Plug In America notes $4+ gas; calls on consumers to wait for plug-ins
Plug In America, a California-based nonprofit organization that advocates the use plug-in cars, has taken note of our crossing the threshold of a $4 per gallon national average for gasoline prices. The group, originally organized to fight the crushing of the electric cars produced to meet California's Zero Emission Mandate of the 1990s, has become a major player in the push for vehicle electrification. After a partially successful attempt to strengthen the California regulations - the revised Mandate now calls for more plug-in hybrids but fewer electric cars - they are calling on consumers to exercise their power. Linda Nichols, president of the organization, says "Call Toyota, call GM, call Ford, call them all and tell them that you won't buy another car until it can be plugged in and charged with electricity." A number of auto makers, including GM and Nissan, have announced plug-in cars in the 2010-2012 time frame. Full press release after the jump. [Full disclosure: I am on the Board of Plug In America]Press Release:
With Gas at $4/Gallon Average, Plug In America Calls on Americans to Demand Electric Cars
Electric Car Advocacy Group Urges Americans to Call the Auto Companies and Demand Electrics
JUNE 8, 2008--As gas hits $4 a gallon nationwide, Plug In America (PIA) calls on citizens from coast to coast to demand that automakers manufacture Electric Vehicles (EV) so that they can dump the pump.
"Call Toyota, call GM, call Ford, call them all and tell them that you won't buy another car until it can be plugged in and charged with electricity," said Linda Nicholes, president of PIA, the organization leading the nation's electric car movement. "Americans must demand the choice to drive cars that run on cleaner, cheaper, domestic electricity."
In fact, Nicholes pays the equivalent of 83-cents per gallon of gas to drive her zero-emission EV, in a comparison made with U.S. Dept. of Energy data. Furthermore, because EVs have motors with scant moving parts instead of engines, the Anaheim, CA resident has not once paid for parts, maintenance, a tune up or an oil change in 66,000 miles of driving. She has never had to hook her car up to the gas pump.
Some 20 auto companies are developing all-electric or plug-in hybrid electric cars. Even where such cars are charged with electricity produced by older, dirtier coal plants, they emit fewer greenhouse gasses than gasoline vehicles, according to a 2007 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Electric Power Research Institute.
Americans, however, must make it abundantly clear that we want a more environmentally responsible form of transportation and that that there will be a vast market for electric cars. Thousands of EVs were crushed by Toyota, GM and other automakers in the early to mid-2000s as portrayed in the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" And consumers, the award-winning film concluded, were among those guilty of the crime.
Plug In America has published a list of major auto companies and appropriate phone numbers on its website at http://www.pluginamerica.org/action.shtm and encourages Americans to take action now.
"We must not let promises to produce EVs vaporize like the distant memory of $2-per-gallon gas," Nicholes said. "Taking this stand is also boldly patriotic because the money we spend on electricity stays here at home. It strengthens our own economy, not the cold blooded regimes of rogue terrorists abroad."
Gasoline rose to a national average of $4 for the first time, motorist group AAA reported Sunday. The price is far higher in many cities across the country.
Plug In America is a California-based nonprofit organization that advocates the use plug-in cars, trucks and SUVs powered by cleaner, cheaper, domestic electricity to reduce our nation's dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. For more information: www.pluginamerica.org.
[Source: Plug In America]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
alcatholic 8:57PM (6/09/2008)
What electric car options are there today? I assume they would need to be used or custom mods, but I would be interested.
What most piques my interest in the great reliability (fewer moving parts) Nicholes talked about.
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len simpson 9:41PM (6/09/2008)
Wonder if the motel room rate will include plugging in ?
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BlackbirdHighway 10:04PM (6/09/2008)
There is not much available if you want to drive an electric or plug-in hybrid car right now.
Occasionally a RAV4EV will show up on ebay, and go for an outrageously huge price. Same for the rarely seen Ranger EV. ZAP has their Xebra, which has only three wheels and has quite limited speed and range. Myers has the NMG, also has a three wheeler but has highway speed, still only a 30 mile range.
Tesla is selling (fast) and shipping (slowly) their cars, but it's about a 15 month wait in between ordering and driving, and big, big price tag. Still, you get a 220 mile range and sports car performance.
Most everything else is still in development: Aptera, Chevy Volt, Fisker Karma, etc. Th!nk is available now if you live in Norway, sometime in 2009 for other parts of Europe, later on for the US.
