A Glimpse into the Future?

This story titled "Running on Fumes No More” was published in the New York Times on Monday, Feb. 9th, 2009 and caught my eye both because of its prominent layout on the front page of the business section and the interesting topic that it deals with. The article explains the ideas of Shai Agassi, a former Silicon Valley big shot turned venture capitalist who has made one of the first real steps towards making electric cars feasible with his concept of service stations to recharge electric cars. His company, Better Place (named such because Agassi intends to leave the world a “better place”), is in serious negotiations with several countries and automakers regarding his goal of creating a vast network of battery exchange stations to increase the driving range of electric cars.

The headline, “Running on Fumes No More”, was very effective because it was concise and fitting, yet didn’t reveal too much about the story to ensure that the reader would have to read on to find out more. The large picture of Agassi outside of his office that was below the headline, however, was pretty lackluster and if it weren’t for its size, did little to add to the story or attract the reader’s attention. The article would have been better served if it featured a computer generated rendition of one of Agassi’s proposed battery exchange stations (if available) or perhaps a large diagram explaining how one of these stations might work. Besides the weak picture accompanying the article, the layout was good and the summary deck helped to clarify for the reader what the article was really about.

The lead and first few paragraphs are very effective. The juxtaposition of the America of just a decade ago when electric cars on our roads seemed to be a pretty far-out proposal with today’s reality of mass produced electric cars just a few years off helps to explain how Agassi and his company came to be so prominent. The editor and reporter did well in emphasizing how good business appears to be for Agassi by chronicling a 10-day period in which he jetted around the world, inking numerous deals with prime ministers and auto executives who are signing on to begin building the infrastructure required by Agassi’s vision. The picture included with the text on the jump showing Agassi alongside a former prime minister of Israel and the current executive of Renault-Nissan at a news conference was a good choice because it too helped reinforce the fact that high ranking officials are taking this idea seriously. The article accomplishes a feat by avoiding the use of complicated energy or automobile jargon, yet still providing the reader with a vivid mental image of what Agassi’s battery exchange network might look like.

I found it surprising that there was little information about whether American auto companies and politicians were interested in Agassi’s plan (although apparently his plan is drawing interest here) and the article might have been improved if the editor had urged the reporter to include some information about this. Also, the pull quote used with the text on the jump was pretty weak and did little to emphasize what Agassi’s plan might mean for the future of the energy and automobile industries. Overall, however, the article is well done and does a good job of explaining Agassi’s proposal, the steps being taken to implement it, and how it might shape how we drive in the future.