EV Owners Have Their Say, Part III: Miles by the Jolt — How I Acquired an EV
Published June 29, 2006
As a child, I believed that could happen, and here in my driveway was proof that it had, well, for the most part. Yet even in smoggy Pasadena and environmentally conscious California, EVs weren't welcomed with open arms by bureaucrats. After a flurry of confusion requiring two inspections and half a day at the DMV, my Force was registered, but as a second-owner I wasn't eligible for any tax credits.
Coming into range
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, rising gas prices resulted in the development of the cheap but claustrophobically small CitiCar and Elcar. They were essentially what are now called Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs). They could hit speeds of about 30 mph and weren't freeway-worthy.
Yet, EVs had been around much, much longer than that. At the LA EV Club meeting, a local man, Lew Miller, showed me a photo of his prized 1904 Baker two-seater. I was amazed. I didn't know that EV technology had been around that long. I later learned that Jay Leno has a 1909 Baker.
Actually, according to Inventor.about.com's EV history, EVs have been around since the 1830s. As battery technology improved, France and Great Britain encouraged EV development, and by 1899 an electric racing car had set a world record speed of 68 mph.
In the 1920s, EVs were preferred to the hand-crank gasoline engine that required a gear shifter and long periods of time to warm up.
Then, after oil was discovered in Texas and gasoline prices plummeted, the auto industry chose gas to fuel its new inventions. In 1912, when EV production was at its peak, Charles Kettering invented an electric starter, which eliminated the need for hand cranking. Henry Ford then began mass-producing internal combustion engines. All of these things brought the price of gas-powered cars down and sent the price of EVs through the roof.
By 1912, the cost of an electric car was almost three times the cost of a gas car, which sold for about $650. By then, paved roads started connecting towns across America and another limitation of the EV — range — became apparent.
Gas-powered cars may have produced smog, but they cheaply delivered limitless range. Today, nearly a century later, all that driving is catching up with us, with smog now playing a critical role in the ongoing warming of the planet and gas — thanks to global oil market instability and war — no longer cheap.
Sparking EV-angelism
The US Clean Air Act of 1990 and 1992's Energy Policy Act, as well as regulations of the California Air Resources Board, sparked renewed interest in the EV development, giving rise to a number of companies that worked on nothing but electric motors.
- EV Owners Have Their Say, Part III: Miles by the Jolt — How I Acquired an EV
- Published: June 29, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sci/Tech
- Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Energy/Environment
- Writer: Purple Tigress
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I just saw the "Who KIlled the Electric Car" Documentary on Showtime... its was awesome!!! the movie that is... The decision of GM to "Shred" the cars, is for one just un-unexcusable. I just don't get it. How does a company like GM think they have the luxury of "shredding" products that people want to acquire. I suppose I just answered my own question, as GM is in serious financial trouble... and the "Brain Trust" who lives in the penthouses offices decides to Shred Hundreds of cars that people would probably kill for now that our Oil Interests have gone so well in the Middle East where the price of a gallon of gas is now, today, $3.65 a gallon. The most ever paid in this state for gas.
How did the American car industry go into extinction? They lost the ability to adapt and adjust, just like the dinosaurs, will go into the shredder of history.
i watch the movie,can't believe all the ev's were shredded.i FOUND THIS ARTICAL searching for info electric conversion kits,(oil $125.00 a barrel today $5.75/gallon here)i hope someone makes GM eat that choice.i would like to convert a car over to electric,can't wait to see them on the roads.
Remember, the problem we now face was predictable. Fossil fuels and relations with the Middle East made them so. We had the potential to develop solar energy and make it a source of electrical energy. We had the choice in the US to go with EVs. In Los Angeles, we have the technical geniuses at Caltech working on projects and technical companies attempting to find the answer. The answer was there. Instead, now we are looking into biodiesel and hydrogen.
Remember how when the American auto companies were in trouble the government back them up and there were at least two waves of Japan-bashing focused on Japanese cars versus American cars.
America's industrial leaders made decisions that led us to this juncture.
We had the answer to the gasoline crisis in the US and in California. And our American industrial leaders dropped the ball as did our political leaders.
And look who picked up the ball and saw the future? Japan and the Toyota Prius.
Shame on GM. Shame on the oil companies.
The US auto companies and oil companies have an iron grip on the US government (and on the minds of US citizens, apparently) and have prevented an easy migration to alternative energy. But they, individually, are smart enough to know it can't last forever so they are just riding their sunset industries down into the dust, taking big dividends on the way. They will have their way since their lobbying and bribing make it possible.
But they know The End Is Near.
Just beware that they intend to dominate the alternative energy scene, too, when the time comes.
Beware, beware, beware.
bliffle, that seems a bit too "conspiracist" for me. The U.S. is a freaking huge country, with a lot of cars on the road. It is nearly infinitely harder for the U.S. to do *anything* nationwide than it is for *any* other country, and I really think that's all there is to it.
Could we have done it? Sure. But it's an tough uphill struggle even without ascribing nefarious tactics to companies who would benefit enormously if they could pull it off successfully.
Ask yourself why did GM insist on a paddle as opposed to a plug?
After all, older EV can be plugged in directly to the garage and do not require a special charging station.
Second, why destroy a car when you have buyers lined up?
As alternative energy systems come online the government will provide subsidies favorable to Big Companies and monopoly Intellectual Property judgements favorable to Big Interests.
It's in the nature of the kind of managed economy that we have developed in this country. Who, one must ask, is it managed in favor of?
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Just wanted to say that I thought this series was fantastic. I'd done some research on Electronic Vehicles while researching alternative fuel vehicles for my own articles, but you've gathered more info here than I was able to find in much web searching. Great job.
Dave