Thanks Powersource!
A lot of work has been done on substituting or finding ways to use less RE's in magnets and that's all good work that should be done. For example, the Japanese found ways of putting in Dy through grain boundary technology that lowered their requirements by about 1/3rd while keeping the same level of magnetic coercivity (in high temps) however, in the end, finding substitutes has been difficult and I've given many talks where I've warned people of 'substituting themselves right out of the market.'
Rare Earths have unique properties that just can't be replaced effectively and rather than look at ways to making inferior products without them, we focus on finding ways to obtain rare earths at a secure, cheap price. I'm not here to plug my company but we have a new process of rare earth refining that lowers the cost dramatically and we are funded by the US DoD because there is a desire to have rare earth refining technology in North America.
In a few years we will be able to secure long term, cheap sources of RE magnets and rather than just pass this onto motor manufacturers, why not just become the largest PM motor/generator manufacturer on our own.