In recent weeks, the news media has been abuzz with a "new" idea from automakers: The mass-production of electric cars. The Chevy Volt (technically a plug-in hybrid), the Ford Focus EV and even the top-end Tesla have all been given quite a bit of press lately. While the concept of mass-marketing these vehicles is new, the technology is not. I'm not just referring to hybrids, either.
My father-in-law, aged 92, remembers electric cars from his boyhood. The state university at which I worked for 20 years purchased a fleet of electric cars and trucks in the early 1990s, many of which are still being used today. Most famously, California's Zero Emissions Mandate of 1990 resulted in hundreds of electric vehicles being produced and put into everyday use in that state. So, why aren't we driving these cars right now?
According to the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?, in the early 1900s,the electric automobile was the precursor of the gasoline-powered vehicle that we all know and love today. The latter won out due to its convenience, reliability and ability to drive greater distances. Of course, the technology had improved greatly by the time California took the bold step of requiring a percentage of cars sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles in order to battle its significant smog problem. Automakers fought this mandate, but did produce electric cars and SUVs and leased them to several hundred drivers. Most of these people, according to the film, absolutely loved these cars.
All was well until the oil industry began funding an ad campaign critical of these vehicles. They claimed that electric rates would rise if these cars became widely utilized, despite the fact that a full charge cost the equivalent of $.65 per gallon of gasoline. They also questioned their cost, even though they were being leased at a very affordable $250-$500 per month. Despite these glaring inaccuracies, the car companies began to question the viability of the product. They stopped marketing them and sued the California Air Resources Board that passed the original mandate. With the Bush administration solidly in their corner, the automakers prevailed. CARB rescinded the mandate in 2003 and the car companies recalled every last leased electric car. What did they do with them, you may ask? They had them destroyed, of course.
Now, nearly 20 years later, the notion is being hailed as the newest idea to help cure our energy woes. Well, what the heck. If they want to claim innovation here, I guess we might as well let them, if it means that this time the concept will stick. A little white lie is a small price to pay for a giant step toward efficiency and loosening the stranglehold that foreign oil has on this country. As long as they don't start building nuke plants to power all these electric cars, I'm all for it!
My father-in-law, aged 92, remembers electric cars from his boyhood. The state university at which I worked for 20 years purchased a fleet of electric cars and trucks in the early 1990s, many of which are still being used today. Most famously, California's Zero Emissions Mandate of 1990 resulted in hundreds of electric vehicles being produced and put into everyday use in that state. So, why aren't we driving these cars right now?
According to the documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?, in the early 1900s,the electric automobile was the precursor of the gasoline-powered vehicle that we all know and love today. The latter won out due to its convenience, reliability and ability to drive greater distances. Of course, the technology had improved greatly by the time California took the bold step of requiring a percentage of cars sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles in order to battle its significant smog problem. Automakers fought this mandate, but did produce electric cars and SUVs and leased them to several hundred drivers. Most of these people, according to the film, absolutely loved these cars.
All was well until the oil industry began funding an ad campaign critical of these vehicles. They claimed that electric rates would rise if these cars became widely utilized, despite the fact that a full charge cost the equivalent of $.65 per gallon of gasoline. They also questioned their cost, even though they were being leased at a very affordable $250-$500 per month. Despite these glaring inaccuracies, the car companies began to question the viability of the product. They stopped marketing them and sued the California Air Resources Board that passed the original mandate. With the Bush administration solidly in their corner, the automakers prevailed. CARB rescinded the mandate in 2003 and the car companies recalled every last leased electric car. What did they do with them, you may ask? They had them destroyed, of course.
Now, nearly 20 years later, the notion is being hailed as the newest idea to help cure our energy woes. Well, what the heck. If they want to claim innovation here, I guess we might as well let them, if it means that this time the concept will stick. A little white lie is a small price to pay for a giant step toward efficiency and loosening the stranglehold that foreign oil has on this country. As long as they don't start building nuke plants to power all these electric cars, I'm all for it!
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