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6/23/2010  Who Ignored the Facts About the Electric Car?
by Dave Barthmuss. The film EV Confidential: Who Killed the Electric Car? showcased the intense passion for GM's out-of-production EV1 electric vehicle. I understand why. It was great technology for its day, a great concept and a great car. GM was and is proud to have brought the electric vehicle concept as far as it did and further than any other electric vehicle project attempted by any other automaker around the globe. Sadly, despite the substantial investment of money and the enthusiastic fervor of a relatively small number of EV1 drivers - including the filmmaker - the EV1 proved far from a viable commercial success. But the story for GM does not end with the final credits on the movie. I've been the person who has spent the last few years answering the questions of why GM discontinued the program. Although I have not seen the movie or received an advanced DVD as others have from the film's producers, I can tell you that based on what I have heard there may be some information that the movie did not tell its viewers. The good news for electric car enthusiasts is that although the EV1 program did not continue, both the technology and the GM engineers who developed it did. In fact, the technology is very much alive, has been improved and carried forward into the next generation of low-emission and zero-emission vehicles that are either on the road, in development or just coming off the production line. (General Motors)
posted: 10/6/10                   0       5
#1 



8/2/2009  Your request is being processed... The Leaf: Nissan Unveils New Electric Car
Nissan Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn drove quietly out of the Japanese automaker's soon-to-open headquarters Sunday in the first public viewing of its new zero-emission vehicle (Huffington Post)
posted: 8/3/09                   0       12
#2 



7/9/2009  The Great American Bubble Machine
From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression — and they're about to do it again - But then, any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain — an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy. (Rolling Stone)
posted: 5/26/10                   0       16
#3 
keywords: Al Gore, Alan Greenspan, Alternative Energy, American International Group, Arjun Murti, Bailouts, Bank Of America, Barack Obama, Bart Stupak, Bear Stearns, Big Oil, Bill Clinton, Blue Ridge Corporation, Blue Source Llc, British Petroleum, British Petroleum, Brooksley Born, California, California Public Employees' Retirement System, Canada, Carbon Dioxide, Changing World Technologies, Chicago Climate Exchange, Citigroup, Climate Change, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Countrywide, Cramer & CO, Credit Default Swaps, Daimlerchrysler, David Blood, David Viniar, Dennis Kozlowski, Derivatives, Ebay, Ed Liddy, Electric Vehicles, Eliot Spitzer, Enron, Eric Salzman, Etoys, Fannie Mae, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis, Freddie Mac, Gary Gensler, Generation Investment Management, George W Bush, Germany, Gibson Greetings, Goldman Sachs, Great Depression, Green Growth Fund, Gsamp Trust, Henry Paulson, Horizon Wind Energy, International Monetary Fund, Internet, Internet Bubble, Ipos, Italy, J Arons & CO, Jay Ritter, Jerry Yang, Jim Cramer, Jmp Securities, John Kenneth Galbraith, John Mccain, John Thain, Jon Corzine, Joshua Bolten, Kansas, Keith Olbermann, Ken Lay, Ken Newcombe, Larry Summers, Lehman Brothers, Lloyd Blankfein, Lloyd Doggett, Marcus Goldman, Mark Ferguson, Mark Patterson, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Meg Whitman, Merrill Lynch, Michael Greenberger, Michael Hecht, Michael Masters, Moody's, Nasdaq, National Economic Council, Neel Kashkari, Neil Levin, Netzero, New Jersey, New York, New York City, New York Stock Exchange, New York Times, Nicholas Maier, Oil Bubble, Orange County, Peter Harris, Procter & Gamble, Residential Mortgage-backed Securities, Robert Rubin, Robert Steele, Samuel Sachs, Securities And Exchange Commission, Shenandoah Corporation, Sidney Weinberg, Simon Johnson, Standard & Poor's, Stephen Friedman, Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Texas, Tyco International, US Congress, US Department Of The Treasury, US Energy Information Administration, US Government Accountability Office, United States, University Of Florida, University Of Maryland, Wachovia, Wall Street, Webvan, White House, William Dudley, World Bank, Yahoo Add New Keyword To Link



8/6/2008  Mercedes sues Cobasys over battery deal
Dispute could delay launch of ML450 (Automotive News)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       10
#4 



