GM Seeks Trademark for 'Range Anxiety' as Marketing Weapon Against Nissan Leaf

GM Seeks Trademark for 'Range Anxiety' as Marketing Weapon Against Nissan Leaf

By Scott Doggett September 1, 2010

General Motors has made no secret of the fact that it intends to use a scare tactic to help sell its Chevrolet Volt plug-n hybrid, due to appear in U.S. showrooms starting this December.

GM executives and PR people, mindful of the fact that the Volt will be coming on market about the same time as the  all-electric Nissan Leaf, have repeatedly told reporters that unlike Leaf owners, Volt owners needn't be concerned about running out of electricity.

That's because, unlike the Leaf, the Volt has an onboard gasoline-powered generator that can produce electricity. When the Chevy's battery runs low on juice, the generator can fire up and get you to your destination. And if the generator's tank is low, the Volt owner need only find a gas station.

Someone coined a term for the concern some EV owners have about running out of juice. It's "range anxiety." Now GM wants control over it, as in the automaker has sought a trademark for it.

Why would GM want to own "range anxiety"? The automaker says it wants it for the purpose of "promoting public awareness of electric vehicle capabilities."

But in reality GM wants the term to control its usage. It wants to own "range anxiety" so that the unauthorized use of the term - the use by another company without GM's consent - would constitute a trademark infringement.

If, for instance, a Nissan representative said, "Prospective Leaf buyers needn't worry about range anxiety," Nissan could be sued by GM, that is, if the much-larger automaker possessed the trademark.

GM's got a good point: A Volt owner won't ever experience range anxiety unless his battery is depleted and he's at risk of running out of gasoline before reaching a gas station.

But for Pete's sake, "range anxiety" is part of the EV lexicon, same as "green cars." No one should be able to possess the trademark for either term.

A spokesman for Tesla Motors, which has been making nothing but sporty electric vehicles for more than two years, issued a statement today in response to GM's trademark application.

"By all means, GM can have 'range anxiety,' " Ricardo Reyes said. "To Roadster owners, the term is as irrelevant as 'gas stop' or 'smog check.' We are, however, looking into trademarking 'Tesla grin.' "

That's a good one.

Scott Doggett, Contributing Editor

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.