Jun 23 2004

All Charged Up

by Megan Edwards

The idea of powering a car with electricity is nothing new. As far back as the mid-nineteenth century, inventors were motorizing carriages with batteries. Even back when the word “smog” had yet to be coined, the advantage of electricity over petroleum-based fuels was obvious. Electric cars were cleaner, quieter, and a lot easier to start up.

Now that gas-powered cars have electric ignition systems, that last advantage has long since fallen by the wayside. But as gas prices continue to climb and the atmosphere turns increasingly brown, the other features battery power can provide seem ever more appealing.

“So why aren’t more people using this kind of technology?” Al Greer asked last Saturday morning. Al, of the Free Energy Store here in Las Vegas, was addressing members of the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association, who were holding their monthly meeting at the Clark County Library on Flamingo Road. Why not, indeed? I wondered. It seems like we all should have been zapping about like the Energizer bunny a long time ago.

I had come to the perfect assemblage to learn the answer. Las Vegas, in keeping with its high-wattage reputation, is home to a number of electric vehicle aficionados. The LVEVA is their forum for swapping ideas, solutions, gripes, and victories.

The meeting was appealingly free-form in style. After calling the group to order, current chapter president Bill Kuehl reported the balance in the club’s checking account. That was the extent of the agenda, and discussion erupted in all directions. Topics emerged mainly in response to questions like Al Greer’s, but other subjects included the Boulder City Fourth of July parade, in which several members plan to drive their electric cars. Board member Richard Furniss talked about “Wicked Watts,” a drag race for electric cars that will be held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in August.

As conversation continued, one member described his frustrating attempts to get an electric vehicle registered with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, and another explained how to involve engineering students at UNLV in designing and constructing prototypes. Jan Himber wondered why Toyota couldn’t sell a “plug-in” Prius hybrid, allowing the user to have the option of running solely on electricity for short trips. Another member reported that Toyota does sell them that way—in Japan. Questions about tax incentives came up, along with the news that Nevada offers no benefits for drivers of “green” vehicles. Al D’Inzillo gave a progress report on his Fiat Spyder, which he’s converting into a gas-electric hybrid. Russ Lord, also of the Free Energy Store, described a tent equipped with photo-voltaic cells that could charge up an electric car while keeping it in the shade.

After the meeting, I chatted with Al Sawyer and Stan Hanel in the parking lot. Al Sawyer is the founder of Lectra Motors, a Las Vegas company that produced several highly regarded electric car models back in the eighties. Both he and Stan drive Lectras, which were built on Datsun chassis. Their enthusiasm for electric car technology was so infectious I began to wonder if I might—just maybe—be able to get to like messing around with amps and actuators. How cool, I kept thinking to myself, to glide along silently and never have to touch a gas nozzle again. And did you know that with an electric car, you can start up the air conditioning a few minutes before you get in? That’s a big plus during a Las Vegas summer.

But when all was said and done, and I was driving away in my environmentally incorrect car, I knew I could never join the crowd that enjoys spending the weekend weighing the merits of lead-acid versus nickel-cadmium and scavenging old golf carts for parts. An electric car would not provide me with endless hours of enjoyment. For me, those endless hours would be work.

I’m afraid I must wait until some major car manufacturer succeeds in creating an electric vehicle that truly qualifies as “plug and play.” The new crop of hybrids is an encouraging step in that direction. Maybe someday soon, we can all save money, reduce dependency on foreign oil, clean up the air, reduce noise levels, and put an end to the phenomenon of exploding gas tanks. In the meantime, for those trailblazers who are hard wired with that special pioneering spark, there’s the Las Vegas Electrical Vehicle Association.

Leave a Reply