6/18/2008  5 electric cars you can buy now
With gas prices soaring, plugging in has its appeal. But there are trade-offs: high costs and low speed. (CNN)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       11
#5 



4/4/2008  Penny Stock Investing In Election Years
Oil companies went farther by purchasing editorials in national publications stating, "The environmental benefits of EVs are dubious". (Growth Penny Stocks)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#6 



3/12/2006  Shrink Your Ecological Footprint
each person who eliminates 20 miles of extra driving a week also eliminates nearly 1,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions each year (Washington Post)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       11
#7 



3/2/2006  GM sees mass-market hydrogen cars by 2010-2015
GM has partnered with Toyota Motor Corp for a number of years on developing the experimental fuel-cell technology (Forbes)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#8 



1/18/2006  Toyota Says Its Sales of Hybrids Will Jump 50%
oyota Motor Corp. expects its hybrid auto sales to increase 50% this year. The automaker sold about 150,000 hybrid models in 2005, said Jim Press, president of Toyota's U.S. sales unit. (Los Angeles Times)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#9 



1/1/2006  The California Zero-Emission Vehicle Mandate: A Study of the Policy Process, 1990-2004
The Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, one of the most daring environmental policies related to transportation, was implemented in September, 1990, by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). It originally required that, starting in 1998, 2% of the in- state new light duty vehicle sales of major automakers had no emissions of criteria pollutants. The required ZEV percentage would be increased to 5% in 2001 and to 10% in 2003. CARB organized biennial reviews of the programs, to elicit stakeholder participation and monitor the evolution of the program. Through this review schedule, the program underwent several revisions resulting from intense policy debates. This dissertation research is concerned with the study of the policy process over the ZEV mandate, from its conception, through its inception, and the biennial reviews, until 2004. The study is structured as three core chapters. The first chapter studies the origin of the ZEV mandate, trying to understand the conditions that favored and the factors that resulted in its implementation. To guide the study in this chapter, I use the Multiple Streams theoretical framework. The second chapter presents an empirical study of the policy process during the biennial reviews. This study aims at understanding the dynamics of policy change and coalition stability, identifying the policy dimensions that dominated the debate over time. I use the Advocacy Coalition Framework to frame the study in this chapter theoretically. The third core chapter presents a theoretical study of the strategic policy behavior of the main actors in the policy process. I develop a game- theoretical model of an environmental regulator (CARB) that needs to set emission standards in the presence of multiple industry players (automakers), who in turn need to decide on their level of compliance in the presence of a competitor. The model presented improves over previous published work in the subject. The results of these studies yield numerous conclusions with both theoretical and practical implications. I find that Multiple Streams is useful to understand the origin of the ZEV mandate, while I identify and/or confirm arguments by other scholars about significant limitations in the framework. Through the analysis of the public testimonies given by stakeholders at the biennial reviews, I identify the policy areas of major concern at different points in time along the policy process. I also identify the policy positions of each stakeholder and obtain estimates of the groups of stakeholders with similar policy beliefs (belief coalitions.) I find that these belief coalitions show some stability over time, though less than what was found by previous studies. One of the major conclusions from the model of strategic behavior is that the competitiveness of the auto industry tends to preclude collusion. The regulator may use this industry competitiveness to its advantage and achieve higher social benefits. (University of California)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#10 



1/1/2006  Who Killed the Electric Car?
s a 2006 documentary film that explores the creation, limited commercialization, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid 1990s. The film explores the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology. It was released on DVD to the home video market on November 14, 2006 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. During an interview with CBS News, director Chris Paine announced that he would be making a sequel: Who Saved the Electric Car?, later renamed Revenge of the Electric Car. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#11 



11/4/2005  Hybrid popularity grows as SUV models take hold
With gas prices fluctuating -- topping $3 in the Chicago area in early September to around $2.50 now --"it's a lot less painful" to fill the Prius (Chicago Tribune)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#12 



10/1/2005  Port, partners woo hybrid car industry: enthusiasts say new breed of vehicles get great fuel mileage, improve air quality and could produce manufacturing jobs for the Valley (Wenatchee Business Journal)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#13 



9/21/2005  The Promise of Plug-In Hybrids
I am riding in a customized 2005 Toyota Prius traveling just under 35 mph, and the central display console shows we’re getting 99.9 miles per gallon. We’re actually doing much better than that, but the Prius’ mileage monitor can’t display anything more than three digits. (Mother Earth News)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#14 