More and more people are starting to see the appeal of not buying any more gasoline. The times are changing.
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alcatholic 10:57PM (6/09/2008)
Thanks, BlackbirdHighway. The times they are certainly achanging.
When the EV1 came out in 97, I was 22. I had my first used car at the time, but I told myself that year that my first new car would be electric. I never had much money, got married and had other used cars. Then they cancelled the EV1, so I never thought much of my old dream until the Prius came out. I told myself, OK maybe our first new car could be a hybrid. But still not much money and still had our used car, so I never even looked into how much the Prius cost.
But this year my wife finally finished her studies and started working as a nurse. Finally,I looked up the price for the Prius, and saw that it was not bad at all. Almost a no brainer since we only have a 6 year old and plan only one more child. So it looks like that old dream of a hybrid might come true, and now I'm thinking what about that original big dream of an electric car.
It's an exciting year, it feels like the beginning of the future. Cars are so central to American culture and energy use that this change in the air will be no small thing. Yet, it does seem like if 2008 is the year of the Hybrid, I'll have to wait until 2010 for the year of the electric car.
Maybe, the hybrid will be my wife's, and I'll keep my pre-marriage dream alive by waiting for an electric car as MY first new car. :)
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alcatholic 11:01PM (6/09/2008)
BlackbirdHighway,
Where did you learn about all the different electric car options, past and future? Are you a writer on this blog or somewhere else?
You knew exactly the background and context I was looking for, so I wouldn't mind keeping in touch.
Thanks!
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ElectricCarDriver 2:03AM (6/10/2008)
There are some other exciting EV startups out there that BlackbirdHighway didn't mention.
Phoenix Motors
- http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com
and Hybrid Technologies
- http://www.hybridtechnologies.com
Both companies have EV's that are capable of 75+ mph and can go over a hundred miles on a charge.
The phoenix cars can take a charge in ten minutes with their new battery technology from Altairnano http://www.altairnano.com
Phoenix has a Truck and a SUV option ranging from $47-53k.
Hybrid technologies gives you options such as a PT Cruiser, a Toyota Yaris, a Think and a Mini. They basically gut the cars gas engines and drive trains. Then they add an electric motor and drive train. The Yaris EV is $39k which is the most affordable and practical EV that I have seen out there.
Yes to electric!!
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alcatholic 4:36AM (6/10/2008)
Thanks, ElectricCarDriver!
That Yaris option is tempting! I will look into both those companies.
If you don't mind my asking, what other blogs or websites do you use to keep up with these developments?
Thanks!
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BlackbirdHighway 4:58AM (6/10/2008)
I think Pheonix is still in development. Hybrid Technologies is selling conversions now, but I haven't heard if any has been delivered.
Another way to go is the Hymotion conversion of a Prius into a plug-in hybrid. That's available right now.
I just started getting interested after "Who Killed The Electric Car". There is a lot of information on the internet. This site alone has a wealth of information, although it may take some digging to find your way through old articles, if you don't know exactly what your looking for.
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Phil L. 8:32AM (6/10/2008)
alcatholic -
I keep up on various EV developments in several places.
Decent industry news:
http://www.evworld.com
Two active locations for used EV sales:
http://www.evfinder.com/classifieds.htm
http://www.austinev.org/evtradinpost/
A wide variety of EV news (well, not all of it useful):
http://www.electrifyingtimes.com/
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GoodCheer 9:11AM (6/10/2008)
I would also like to remind folks that you can buy a 4 door, 5 seat, 95 mph, 120 mile range, 7 sec 0-60 eBox from ACPropulsion. They are still pricy, but change is in the wind. We'll probably be hearing exciting news from them in a few months.
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goehring 9:15AM (6/10/2008)
"The Yaris EV is $39k which is the most affordable and practical EV that I have seen out there."
I would say a Hymotion (A123) $10,000 conversion of a used, off-warranty Prius, is probably the most practical option now for a car.
