11/03/2001:

The latest from Hondaev.org about EV availability:

To: (via listserv@HondaEV.org)
Subject: EV Status
From: doug korthof
Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 23:42:07 -0800

1. California Air Resources Board has just sent out the revised ZEV mandate to all those who attended the Workshop in Sacramento. Analysis will follow.

2. GM lawsuit against CARB: several EV drivers have been allowed to join this bizarre lawsuit, wherein GM argues that it should be allowed to determine public policy and over-ride CARB. These brave souls, suing the unsuable, will introduce a measure of reality into the hall of mirrors that is the Auto Manufacturer's idea of dialogue.

3. Toyota RAV4 continues being made available to selected business users, whether it will be made available to the general public is not yet known. The person to call is: Greg Lander, 310-468-4042.

4. EV1 status: Leasing the EVs can be seen to be a big mistake. When the VW bug came out, they stayed on the road because they were well made; pretty soon, accumulations of them from many years made them look like the most common car. EVs don't get that chance, because their enemies only lease them, and then pull them back forceably from the lease. For example, most Honda EV+ got taken back, and the bodies are being re-used. The latest outrage: about half of the lead acid 1997 EV1, all of which were confiscated for 14 months for the phony "recall", are being junked out and crushed. That's right, even though there is a waiting list, and even though the cars with good batteries go 100-110 miles on a charge (and are super!), GM is going to destroy half of them. These are the vehicles that were sabotaged with defective batteries when first released -- our SAME vin number got only 50-65 miles with the defective batteries, despite several changeouts, and, like most, suffered numerous battery failures; now, with the superior Panasonic batteries, the same vin goes 100-110 miles with ZERO problemos.

5. Hybrids: They are starting to "ICE" our chargers, these cars are just GAS CARS, and do not even get as good mileage as some gas cars. So they do NOT belong parking in EV charging spots, because THEY CANNOT BE CHARGED. They get all of their power from the gas pump, they cannot be plugged in.

6. TH!NK STORY: Here is an account of a frustrated would-be EV1 driver who is running into a blank wall trying to buy one of the low-range Ford Th!nk. At least th!nk are pluggable, so they get all of their power from the clean grid; but now Ford is with holding them:

"So, last week we test drove the Th!nk City at Pearson Ford in El Cajon (San Diego). Well, seems nice - not quite an EV1 but we won't go there...

"So, can we drive one away? Well apparently yes, within a day or two... $200 + tax per month for 34 months. Sounds interesting. Unfortunately you have to be within 35 miles of one of the partcipating dealerships, of which there are 5 in CA, and, although we are fine where we live now, we are aiming to move to Sonoma county within weeks.

"So, I ask the guy who deals with the program if he'll lease us one here and then we can move it up north, where *get this* the office suite that I'm looking at has the only conductive EV charger in Santa Rosa (the northernmost charger in CA, I think) in its parking lot!! Now is that perfect or what? Well, apparently not because Santa Rosa is about 50 miles from the dealer in San Francisco who is the only one in Northern CA to be part of this "pilot program". So we'd be beyond the limits of the program. Incidentally that dealership is already out of cars.

"So I said how about I locate my office within 35 miles and drive back and forth to home just so that we can have the car. No can do. Well, I guess we just have to wait until the "US model" is introduced this time next year, when they should be more widely available.

"This struggle is enough to wear anyone down... I thought the EV1 fiasco was bad but now this... and all these regs, acronyms, multipliers, etc. in the CARB document and you can't get a (*&^(&@# car!!

"Well, all the best & keep up the fight, "Nick

"Dr Nick Carter, Owner, npc Imaging P O Box 723063, San Diego CA 92172-3063 nick@npcimaging.com http://www.npcimaging.com"

-------END FORWARDED MESSAGE-----

Thanks for your continued interest in clean battery powered Electric Vehicles, they're the coming thing whether the Industry likes it or not. /Doug

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