5/25/2005  Electric cars bypassed: New auto technology arises Hybrids, hydrogen fuel vehicles are the latest favorites
But the growing popularity of hybrid cars and an upcoming state "Hydrogen Highway" proposal highlight how other cheaper, more convenient or politically expedient technologies have leapfrogged the vehicles powered by rechargeable batteries (Sacramento Bee)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       10
#15 



1/10/2005  GM's Fuel-Cell Cars Still Face Obstacles
General Motors Corp. says one problem has been solved, but two remain in making hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered vehicles viable by the automaker's 2010 target (Chicago Tribune)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#16 



7/7/2004  ECD Ovonics Announces Settlement in Patent Infringement Dispute
COBASYS and Panasonic EV Energy to cooperate in the development of next-generation state-of-the-art nickel metal hydride batteries (Ovonic)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#17 



4/7/2004  Saving money -- and gas
5 Tips: Saving money on your car - the AAA says the current national average for regular gas is a record $1.77 per gallon (CNN)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#18 



3/1/2004  Texaco Ovonic Changes Name to COBASYS
The name change reflects the company's emphasis on nickel metal hydride storage technology (Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Today)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       10
#19 



10/22/2003  Leased and Abandoned: Revolt of the EV-1 Lovers
That move has set off a contentious debate between the automaker, which introduced the model with great fanfare in 1996 but now says that demand was not high enough to justify keeping it on the market, and drivers like Mr. Horton, who not only like the car's environmental qualities but also the two-seater's pep and handling (New York Times)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       10
#20 



3/11/2003  GM Pulls Plug On Electric Car
Automaker Spent $1 Billion On Program; Never Sold One (CBS)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#21 



1/29/2003  CaFCP Comments on President Bush's State of the Union Announcement on Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Vehicles; Invites the President to Visit
California Fuel Cell Partnership Chairman Alan Lloyd today released the following statement following President Bush's State of the Union speech, and his reference in support of hydrogen fuel and fuel cell vehicle development: "It's heartening to hear the positive words of President Bush in support of hydrogen and fuel cell development. Federal support is timely and valuable, as we confront the remaining hurdles to commercialization. We're making great strides here in California, where the California Fuel Cell Partnership is already demonstrating fuel cell-powered cars in real-world use. I invite the president to come out and see what our auto and energy partners are doing here, and how our progress will lead to environmental improvement, energy efficiency, energy diversity, and new economic opportunity." (Business Wire)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#22 



10/15/2002  Editorial: Bush vs. California
Clean Air Attack Hits Home - The amicus brief the Bush Justice Department filed on behalf of car companies suing California is just the latest attack and the one that hits closest to home (Sacramento Bee)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#23 



10/10/2002  White House Joins Fight Against Electric Cars
The Bush administration went to court today to support the automobile industry's effort to eliminate requirements in California that auto manufacturers sell electric cars. President Bush's chief of staff, Andrew H. Card Jr., was the chief lobbyist for General Motors, one of the plaintiffs in the case. Mr. Card was also head of an auto industry trade association when California proposed to require electric vehicles, and has publicly opposed such a requirement. Under California clean air rules, 10 percent of the vehicles sold in the 2003 to 2008 model years must be electric or ''zero-emission vehicles.'' But the state, recognizing that the car companies were not ready to meet that goal, offered to let them sell hybrid vehicles, which run on gasoline and electricity, to satisfy part of the requirement. Still, the industry wants to avoid having quotas at all and was not satisfied with that relaxation of the rules. It sued the state, arguing that the hybrid provision violated federal law. (New York Times)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#24 



1/1/2002  Ford TH!NK
The Ford TH!NK was a line of electric vehicles produced by the TH!NK Mobility, then an enterprise of Ford Motor Company. The short-lived line included four models: the TH!NK Neighbor and the TH!NK City, small electric automobiles, and the TH!NK Bike Traveler and the TH!NK Bike Fun, electric-powered motorized bicycle. The TH!NK line suffered from recalls and poor sales and was cancelled in 2002. Ford sold its stock, and the resulting company, Think Global, continues to produce electric cars in Norway. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#25 



