Alternative-energy vehicles to converge at forum here

Journal of Business, Oct 15, 1998

Electricity, natural gas, vegetable-based fuels, or perhaps some still-undeveloped energy source.

It would take a crystal ball to know what technology, or combination of technologies, will emerge as the dominant alternative to good old fossil fuels for powering automobiles in the years to come.

What's known for sure is that interest in alternative-energy vehicles is rising, due to increasing environmental concerns and regulatory pressures, and consumers needn't wait for the future to buy one. They're available now.

A number of alternative-energy vehicles, some introduced commercially this year, will be displayed in Spokane next week for viewing and driving as part of the Environmental Forum for Business. The ninth annual conference and trade show will be held over a three-day-period, starting next Tuesday, at the Spokane Convention Center.

The vehicles that are expected to be displayed here include: the new Ford Ranger EV (electric vehicle), two Volvo "bifuel" cars that carry both compressed natural gas and gasoline and can switch instantly from one to the other, American Honda Motor Co.'s new Civic GX Natural Gas Vehicle, a General Motors Corp. bifuel pickup truck, and a "biodiesel" Dodge Ram pickup owned by the University of Idaho that runs on a derivative of rapeseed oil. Volvo's new 580 luxury sedan, which has a number of environmentally minded features and is slated to be produced in a bifuel version, also is expected to be displayed at the show.

One of the speakers at the forum will be Kelly Brown, a Washington State University graduate who now is director of vehicle environmental engineering for Ford Motor Co., in Dearborn, Mich. Ford currently is developing at least 20 alternative-fuel vehicles.

"Trying to compete with gasoline is a tough way to go. It's pretty well entrenched," Brown says. That's for a good reason, he says, citing gasoline's ease of use, due to its liquid form, and the high energy it produces. Nevertheless, he says he sees strong long-term potential for alternative-energy vehicles, particularly those that take advantage of domestic resources and aren't dependent on imported fuels.

Lucy Gurnea, Spokane-based director for the Environmental Forum for Business, says alternative-energy vehicles are an important area of interest because of their huge potential impact on the environment.

Local public awareness about alternative-energy vehicles could get a boost from Spokane Mayor John Talbott, who earlier this year began driving a city-owned bifuel Ford Contour that runs on either natural gas or unleaded gasoline.

Talbott says the car has some limitations, such as just an 80-mile range on its small natural gas tank, which means he ends up driving it mostly on gasoline. He adds, however, that the car "works well," switching smoothly from one fuel to the other, and he likes being able to use, even on a limited basis, a comparatively clean fuel that's abundant in the U.S.

"Looking at it from a national perspective, we no longer would be dependent on foreign nations for our transportation requirements" if the technology of using natural gas in cars could be perfected, he says.

Here's a closer look at some of the cars that will be on hand for the Environmental Forum for Business.

Ford Ranger EV

Introduced nationally this year, the Ranger EV is the first electric pickup offered by Ford. It joins natural gas, propane, methanol, and ethanol vehicles that Ford now sells to businesses and individuals throughout North America.

The Ranger EV is powered by a liquid-cooled, alternating-current motor that produces about 90 horsepower. The truck's top speed, limited by a mechanical governor to conserve energy and preserve driving range, is 75 mph.

The electrical energy needed to run the motor is provided by a 2,000-pound, 39-module lead-acid battery pack. It generates enough juice to give the truck a typical driving range of about 50 miles between charges. In 1999 models, Ford is offering an optional nickel-metal-hydride battery pick that's said to increase the truck's driving range, but it's available only on a limited basis.

Charging the lead-acid battery pack requires a 240-volt, 40-amp circuit, similar to what a household stove or clothes dryer requires. The battery takes about six hours to recharge from "empty," but only about three hours for an 80 percent charge.

Ford says the electric truck is suitable for applications such as airport shuttles, security, warehouses, schools and universities, parking enforcement, campgrounds and recreational parks, and local transportation for employees between complexes or sites.

The biggest down side to the Ranger EV may be its cost, which--at just under $35,000--is about $15,000 more than a comparable gasoline-powered Ranger. Tom Parry, fleet manager for Wendle Ford, says, however, that Ford is offering some attractive lease promotions to help generate interest in the vehicle.

Volvo bifuel cars

The two Volvo bifuel models expected to be displayed here are the S70 sedan and V70 wagon. Each carries two fuels (compressed natural gas and gasoline) and has two fuel gauges and two fuel tanks.