EVLN(ELECTRIC CARS GAIN CONVERTS: media can't understand why people love EVs)

[Bruce {EVangel} Parmenter <brucedp@iname.com>]

EVLN(ELECTRIC CARS GAIN CONVERTS: media can't understand why people love
EVs)
[The Internet Electric Vehicle List News. For Public EV informational
 purposes. Contact source for reprint rights.]
 --- {EVangel}
EV - Chicago Tribune (TRIB) AUTO SHOW DESPITE DRAWBACKS, ELECTRIC CARS
GAIN CONVERTS Jenifer B. McKim, Knight Ridder/Tribune.  02/17/99
(Copyright 1999)

Barry Friedberg enters his bubble-shaped car and punches in a code on
a key pad to start the motor. A thin, round instrument panel lights
up.  He steps on the accelerator and hears a sound similar to a plane
taking off.  Friedberg is on his way to work--maneuvering a $34,000
driving machine that has no exhaust pipe, no oily engine, no need to
fill up with gas.

He loves it. Except he can't go too far or too fast if he wants to get
anywhere. While the car can accelerate from 0 to 60 in less than 9
seconds, it can go only 90 miles between charges--and that is when he
drives with a feather foot and lots of control.  "It's frustrating,"
Friedberg said about his silver-blue General Motors EV-1. "The problem
is that it begs to be hot-rodded."

The 49-year-old anesthesiologist is one of hundreds of people in
Southern California who have leased an electric car.  Southern
California has the largest number of electric cars and publicly
available battery chargers in the nation, industry specialists say.
The region has 210 free charger sites, some with more than one
charger.

It's a slow-growing market. And driving experiences of several Orange
County, Calif., residents who have plugged in show that the autos are
far from practical. They only go short distances, are costly and need
to be recharged for hours.

But many drivers love them.  "It's the greatest car ever made," said
Loren Nielsen, 50, a Huntington Beach, Calif., engineer who has owned
an electric car for about a year. "It's clean. It's fun. It's the
future."

Major manufacturers have sold about 950 electric cars in California to
date. General Motors, which has been selling its EV-1 for more than
two years, has leased more than 47 vehicles in California and Arizona.
"The drawbacks are the cost, range and the recharge time," said Jeremy
Barnes, product safety and environment administrator for Toyota Motor
Sales U.S.A. in Torrance, Calif. "Until there is some huge
breakthrough in battery technology, which hasn't happened in the last
100 years, that range is not going to increase appreciably."

While the range isn't expected to change dramatically soon, the
charging time might be reduced. New technology introduced in October
could within a few years reduce the charging time from hours to
minutes.  People such as Friedberg are not willing to wait for
technological breakthroughs.

They see themselves as pioneers of a world when most commuters will be
driving an electric car--either propelled by a battery or a fuel cell
or a hybrid running on gas and batteries.  They've joined clubs, built
Web sites, driven long distances to prove it can be done. Many say
it's not just the "green" factor but that the cars are fun to drive
and technologically inspiring.

Friedberg fits General Motor's profile of an electric-car driver: He
is male, with a household income of $125,000 to $150,000 and owns more
than one car.  He's a so-called "early technology adapter," someone
who bought a laptop computer, a cellular phone and a videocassette
recorder before they became popular.

But he complains of few inconveniences--and the pluses are that he
never has to stop for gas or an oil change. He thrives on the
"intellectual challenge" of seeing how far he can go before
recharging.  He likes the looks, the thumbs-up from strangers, the
honks.

Friedberg, an anesthesiologist for cosmetic surgeons, has a varied
schedule. Some days he drives a few miles. Other days, he travels from
Laguna Hills, Calif., to Long Beach, Calif., requiring at least a
45-minute stop at a public charger to get home.

He keeps a close eye on the "energy bars," the lighted bars on the
car's instrument panel that indicate how much electricity remains. 
And he steps lightly on the gas. On a congested highway he stays at 45
m.p.h., avoiding the urge to weave between cars.

Going downhill, he recharges with a special braking system.  "This is
the largest video game I know," he said. "It adds a different
dimension to your drive."
 ...
 http://www.chicago.tribune.com  bestes@tribune.com, ChiEd@aol.com
Copyright 1998 Chicago Tribune   1-800-TRIBUNE Tel# 312-222-3232 
Distributed by Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News.
 ---
____________{Statements may not be my Employer's}  BruceDP@iname.com 
  ____         http://members.aol.com/brucedp/    EV List News Editor
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'@----- @'---(= Get Amp'd   'Electric cruis'n the Santa Clara Valley'
SJEAA EVents officer        Renewable Energy News contributing Editor
http://members.aol.com/sjeaa/  EAA Board member  http://www.eaaev.org