http://www.thereporter.com/opinion/ci_17174375
Electric Car Is Here to Stay: Collaborative effort among key players =
will ensure success By Ed Huestis 01/23/2011 =
For those of us who currently drive electric cars, or were fortunate =
to have had that experience in the past, or simply have been waiting =
to be able to "drive electric" in the near future, these are exciting =
times.
"The electric car is here" is what we heard in the late 1990s from the
electronic voice-over at the end of the General Motors EV1 electric =
car television commercial, in which appliances from a house unplugged =
themselves and waddled out to the street to surround the uniquely =
designed EV1. Few people ever saw that commercial, and it never said =
where you could get an EV1.
General Motors only produced 500 of them -- with lead-acid batteries =
-- in 1997, and another 500 in 1999 using advanced Nickel Metal =
Hydride (NiMH) batteries, along with some advanced Panasonic lead-acid =
batteries for the warmer climate areas of California and Arizona. At =
the time, many of us really felt it was the beginning of something =
big, with many more makes and models to follow.
By the end of 1999, the city of Vacaville had become the first city in
the nation to use federal air quality grant money to provide those who
lived or worked full-time in Vacaville with buy-down incentives to =
lease electric vehicles. Within three years, there were 100 =
participants in the city's Electric Vehicle Incentive Program. This =
led the nation on a per capita basis and earned us the nickname =
"Voltageville," leading to numerous awards during those years.
Around the same time, Honda agreed to make 300 of its EV Plus, a nice
riding electric vehicle along the lines of a mini-van. =
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_EV_Plus ]
Ford had the Ranger EV =
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_EV ]
and Chevrolet had the Chevy S-10 Electric Truck
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_S-10_EV ].
All of these vehicles were available for lease only, and at the end =
of the lease period, they had to be returned to the dealership. The =
Toyota RAV4 EV had been around since 1998, but only for fleets and =
agencies. Vacaville, in fact, ended up with 25 Toyota RAV4 EV =
vehicles from 2007 to 2009 -- the most of any municipality in the =
nation [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAV4_EV ].
A big announcement from Toyota came in December 2001 at the Electric =
Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) Conference in Sacramento. It =
was exciting to hear in person that Toyota would not only make the =
RAV4 EV available to the public, but that individuals could even =
purchase the electric vehicle. No other automobile manufacturer had =
allowed the public to purchase their electric vehicles. Toyota set =
aside a few more than 300 such vehicles for the public.
Then, General Motors and other auto manufacturers sued the California =
Air Resources Board (CARB) [arb.ca.gov] in 2003, resulting in a =
substantial weakening of the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, and
production of electric vehicles came to a screeching halt.
The ZEV mandate regulated by CARB originally stated that 2 percent of
vehicles sold in California in 1998 would need to be zero-emissions =
vehicles; 5 percent in 2001; and 10 percent in 2003. As each of the =
deadlines came on the horizon, the ZEV mandate kept getting watered =
down. [ http://google.com/#sclient=3Dpsy&hl=3Den&q=3DZEV+mandate ]
Other than the Tesla electric sports coupe, it has been quite a dry =
spell, with no new electric vehicles being made available to the =
general public since 2003 when the last of the Toyota RAV4 EV vehicles
were sold.
That is now about to change. With the Chevy Volt Plug-In Hybrid =
Electric Vehicle (PHEV) now available for purchase and the Nissan Leaf
all-battery electric vehicle in production, we will soon have more =
electric vehicles on the road than ever.
This brings us to the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) =
Collaborative. The PEV Collaborative [evcollaborative.org] is a =
multi-stakeholder public-private effort that is working together to =
ensure a strong and enduring transition to a plug-in electric vehicle
market in California. The Collaborative includes elected and appointed
officials, automakers, utilities, infrastructure providers, =
environmental organizations, and others. The PEV Collaborative has =
developed a plan that will help California meet its energy, =
technology, and environmental goals, starting with installing charging
stations at homes and in high-traffic public areas and apartment =
buildings.
If we'd had such a collaborative, with all of the key players working =
together for common goals, back in the late 1990s, we would have been =
much further along with our energy, technology and environmental goals
then we are today.
This time it looks like the team is in place to make it happen.
The author managed the city of Vacaville's Alternative Fuel Vehicle =
(AFV) Incentive Program prior to his retirement in 2009. A Vacaville =
resident, he is now an AFV consultant. [=A9 2011 - The Reporter]
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20186721
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (4) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184647
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (3) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184385
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (2) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184285
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial [1] by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DfLknNrrL6QU
General Motors EV1 OverView EV1Forever Jan 27 2009
...
http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=3D152
[image] Ed Huestis (right) is a man on a mission. Almost single-
handedly, he has found nearly $1 million in federal grants to help get
his fellow citizens get into EVs, giving Vacaville the nickname of =
"Voltageville." Now all he needs is more cars!
...
http://www.evchargermaps.com/?Address=3DVacaville&Want=3DJ1772%20AVC%20OC&Z=
oom=3D10
Voltageville (Vacaville) public EV charge stations
http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Drop-Dead-Gorg=
eous-Sexy-EVs-not-your-great-grandma-s-golfcart-anymore-td3231577.html
{brucedp.150m.com}
-- =
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Electric Car Is Here to Stay: Collaborative effort among key players =
will ensure success By Ed Huestis 01/23/2011 =
For those of us who currently drive electric cars, or were fortunate =
to have had that experience in the past, or simply have been waiting =
to be able to "drive electric" in the near future, these are exciting =
times.