1/1/2002  The Ties That Blind
Big Oil Goes Hunting for Electric Cars in California. If It Wins, We All Lose - "The AAMA is conducting a search for a qualified contractor to manage a statewide grassroots and educational campaign in California to create a climate in which the state's mandate requiring automakers to produce a fixed percentage of electric vehicles beginning in 1998 can be repealed," (The Environmental Magazine)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       11
#26 



12/14/2001  City and LADWP Officials Laud Toyota for Selling Electric Vehicles; First Time That Consumers Will be Able to Purchase Rather Than Only Lease Electric Vehicles
Use of Emission-Free Electric Vehicles Helps Achieve Energy (Business Wire)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       10
#27 



6/27/2001  Running on Empty
Detroit automakers have spent millions attempting to unplug California's effort to put electric cars on the road. And so far, Detroit's succeeding. (SF Weekly)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       12
#28 



6/1/2001  Development and Use of GREET 1.6 Fuel-Cycle Model for Transportation Fuels and Vehicle Technologies (Department of Energy)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       11
#29 



3/6/2001  ECD Announces Ovonic Battery Is Filing A Lawsuit Against Matsushita Battery
The lawsuit charges that MBI's hybrid electric vehicle batteries, battery components and battery systems infringe patents held by Ovonic Battery (Ovonic)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#30 



10/23/2000  GM will sell its 60% stake in battery maker to Texaco.(General Motors, Texaco Inc., GM-Ovonic LLC)
General Motors is selling its stake in a battery-making joint venture to Texaco Inc. in hopes that an energy company can lower the costs of nickel-metal-hydride batteries. GM still plans to buy batteries for future electric and hybrid vehicles from GM-Ovonic LLC, a 6-year-old venture with Ovonic Battery Co. (Automotive News)
posted: 7/28/09       0       9
#31 
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10/10/2000  Texaco To Buy GM's Share in Ovonics
Texaco Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy General Motors Corp.'s majority share of a company that develops high-capacity batteries for hybrid vehicles that run on gas and electric power (Associated Press)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#32 



10/1/2000  The Global Market for Electric Vehicles
Industry Overview - Worldwide sales of electric vehicles are slated to increase at the rate of sixty percent per annum in the coming years (Business Economics)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       10
#33 



1/1/2000  GM Says It Will Continue to Make EV1s
(Electric Vehicle Online Today)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       9
#34 



4/11/1999  Gas Cost Has SUV Drivers Fuming; Electric-Car Owners Not Shocked
Accustomed to riding high as kings of the road, sport-utility drivers are getting less-than-royal treatment at the gas pump these days--while drivers of electric cars are enjoying a moment of vindication (Los Angeles Times)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#35 



1/1/1999  Honda EV Plus
was the first battery electric vehicle from a major automaker with non-lead acid batteries. Roughly 340 EV Plus models were produced and released. The EV Plus was taken out of production in 1999 when Honda announced the release of its first hybrid electric vehicle, the Honda Insight. The EV Plus was made to meet California Air Resources Board requirements for zero-emission vehicles, the same as General Motors' new EV1. It served as a test bed for the pancake-style motor, electronic control unit, power control unit and NiMh battery later used in Honda hybrids and developed further in the first FCX Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles made from returned EV PLUS chassis. The EV Plus featured on-board conductive charging with the Avcon connector, passive battery balancing, regenerative braking and deceleration, AC/heat-pump climate control, HID headlights, 4 seats, and electrically heated windshield. Units deployed in cold climates also had oil-fired heaters for faster cabin heating and passenger comfort. As with virtually all vehicles, range was affected by driving style: rapid acceleration, high speeds, and fast stops lowered the range significantly. EPA rated at 125 miles (240 km), careful driving would give it a range of just over 100 miles (160 km). The EV Plus came with a 12 V battery for running normal 12 volt accessories and lighting. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#36 



12/18/1998  The Electric Home-Drive Acid Test
Test-drive an electric car, and at first the sensation of quiet overwhelms all else -- except, perhaps, the anxiety about how much energy remains in the batteries (New York Times)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       8
#37 
keywords: Alternative Energy, Big Oil, Edison Electric Institute, Electric Vehicles, Toyota, United States Add New Keyword To Link



