In the consumer sector, EVs remain scarce. Since its launch in 1996, General Motors' EV1, a sleek, swift sports coupe, has attracted a hard-core group of enthusiasts. With neck-breaking acceleration of zero to 60 mph in less than nine seconds, and its ability to get over 100 miles on a single charge, it handles like any sports car. However, auto executives admit they never intended to sell many electric cars. The EV1 is available only for lease at $499 a month in California and Arizona, and customers have to submit to two days of interviews and instruction. Companies that specialize in electric vehicles, like Solectria Corp., based north of Boston, have two-year waiting lists for their cars.
"It's the chicken or the egg," Ken says. "Companies say people won't buy it, but people won't buy it until they see it in the showroom."
Deron Neblett
Don't fill up -- plug in.
Deron Neblett
Driving an EV is "my small protest" against wasting petroleum, says Monty McGraw. He found his electric postal van in Florida.
Deron Neblett
Monty McGraw's Pontiac Fiero is powered by 18 eight-volt batteries.
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Dale Brooks has no doubt that we all will be driving electric vehicles one day. But that might come harder in Texas than in other states. Even for him and other electric car aficionados, the oil industry is something they can't avoid. It seems there's always someone in the family who makes a living off oil or cars. Dale's brother is a truck driver; so is one of Ken's daughters. The other works for Shell. Ben's son works for Jaguar in Dallas. Brian Hanlon is an assistant manager at a Coastal gas station. Another club member, Wes Matus, is a diesel mechanic.
Last month state officials adopted a smog-reduction plan for the Houston area to meet a federal cleanup deadline by 2007. The plan, as mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act, calls for decreases in industrial emissions, expanded tailpipe testing, lowered speed limits and morning bans on diesel construction machines and gasoline-powered lawn equipment. However, the rules adopted by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission fall short of the pollution-reduction total that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set. Instead, it promises additional measures to make up the difference by 2004, including increased use of innovative fuel-cell vehicles.
Other Houston-area businesses are already looking forward. Through a grant partly sponsored by Reliant Energy and the Houston/Galveston Area Council, Humble Independent School District added two electric school buses to its fleet last school year, a first in the state.
Reliant Energy HL&P tested seven electric-powered vans in the mid-'90s. And since 1981, Reliant Energy Entex has kept a fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles, which now numbers 400. However, HL&P donated its electric vans because of their limitations in range and charging time and is now looking into hybrid vehicles.
"It makes sense when we distribute natural gas and electricity that those are the alternatives we're interested in," says Reliant Energy spokesperson Alicia Dixon.
Also, Rice University has ordered two electric buses to serve its inner loop shuttle route. In preparation, the university is building a charging station for the buses, which are due to arrive by the end of this month, says transportation manager Eugen Radulescu.
For now, though, Dale and other EV owners are cruising the streets on their own. When people realize he's driving electric, they often wave or give him a thumbs-up, Dale says. His car simply makes him happy. Ever since he began driving his Jet 007, which handles a little differently than normal cars, he has been cured of road rage. When it stops, it turns off. When Dale steps on the gas pedal again, it turns on. In the past, when he wasn't careful, he spun his wheels because electric cars have incredible pickup. The motor turns on instantly and doesn't need time to rev up like gas engines.
Also, he had to learn to stop slipping the clutch, because the motor operates so smoothly it never stalls. (Most electric cars have a clutch because automatic transmissions expend more energy.) The fact that his car has limited range doesn't bother Dale. You just have to think ahead to make the most out of driving, he says. You don't race up to the next intersection just to wait at a red light (you could, but that would be a stupid waste of energy). You look far in advance so you can coast right on through. Driving his EV makes him feel more peaceful. No fumes, no vibrations, just a quiet, calm ride.
"When I'm driving this car, I feel that I am right with the world," he says.
For more information on the Houston chapter of the Electric Auto Association, visit their website at www.dataline.net/hceaa/.
