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July 1, 2009
Fully Fueled
The
hyperactive Obama administration wants efficient cars, hoping to implement fleet
fuel economy imperatives that politically ran out of gas forty years ago. The
hope for fuel-efficiency lies with hybrids, which cruise on electric power and
hit the gas when a driver hits the accelerator. One company has the real
impetus: Toyota, which has around 2,100 patents for hybrid vehicles. Number two,
Honda, has about half as many hybrid patents in its portfolio. Nissan, relatively
hybrid patentless, is puttering with electric cars.
Toyota has a culture of cooperation that has made it the world's leader in automotive technology. Unlike American car makers, which for decades squeezed component suppliers for low cost as integral to their strategy of going broke, Toyota has cross-holdings with its suppliers, constantly encouraging innovation, not mere cost-cutting.
The Toyota way also means that the company has not been litigious, preferring quiet licensing deals. Ford has a cross-license with Toyota for hybrid technology, where, Ford claims, no money changed hands.
More in the Wall Street Journal.
Posted by Patent Hawk at July 1, 2009 11:43 PM | Patents In Business