1/1/1998  Ford Ranger EV
is a battery electric vehicle produced by Ford Motor Company. It was produced starting in the 1998 model year through 2002 and is no longer in production. It is built upon a light truck chassis used in the Ford Ranger. A few vehicles with lead-acid batteries were sold, but most units were leased for fleet use. A few persistent and interested private parties were able to obtain leases over a period of three to five years. All leases were terminated in 2003-04, and the vehicles were recalled. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#38 



1/1/1998  General Motors EV1 TV Commercial
(ad launch date estimated for now) (General Motors)
posted: 10/5/10      
            		 0       3
#39 



1/1/1998  Nissan R'nessa
is a station wagon manufactured by Nissan from 1997 to 2001. According to Nissan, the name derives from "packaging renaissance for versatile, spacious comfort on wheels." It was produced by Nissan from October 1997 to July 2001, and competed with the Toyota Opa and the Honda Avancier. Powering the 2WD models was the SR20DE engine, The X and G models with a 4WD specification were fitted with the KA24DE engine. The GT Turbo model came with the SR20DET engine and was AWD. [edit] Nissan Altra The R'nessa was also equipped with a magnet neodymium 62 kW electric motor and run on lithium ion batteries manufactured by Sony and used for testing in California, and had a range of 230 km (140 mi) between a charging interval of 5 hours, and a charge-discharge cycle over 1,000 times. The batteries were installed beneath the floor. The Nissan Altra was an electric car produced by Nissan Motors between 1998 and 2002. The Nissan Altra was introduced at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on 29 December 1997. Nissan described the Altra as a combination of a sedan, SUV, and minivan. It was mainly used as a fleet vehicle for companies such as electric utilities. Only about 200 vehicles were ever produced. It used the bodystyle of the Nissan R'nessa. Technologically, the Altra was significant as being the first production electric vehicle to use a lithium-ion battery (li-ion) battery. Nissan called this a third-generation battery (after lead acid and nickel metal hydride) and chose li-ion primarily for its power density. It was managed by a passive system, ensuring the batteries never reach charge levels outside their recommended zones. The Altra had a permanent magnet synchronous motor, controlled by a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer computer processor. It had other more typical features, such as keyless entry, power mirrors and windows, a 4-wheel anti-lock braking system, and regenerative braking. According to Nissan, the Altra had a maximum range of 120 miles (190 km). The Environmental Protection Agency reported that the 2000 version had an adjusted mileage (miles per equivalent of a gasoline gallon) of 117 mpg-US (2.01 L/100 km; 141 mpg-imp) the city, and 130 mpg-US (1.8 L/100 km; 160 mpg-imp) on the highway. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#40 



5/12/1997  Car battery-maker running out of time
The U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium will not fund further Ovonic research beyond this year, and Adams must find a market for the battery (Crain's Detroit Business)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       8
#41 
keywords: Alternative Energy, Big Oil, Electric Vehicles, General Motors, Ovonic, US Advanced Battery Consortium, United States Add New Keyword To Link



3/1/1997  The ties that blind: big oil goes hunting for electric cars in California
includes related article on General Motor Corp.'s influence on public opinion and state legislation (The Environmental Magazine)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       9
#42 



1/8/1997  Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; California--Ozone
EPA is approving revisions to the California State Implementation Plan (SIP) for ozone for 6 nonattainment areas: South Coast, Southeast Desert, Ventura, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Joaquin Valley. In addition, EPA is approving specific local and statewide air pollution control measures, including the California enhanced motor vehicle inspection and maintenance program. (Environmental Protection Agency)
posted: 7/28/09                   0       8
#43 



1/1/1997  Toyota RAV4 EV
was an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota. It was leased from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. As of 2010 there are 800 units still in use. In July 2010 Toyota announced that is working together with Tesla Motors to develop a second generation RAV4 EV, and the companies expect the vehicle to be mass produced by 2012. The first fleet version of the RAV4 EV became available on a limited basis in 1997. In 2001 it was possible for businesses, cities or utilities to lease one or two of these cars. Toyota then actually sold or leased 328 RAV4 EVs to the general public in 2003, at which time the program was terminated despite waiting lists of prospective customers. The RAV4 EV closely resembles the regular internal combustion engine (ICE) version-without a tailpipe-and has a governed top speed of 78 mph (~126 km/h) with a range of 100 to 120 miles (160 to 190 km). The 95 amp-hour NiMH battery pack has a capacity of 27 kWh, charges inductively and has proven to be surprisingly durable. Some RAV4 EVs have achieved over 150,000 miles (240,000 km) on the original battery pack. It was also one of the few vehicles with a single speed automatic transmission at that time. Besides the batteries, controller and motor, the remaining systems in the RAV4 EV are comparable to the gas-powered RAV4, such as power brakes, power steering, air conditioning, tire wear and suspension components except for the power sources involved. The power brakes use an electric pump to provide vacuum instead of deriving vacuum from the engine manifold while the power steering and air conditioning systems use electric motors instead of mechanical energy delivered by fan belts. The passenger compartment heater is electrical. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#44 



