K O wrote:
> Agreed! So far the most likely energy for forming such a "trade
> organization" comes from, from my point of view, is NEDRA. They have
> a rule book for drag racing EVs. AS EVs become production main
> stream, the technical competition will get focused on the racetrack
> alongside gassers.
NEDRA has possibilities; also the EAA and even the EVAA as you mentioned.
The problem is that all of these groups are highly specialized. They
appeal to a small sliver of EV drivers, and so do not represent the
majority of EV drivers. No organization does!
It seems like any given special interest group needs to be threatened
until its members feel that they *must* act or be crushed. You see this
in the formation of the Experimental Aircraft Association, which formed
because commercial interests were basically out to ban private aircraft.
You also see it in the American Radio Relay League, when commercial
broadcasters sought to make amateur radio illegal.
Today, I think the vested interests (oil and auto industries) are far
more subtle. That makes them more dangerous. For example, here in
Minnesota, they passed a law a couple years ago that allowed NEVs on the
state's highways. But sneaked into that law was a provision that
"homebuilt NEVs can not be registered." Bang; you're dead! No more
low-speed hobby EVs.
Similarly, when Ford and GM wrote the rules for charging EVs in the 1997
NEC, they made sure it required their own proprietary charging systems.
Technically, almost all of our home charging installations violate code!
It's only because the code is so poorly enforced that we can get away
with it.
But what's going to happen if GM or Nissan decides that home EVs are
threating their EV business? They will lobby for tighter enforcement of
these existing codes. We're going to hear fear mongering, and loud calls
(with big campaign contributions) to ban anything but "approved"
charging. And, they will make darned sure that hobby EVs can't use
"their" chargers.
What I fear is that some law will be pushed through, under the radar,
that effectively bans home-built and small company EVs. It will be a
fact before the EV community even starts to respond. By then, it may be
too late! It would take millions of dollars of lobbying and a major
concerted effort of thousands of people to change it!
> I understand why Clare Bell writes SciFi about cats, after working
> with engineers ;-}
Thanks for my laugh of the day!
But I do find cats and engineers to be highly rational and self
consistent. They have their own internal rules, and they follow them.
The key to getting them to do something is to understand what is
motivating them, and work *with* it.
--
Lee A. Hart | Ring the bells that still can ring
814 8th Ave N | Forget the perfect offering
Sartell MN 56377 | There is a crack in everything
leeahart earthlink.net | That's how the light gets in -- Leonard Cohen
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