Part one of this three-part series recounts the reactions of EV owners to a new film, Who Killed the Electric Car? Part three will describe how I acquired my EV.
In this part two, the same owners describe their personal histories with the cars. Before General Motors became interested in electric vehicles, there were individuals who felt that EVs were the logical choice.
John Klemic, a staff member at Caltech said that he was interested in the technology:
When the first energy crisis hit in the 70s I though hybrids were the way to go for ease of acceptance and efficiency (I favored turbine or diesel motors). Then I invented an electric bicycle that was a true human - electric hybrid. (Oddly enough Aerovironment chair Paul Macready nixed a grant I applied for, saying his company was already working on it. What his company made was nothing like what I had in mind and was a flop.) Finally I drove a pure electric car and loved the simplicity and realized that a pure electric would serve most purposes and could be cheaper and easier to maintain.Temple City resident James Baker described how he became interested in EVs during college:
From the Alternative Energy Club I learned about the impacts that fossil fuel energy use has and what other choices are available. After graduating college and starting a job, I joined an email discussion group about electric vehicles and decided that converting a car to electric was something I would enjoy doing. And when I finished, I'd have my own EV. I remember being thrilled when the EV1 came out, though it was a bit too expensive for me, and I didn't like the idea that I had to lease it. At the time, I thought that the EV1 represented a first step, and that EV availability and performance were only going to improve from there.Randy Pollock and Betina Pavri commented that, as engineers, the EV has always seemed 'right.' Gas cars waste a huge amount of their energy as heat, both out the tailpipe and through the radiator. Electric cars don't have either of those devices, because they are not wasting that energy.
In addition to the technical aspects, we were glad to be able to drive a car that would reduce emissions significantly and be a demonstration of how to reduce the nation's dependence on oil. Driving this car was part of a transition we've been making for years. For example, in 2001, we installed 2.4 kilowatts of solar panels on our roof. This covers the house's electricity usage. We are a few weeks away from adding another 1.3 kW to cover most of the cost of the 914's electricity use. That way, our gas station is in our garage, and the power source is on our roof!
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