EV&AE(Petro-Chemical Addicted report on AFVs, only 250 miles)

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

EV&AE(Petro-Chemical Addicted report on AFVs, only 250 miles)
[POSTed on the Internet Alternative Energy List and Electric Vehicle
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 --- {EVangel}
EV - The Courier-Journal  Louisville, KY (LVL) NEWS Alternate-powered
vehicles shown, provide fuel for thought ANDREW MELNYKOVYCH and PERRY
BACON, The Courier-Journal STAFF 05/26/99 (Copyright 1999)

They run on natural gas, propane, electricity, ethanol and even
recycled frying oil from the local fast-food joint.  Some even run on
gasoline - sort of.

They range in size from small buses to glorified golf carts, and in
purpose from mail delivery to commuting.  All are alternate-fuel
vehicles, built to burn less petroleum while producing less pollution.
They are on display this week in Louisville as part of the Fifth
National Clean Cities Conference.

The conference, which focuses on ways to get more environmentally
friendly vehicles on the road, concludes today.  Yesterday afternoon,
makers of alternate-fuel vehicles rolled out their wares. About 15
vehicles, including golf carts, station wagons and vans, were made
available for brief test drives around downtown Louisville.

John Bradley, a participant in the conference, said he enjoyed his
ride in the General Motors EV1, a sports car that runs solely on
electric power.  "It's comparable to a Porsche 94," Bradley said.
"You're going to be surprised" by its speed.

Bradley and several others applauded the cars' quiet engines. 
Electric cars do not require the combustion processes that occur in
gasolinepowered cars, so their acceleration is much quieter.

Haskins Hobson, another conference participant, raved about the
electric Nissan Ultra station wagon.  "It drives like any other
vehicle," Hobson said. "It has everything about it you would expect
from a new car, and you wouldn't know (it was electric) unless you
searched."

Melissa Howell, director of the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition,
stressed the importance of changing to alternate fuels.  "I think it's
vital," Howell said. "I think the technology is there, and why in the
world would you not do it? It's good for the car; it's good for the
economy."

But getting vehicles like that into general use requires building
coalitions, speaker after speaker said at the conference. Fuel
availability has been a major bottleneck, because compressed natural
gas, ethanol and other alternate fuels can't be bought at the corner
gas station.

Alternate-fuel vehicles also suffer from restricted range.  Electric
cars can be driven only 60 to 100 miles before needing hours of
recharging; most cars using compressed natural gas have a range of
only about 250 miles.  As a result, most alternate-fuel vehicles are
used by fleet operators. The vehicles are not driven long distances
and are returned to a central facility every day, easing the
refueling problem.

But manufacturers are working to address those problems. The most
promising technology in the short run appears to be the hybrid
gasoline-electric vehicle.  Models such as Toyota's Prius use a
combination of a small gasoline engine, electric motor and batteries
to achieve fuel economies of better than 60 miles per gallon. Farther
down the road, manufacturers are working to develop fuelcell
technology that creates electricity from liquid fuels - either
methanol or gasoline. Fuel-cell vehicles are expected to become
available early in the next century.

Another approach to reducing gasoline use is to replace it with
nonfossil fuels. Ford is making cars that run on either gasoline or
ethanol, which can be made from corn.  And Griffin Industries Inc.,
based in Cold Spring, Ky., is making a diesel-fuel substitute from
recycled cooking oil. Blended with diesel, the additive reduces
petroleum use and cuts emissions.  Randy Scherer buckled up as Kathy
Tomlinson prepared a Bombardier low-speed vehicle for him to
testdrive. Scherer works in natural gas sales for Louisville Gas and
Electric Co.  Caption: BY SAM UPSHAW JR., THE COURIER-JOURNAL
 ...
 http://www.courier-journal.com/  ricman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
 ---
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