REVIEW OF INEVITABLE

BY

MIKE COLIAS

4 stars out of 5 stars

If the only electric car company you have heard of is Tesla, the only hybrid car is Prius, and the only name in the car business is Elon Musk, and you wish to expand your knowledge on what has been happening in the automotive industry, you will find that the book by Mike Colias, a longtime business journalist at the Wall Street Journal, contains everything you want to know.

The book is thoroughly researched, containing 26 pages of references in fine print and a meticulously prepared index.  The reader will learn about electric car companies like BYD (acronym for “Build Your Dreams”), and Rivian, entrepreneurs such as Mike Chang and Wang Chuang Fu, the CEO of GM, Mary Barra and the CEO of Ford, Jim Farley.   The challenge of acquiring the supply of materials for lithium batteries is emphasized and described meticulously.  At the end of the book, there is data on the market shares of the various car companies in different lands around the globe, which led to the conclusion that the question “An EV for everyone?” is far from settled.

In reading a book, I usually try to note down some memorable quotes which are either humorous, elegantly written, or wise and profound observations of the human condition.  I am unable to find such quotes in this one.

 As an aside, the reader may take up the following challenge: Try to reproduce the title in a word file in exactly the same way it appears in the book cover, with the letter V sitting on top of the letter E, with both letters turning sideways, between the letter N and the letter I.