase was first used by GM engineers as they were developing the early concept versions of the Chevrolet Volt. Some of those engineers had also worked on the EV1 – an electric car from the “90”s that GM had previously been developing.
Click here for more news on the Chevrolet Volt.
GM has used “˜range anxiety” as a focal point of the Volt marketing campaign. The Nissan Leaf, the main competitor to the Volt, boasts that it can get 100 miles of travel on a full charge, but GM insists that although the Volt gets 40, the gasoline powered “˜range extender” does away with “˜range anxiety” and can make consumers feel more confident in their purchase.
“By all means, GM can have ‘range anxiety,'” Tesla VP of Communications, Ricardo Reyes. “To Roadster owners, the term is as irrelevant as ‘gas stop’ or ‘smog check.’ We are, however, looking into trademarking ‘Tesla grin.'”
Click here to read our first drive impressions of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.
2011 Chevrolet Volt:
– By: Stephen Calogera
Source: CNNMoney
