Who “killed” the electric car? It wasn’t General Motors —
despite the innuendoes floated by conspiracy theorists who believe
the world’s largest automaker was more interested in suppressing
electric vehicle technology than developing it.
In fact, if you want to affix blame for the failure of the
electric car, Uncle Sam deserves at least a partial share of the
blame. Here’s why:
A chief defect of electric cars is their relatively short range
— typically less than 100 miles, under ideal conditions — before
they have to be plugged in for an extended recharging session of
several hours’ duration. Fleet operators running the same route
every day — and who know they’ll make it back to an electrical
outlet before their ride sputters to a halt by the side of the road
— might be able to work around the limited flexibility of an
electric car’s minimalist range and lengthy power-up times. But the
average civilian driver hasn’t got the time or patience for
either.
Even as a commuter-car, there are just too many potential
hassles. The prospect of being stuck in an unanticipated traffic
jam, for example — and watching the “charge” meter slide ominously
to the left and knowing you can’t just add a couple gallons of fuel
and be back in business — was more than enough to keep most buyers
away.
So how does Uncle Sam fit into this?
An electric car’s range/performance is a function of its weight.
The more it weighs, the less its potential range — and the worse
its overall performance. Government regulations — specifically,
those having to do with mandatory safety equipment such as air bags
and bumper-impact/crash-worthiness requirements — have made all
modern cars (including electric cars) heavier by several hundred
pounds relative to otherwise equivalent cars of the past. A typical
2007 model economy compact like the Honda Civic, for instance, has
a curb weight of 2,586 pounds. A typical econo-compact of the
pre-air bag/pre-safety '70s like the old VW Beetle weighed only
about 2,000 pounds soaking wet.
Now consider the GM EV-1, the ultra-compact two-seater electric
car that GM supposedly “killed.” It weighed nearly 3,000 pounds, or
comparable to the curb weight of a current-year mid-sized sedan.
Granted, the battery pack that powered the EV-1 weighed the car
down — but it’s also true that before GM could offer the EV-1 to
the public, it had to comply with the various DOT and NHTSA ukases
that all new cars must comply with — including the “passive
safety” requirement that forces automakers to put dual front seat
air bags in all new vehicles.
Air bags can save lives, but that’s not the issue here. What is
relevant (in terms of making an electric car viable as a mass
market vehicle) is that air bags and other government safety
mandates add to the weight of any new car — and every pound over
about 2,000 pounds that an electric car weighs makes it that much
less viable as a mass market car.
Several electric car prototypes have achieved much higher ranges
than the EV-1; some on the order of 150-200 miles on a single
charge. That would be enough to make them credible to at least some
buyers who would never consider an electric car like the EV-1,
which began to run dry in less than 75 miles of typical driving.
But these prototypes were also much lighter than the EV-1 — and
bereft of the mandated extras that Uncle Sam insists you must have.
And so they could never be more than engineering exercises; the
government would not permit them to be sold to the public — no
matter how “green” they happen to be.
The electric car is thus in a Catch-22 situation. In order for
one to achieve a consumer-acceptable range, it must be lighter —
absent some as-yet-unrealized breakthrough in battery technology.
But in order for it to be lawfully salable, government edicts
render it over-heavy and thus, able to operate only for short
distances under ideal conditions.
GM didn’t have to lift a finger to kill the electric car;
Washington handled the “hit” without even being asked.
IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT a consumer-acceptable electric vehicle
could be built - and sold for a reasonable price, too. (Another of
the EV-1’s problems, also related to federal ukases, was its $32k
price tag — an amount equivalent to the cost of an entry-luxury
sport sedan such as a new BMW 3-Series.) However, it would first be
necessary for Washington to call off the DOT/NHTSA dogs, or at
least grant an exemption of some kind for electric vehicles. Maybe
let people considering an electric choose whether to equip their
vehicle with air bags, for example in order to eke another 20 miles
of range out of the thing. This would also help lower the price of
the cars, too — a further inducement to buy.
They might be less safe. But they would probably sell.
Which matters more: A theoretical higher risk of injury in a
crash that may never happen? Or consumer-acceptable electric
cars?
Don’t look for that to happen, though. Washington values its
power and prerogatives more than it cares about “promoting
alternative technologies” — including the electric car. GM and
other automakers working to develop electric vehicles did all they
could. But there’s only so much they could do with one arm tied
behind their back — and 500 or so extra pounds of deadweight per
vehicle wrapped around their necks.
Michael Moore won’t tell you about all this. I just did.