2/9/1996  State of California Air Resources Board -- STAFF REPORT: INITIAL STATEMENT OF RULEMAKING -- PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE ZERO-EMISSION VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS FOR PASSENGER CARS AND LIGHT-DUTY TRUCKS
The Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) regulations, adopted by the California Air Resources Board (“ARB” or “Board”) in 1990, are a critical element of California’s plan to meet federal and state health-based ambient air quality standards. The zero- emission vehicle (ZEV) requirement is an integral part of the LEV program and is intended to secure increasing air quality benefits for California over the long-term. Under the ZEV regulation, beginning in 1998 two percent of the vehicles produced and delivered for sale in California by the seven largest auto manufacturers must be ZEVs. That percentage increases to five percent in 2001 and ten percent in 2003. When the ZEV requirement was adopted the Board acknowledged that many ZEV-related issues, including questions regarding the cost of developing the technology necessary to produce ZEVs and the marketability of these new vehicles, would have to be addressed prior to the 1998 implementation date. The Board committed to biennial reviews of the LEV program, including the ZEV requirement, to provide a forum for answering these questions. Thus as the Board took this bold step forward, there was a clear recognition that it might be necessary to make interim course adjustments to find the best and surest track to the ultimate destination -- cleaner air for California. The proposal in this report is the result of the third biennial review of the LEV program. In preparation for this review, the ARB held a series of public forums during 1995 to solicit comments on virtually all aspects of the ZEV requirement, and retained an independent panel of experts to report on the readiness of electric vehicle battery technology for the 1998 model year implementation. Based on the results of the review process, the staff proposes amendments to the LEV regulations to eliminate the percentage ZEV requirements through the 2002 model year. This proposal is intended to preserve, not abandon the ZEV program. In fact several manufacturers have indicated that they will introduce ZEVs for sale in California by 1998. By suspending the percentage requirements for five years, staff seeks to capitalize on these efforts and ensure the successful launch of a sustainable ZEV market that will provide air quality benefits in California through 2010 and beyond. The current ten percent ZEV production requirement in the 2003 model year would remain unchanged. Staff has concluded that this action will not have a long- term adverse economic impact on California. The staff further recommends the ARB enter into memoranda of agreement, or MOAs, with each of the seven major automakers subject to pre-2003 ZEV requirements. The MOAs formalize the automakers’ enforceable commitments to introduce low-emission vehicles nationwide in 2001, three years earlier than could be required under federal law. The emission reductions associated with this commitment will offset the emission reductions associated with the 1998-2002 ZEV requirements plus a premium, ensuring California’s commitments under the state implementation plan. The MOAs also formalize the manufacturers commitment to participate in a Technology Development Partnership. Under the MOAs the automakers will carry out demonstration projects designed to validate advanced technology batteries consistent with the recommendations of the battery panel and will continue funding of ZEV- related technology research and development. (California Air Resources Board)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#45 