"The electric car is here" is what we heard in the late 1990s from the
electronic voice-over at the end of the General Motors EV1 electric =
car television commercial, in which appliances from a house unplugged =
themselves and waddled out to the street to surround the uniquely =
designed EV1. Few people ever saw that commercial, and it never said =
where you could get an EV1.
General Motors only produced 500 of them -- with lead-acid batteries =
-- in 1997, and another 500 in 1999 using advanced Nickel Metal =
Hydride (NiMH) batteries, along with some advanced Panasonic lead-acid =
batteries for the warmer climate areas of California and Arizona. At =
the time, many of us really felt it was the beginning of something =
big, with many more makes and models to follow.
By the end of 1999, the city of Vacaville had become the first city in
the nation to use federal air quality grant money to provide those who
lived or worked full-time in Vacaville with buy-down incentives to =
lease electric vehicles. Within three years, there were 100 =
participants in the city's Electric Vehicle Incentive Program. This =
led the nation on a per capita basis and earned us the nickname =
"Voltageville," leading to numerous awards during those years.
Around the same time, Honda agreed to make 300 of its EV Plus, a nice
riding electric vehicle along the lines of a mini-van. =
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_EV_Plus ]
Ford had the Ranger EV =
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_EV ]
and Chevrolet had the Chevy S-10 Electric Truck
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_S-10_EV ].
All of these vehicles were available for lease only, and at the end =
of the lease period, they had to be returned to the dealership. The =
Toyota RAV4 EV had been around since 1998, but only for fleets and =
agencies. Vacaville, in fact, ended up with 25 Toyota RAV4 EV =
vehicles from 2007 to 2009 -- the most of any municipality in the =
nation [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAV4_EV ].
A big announcement from Toyota came in December 2001 at the Electric =
Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) Conference in Sacramento. It =
was exciting to hear in person that Toyota would not only make the =
RAV4 EV available to the public, but that individuals could even =
purchase the electric vehicle. No other automobile manufacturer had =
allowed the public to purchase their electric vehicles. Toyota set =
aside a few more than 300 such vehicles for the public.
Then, General Motors and other auto manufacturers sued the California =
Air Resources Board (CARB) [arb.ca.gov] in 2003, resulting in a =
substantial weakening of the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate, and
production of electric vehicles came to a screeching halt.
The ZEV mandate regulated by CARB originally stated that 2 percent of
vehicles sold in California in 1998 would need to be zero-emissions =
vehicles; 5 percent in 2001; and 10 percent in 2003. As each of the =
deadlines came on the horizon, the ZEV mandate kept getting watered =
down. [ http://google.com/#sclient=3Dpsy&hl=3Den&q=3DZEV+mandate ]
Other than the Tesla electric sports coupe, it has been quite a dry =
spell, with no new electric vehicles being made available to the =
general public since 2003 when the last of the Toyota RAV4 EV vehicles
were sold.
That is now about to change. With the Chevy Volt Plug-In Hybrid =
Electric Vehicle (PHEV) now available for purchase and the Nissan Leaf
all-battery electric vehicle in production, we will soon have more =
electric vehicles on the road than ever.
This brings us to the California Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PEV) =
Collaborative. The PEV Collaborative [evcollaborative.org] is a =
multi-stakeholder public-private effort that is working together to =
ensure a strong and enduring transition to a plug-in electric vehicle
market in California. The Collaborative includes elected and appointed
officials, automakers, utilities, infrastructure providers, =
environmental organizations, and others. The PEV Collaborative has =
developed a plan that will help California meet its energy, =
technology, and environmental goals, starting with installing charging
stations at homes and in high-traffic public areas and apartment =
buildings.
If we'd had such a collaborative, with all of the key players working =
together for common goals, back in the late 1990s, we would have been =
much further along with our energy, technology and environmental goals
then we are today.
This time it looks like the team is in place to make it happen.
The author managed the city of Vacaville's Alternative Fuel Vehicle =
(AFV) Incentive Program prior to his retirement in 2009. A Vacaville =
resident, he is now an AFV consultant. [=A9 2011 - The Reporter]
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20186721
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (4) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184647
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (3) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184385
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial (2) by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/20184285
General Motors EV-1 TV Commercial [1] by Abraham Oct 16 2007
...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DfLknNrrL6QU
General Motors EV1 OverView EV1Forever Jan 27 2009
...
http://www.evworld.com/article.cfm?storyid=3D152
[image] Ed Huestis (right) is a man on a mission. Almost single-
handedly, he has found nearly $1 million in federal grants to help get
his fellow citizens get into EVs, giving Vacaville the nickname of =
"Voltageville." Now all he needs is more cars!
...
http://www.evchargermaps.com/?Address=3DVacaville&Want=3DJ1772%20AVC%20OC&Z=
oom=3D10
Voltageville (Vacaville) public EV charge stations
http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/Drop-Dead-Gorg=
eous-Sexy-EVs-not-your-great-grandma-s-golfcart-anymore-td3231577.html
{brucedp.150m.com}
-- =
_______________________________________________
Surf the Web in a faster, safer and easier way:
Download Opera 9 at http://www.opera.com
_______________________________________________
| REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
| Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
| UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
| OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
| OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