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Yanquetino 9:37AM (6/10/2008)
I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the R1e, which Subaru is testing with the New York Power Authority at this very moment:
http://www.subaru.com/sub/misc/2009/nyautoshow/r1/index.html
Nor has anyone mentioned iMiEV, the most appealing EV on the horizon, in my humble opinion. Mitsubishi has already announced that they will likewise start testing a couple of them with power companies in California this fall:
http://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/special/eco/tvcm.html
And, of course, ZENN has announced that, by fall 2009, they hope to start selling the cityZENN highway-capable EV:
http://media.cleantech.com/2644/zenn-gearing-up-for-eestor-powered-car
By 2010 there might be LOTS of options for EV advocates to choose from. I hope so, as I have taken Plug-In America's pledge: "No plug? No deal!" Indeed, I refuse to settle for even a serial hybrid like the deplorable Volt.
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Tim 10:07AM (6/10/2008)
Pluginamerica is trying to help build economy of scale to lower the retail cost of electric primary drive cars.
The best way to do this is for the consumer to simply tell the manufacturers:
No Plug? NO SALE!
Tell them NOW! Tell them OFTEN and save your money until the plug-in car YOUR want is available at the local dealer.
Vote with your wallet and don’t vote for foreign oil.
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BlackbirdHighway 10:18AM (6/10/2008)
Yes, Go EV!
And get yourself one of these T-shirts to show exactly how you feel about the oil economy:
http://www.bant-shirts.com/petrolcide-t-shirt.htm
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R.Suby 2:08PM (6/10/2008)
Plug-in vechicle's sound great at a time of $4+ gallon gas & the whole green house factor...but what about the down side of Plug-in's...your plugging something in to an already over-loaded "Electrical Grid"...Electricity is produced by Coal-Fired Plants which contributes to 95% or more of the "Green House Gases"...Honda Corp. stated it would never build a plug-in vechicle because it would cause more pollution than the Largest gas-burning SUV or Truck... One person's opinion...
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Phil L. 11:33AM (6/10/2008)
GoodCheer -
Sorry, I wouldn't say the eBox is "for sale".
Yes, AC Propulsion has a web page for it, with pricing. Yes, I've heard of one - just one - being delivered to a high-profile customer (Have you heard of further production? Please share links!).
But that's it.
For the rest of us, "for sale" means we can test drive one this weekend. "For sale" should also mean working folks should have some hope of buying it ($55K plus the cost of a Scion xB stretches the definition of "affordable").
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M1EK 12:18PM (6/10/2008)
A lot of wishful thinking here. Plug-ins aren't for sale now because only a lithium battery gives enough energy to make them work well, and those batteries aren't ready for automotive use.
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Karkus 12:35PM (6/10/2008)
Hey all you plug in and EV fans:
Have fun waiting while driving your gas guzzlers for another 2-5 years. It doesn't matter how much you demand plug-ins....they will only happen once the battery cost/safety/power/lifetime issues are taken care of, and that could take a while. And you may disappointed when your Volt finally arrives and costs a bit more than you were expecting. The rest of us are buying currently available hybrids, diesels, and other efficient cars and enjoying the benefits now.
Remember: Perfect is the enemy of good.
And, but buying hybrids now, you would be directly SUPPORTING the HEV/PHEV/EV movement with your wallet. Sitting on the sideline and complaining won't do much.
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BlackbirdHighway 12:50PM (6/10/2008)
Karkus, I couldn't disagree more. Every time someone goes out and buys a Prius, the message to Toyota is that they don't need to worry about making a plug-in car, people are perfectly happy to buy the version available now that gets all its motivation entirely from gasoline.
And don't worry about people waiting for perfection; any electric car people can buy in the next ten years is going to be far from perfection. Wanting an alternative to gasoline is most certainly not waiting for perfection.
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Karkus 1:37PM (6/10/2008)
BlackbirdHighway... I respectfully disagree.
In my view, every hybrid purchase is in part a vote for PHEVs and EVs. It shows that consumers are willing to accept and pay a slight premium for advanced vehicle technology and fuel savings.
Of course there is really no way to prove this argument one way or another. We have the current situation as our only real data point.
But think about this:
If the Prius had be a flop, where would we be? For example, there would be NO small PHEV conversion companies, and no one would even be thinking abouut that. Also, would GM be making the Volt if the Prius had failed? GM was very much against hybrids of any kind (and had also killed the EV that WE as taxpayers PAID THEM to research and make). It was only after the success of the Prius that they changed their tune and admitted they had screwed up. So now they are trying to get the first mass produced plug-in on the market to try to outdo the Prius. But it's not easy to do. Delays and price increases have plagued the program.
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