1/1/1996  General Motors EV1
was an electric car produced and leased by the General Motors Corporation from 1996 to 1999.[1] It was the first mass-produced and purpose-designed electric vehicle of the modern era from a major automaker, and the first GM car designed to be an electric vehicle from the outset. The decision to mass-produce an electric car came after GM received a favorable reception for its 1990 Impact electric concept car, upon which the design of the EV1 drew heavily. Inspired partly by the Impact's perceived potential for success, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) subsequently passed a mandate that made the production and sale of zero-emission vehicles a requirement for the seven major automakers selling cars in the United States to continue to market their vehicles in California. The EV1 was made available through limited lease-only agreements, initially to residents of the cities of Los Angeles, California and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.[2] EV1 lessees were officially participants in a "real-world engineering evaluation" and market study into the feasibility of producing and marketing a commuter electric vehicle in select U.S. markets undertaken by GM's Advanced Technology Vehicles group.[3][4] The cars were not available for purchase, and could be serviced only at designated Saturn dealerships. Within a year of the EV1's release, leasing programs were also launched in San Francisco and Sacramento, California, along with a limited program in the state of Georgia. While customer reaction to the EV1 was positive, GM believed that electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market as they were only able to lease 800 units in face of production costs of US$1 billion over four years.[5] An alliance of the major automakers litigated the CARB regulation in court, resulting in a slackening of the ZEV stipulation, permitting the companies to produce super-low-emissions vehicles, natural gas vehicles, and hybrid cars in place of pure electrics. The EV1 program was subsequently discontinued in 2002, and all cars on the road were repossessed. Lessees were not given the option to purchase their cars from GM, which cited parts, service, and liability regulations. The majority of the repossessed EV1s were crushed, and the rest delivered to museums and educational institutes with their electric powertrains deactivated, under the agreement that the cars were not to be reactivated and driven on the road. The EV1's discontinuation remains controversial, with electric car enthusiasts, environmental interest groups and former EV1 lessees accusing GM of self-sabotaging its electric car program to avoid potential losses in spare parts sales (sales forced by government regulations), while also blaming the oil industry for conspiring to keep electric cars off the road. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#46 



6/1/1994  Oil companies advance RFG against rising anti-oil feelings
Oil companies argue that reformulated gasoline (RFG) remains the best choice among other alternative fuels (altfuels) in the market (National Petroleum News)
posted: 7/29/09                   0       8
#47 



12/31/1969  Electric Car 1890s to 1900s: Early history
Before the pre-eminence of internal combustion engines, electric automobiles held many speed and distance records. Among the most notable of these records was the breaking of the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed barrier, by Camille Jenatzy on April 29, 1899 in his 'rocket-shaped' vehicle Jamais Contente, which reached a top speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph). Before the 1920s, electric automobiles were competing with petroleum-fueled cars for urban use of a quality service car. In 1897, electric vehicles found their first commercial application in the U.S. as a fleet of electrical New York City taxis, built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia. Electric cars were produced in the US by Anthony Electric, Baker, Columbia, Anderson, Edison [disambiguation needed], Studebaker, Riker, Milburn, and others during the early 20th century. The low range of electric cars meant they could not make use of the new highways to travel between cities Despite their relatively slow speed, electric vehicles had a number of advantages over their early-1900s competitors. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. They did not require gear changes, which for gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving. Electric cars found popularity among well-heeled customers who used them as city cars, where their limited range proved to be even less of a disadvantage. The cars were also preferred because they did not require a manual effort to start, as did gasoline cars which featured a hand crank to start the engine. Electric cars were often marketed as suitable vehicles for women drivers due to this ease of operation. In 1911, the New York Times stated that the electric car has long been recognized as "ideal" because it was cleaner, quieter and much more economical than gasoline-powered cars. Reporting this in 2010, the Washington Post commented that "the same unreliability of electric car batteries that flummoxed Thomas Edison persists today."[23] Acceptance of electric cars was initially hampered by a lack of power infrastructure, but by 1912, many homes were wired for electricity, enabling a surge in the popularity of the cars. At the turn of the century, 40 percent of American automobiles were powered by steam, 38 percent by electricity, and 22 percent by gasoline. 33,842 electric cars were registered in the United States, and the United States of America became the country where electric cars had gained the most acceptance. Sales of electric cars peaked in 1912. Proposed as early as 1896 in order to overcome the lack of recharging infrastructure, a exchangeable battery service was first put into practice by Hartford Electric Light Company for electric trucks. The vehicle owner purchased the vehicle from General Electric Company (GVC) without a battery and the electricity was purchased from Hartford Electric through an exchangeable battery. The owner paid a variable per-mile charge and a monthly service fee to cover maintenance and storage of the truck. The service was provided between 1910 to 1924 and during that period covered more than 6 million miles. Beginning in 1917 a similar service was operated in Chicago for owners of Milburn Light Electric cars who also could buy the vehicle without the batteries. (Wikipedia)
posted: 10/5/10                   0       3
#48 




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