TO THE EDITOR:

Quick, convenient refueling and adequate driving range are keys to widespread acceptance of electrified vehicles, and a Detroit-area inventor, Lee Caudill, has received a patent for a vehicle that addresses these issues.

The vehicle uses three power sources: electricity, compressed air and gasoline. In urban areas it runs primarily on electricity or compressed air and has no emissions. In rural areas it uses gasoline only when needed.

The range is 800-plus miles on five gallons of gasoline and it charges the battery while being driven. So charging stations and range are nonissues.

The auto industry is rushing toward electric vehicles to overcome the emission problem, but there are potential dire consequences — such as the impact of increasing EV use on the U.S. power grid — that are seemingly being ignored.

We all want an affordable vehicle (most EVs are not) that will get us from point A to point B. The patented vehicle eliminates many typical auto parts and lowers the production cost by about $3,000 per vehicle. So essentially, the sticker price could be lowered somewhat and consumers and automakers all would win.

The problem for the inventor is that getting the ear of anyone in the Detroit 3 is like pulling teeth. Maybe it’s the “not invented here” syndrome or tunnel vision with the rush to EVs. We may have to go to China, India or Europe to find someone who sees this vehicle’s potential. It’s a sad commentary on the Motor City.

DAVID WEAVER, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The writer heads a management consulting firm.