The E-car update: want to buy an electric? Get ready to hurry up and wait

E: The Environmental Magazine, Nov-Dec, 1997 by Jim Motavalli

If you are lucky enough to live in the state of California, you can - today - visit a car dealer and drive home in a brand-new, road-ready electric vehicle (EV). If you live anywhere else, the pickings are pretty slim. Although strict new Clean Air Act standards and state laws are more or less mandating that fleets of EVs will be on the road by 2003, most manufacturers are still doing little more than playing around with prototypes, or making - literally - handmade "production" models available to the public in small numbers and at a very steep price. They're available mostly in the west because of uncertainty over battery performance in the frigid east, and because California is taking the lead in requiring EVs on its roads. (That will soon change, now that the federal courts have upheld a New York law that requires electric car sales in 1998.)

The mass-market electric car isn't here yet - most "sales" are really leases, and they're made to utilities and other large-scale fleet operators with very deep pockets. Europe, where EVs are a common sight as delivery vehicles, is way ahead. Detroit's "Big Three" are - slowly and reluctantly - beginning to build electric cars, while also fighting the mandates that require them and the new federal anti-smog rules that make them all but inevitable. Headlines were made last December when the General Motors EV-1 went on the market in a lease-only ($300 a month) arrangement in California and Arizona. The EV-1, which would retail for $33,995 if it was actually for sale, is an impressive, built-from-scratch AC electric that cost GM $350 million in development outlay. In its initial form, it used lead-acid batteries and a special ultra-safe, no-shock charger.

The EV-1 has made many friends among car testers for its quick acceleration (0-60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds) and almost-sports car handling. The drawback is its range: with lead-acid batteries, it can travel only 60 to 70 miles on a single charge. But that will change, says Don Hudler, president and CEO of the EV-l's parent company, Saturn. Speaking to a group of journalists from the International Motor Press Association (IMPA) last July, Hudler announced a switch to longer-range (and more expensive) nickel metal-hydride batteries by the end of 1997.

How's the EV-1 doing? Saturn has leased only about 200 so far, reflecting the public's uncertainty about the new technology. Even in EV-friendly California, there's still a very tentative network of recharging stations. Lessees, some of them celebrities, say they're happy with their cars, though. "I originally bought the EV-1 because of the environmental considerations," says Baywatch actress Alexandra Paul, who's had three EVs. "But now I'm really excited about it because it's a great car and it's fun."

The Upstarts

The closest thing to a competitor for the EV-1 is the Sunrise from Massachusetts-based Solectria. The Sunrise is, like the EV-1, a completely new four-seat, two-door electric car, using composite body panels to reduce weight and increase range. It also has a more efficient AC drive and, as an option, nickel metal-hydride batteries. It even looks a bit like the EV-1. But the Sunrise sacrifices quick acceleration (0-60 mph takes 17 seconds) for range. It will reportedly travel 200 miles on one charge, when equipped with nickel metal-hydride batteries. Solectria hopes to sell the Sunrise for only $20,000.

A Waiting Game

Karl Thidemann, director of marketing for Solectria, says that the Sunrise will be formally introduced to the world in December 1997, but the first few production models have already been sold to customers (mostly utilities and government agencies). The problem is that those buyers paid $100,000 for the handbuilt cars. "We hope to go into larger-scale production next year," Thidemann says, adding that Solectria is in talks with joint venture partners. "We don't expect to sell thousands and thousands for $100,000 each" Thidemann admits. "We're still in the experimental stages with a limited-production vehicle."

While waiting for the Sunrise, EV enthusiasts should look at Solectria's established Force model, a lower-cost conversion of the Geo Metro. The Force takes 18 seconds just to reach 50 mph. And while it won't impress the neighbors, it will travel 105 miles on (optional) Ovonic nickel metal-hydride batteries, and reach 70 mph. What's more, Solectria is having a sale! "For a limited time only," a Force with lead-acid batteries and such extras as a stereo cassette unit and an onboard charger (3.5 hours recharge time) costs $35,950.

For about the same price as a Force, you could be driving a factory-built EV based on the Ford Ranger pickup. According to Sarah Tatchio of Ford's environmental and safety public affairs office, Ford has pre-sold 200 of the $32,795 lead-acid Rangers, and expects to sell 1,000 in the 1998 model year. Again, most vehicles will disappear into fleets, "but we're always happy to have a regular retail customer," Tatchio says. There are no geographic restrictions, but regional dealerships have to have five to 10 orders before a service support program can be created.