here's some interesting thoughts taken from:
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/200...tement-for-leaf-electric-car/?ref=automobiles
Just get them out on the road, and support them. Ten years ago Nissan rolled out the lithium ion battery-based Altra, a terrific car that went 100 miles on a charge, and looked great, a cross-over SUV before the term was coined. Sadly, after Nissan and other car manufacturers successfully sued California to overturn the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate (or, more accurately, to emasculate it into toothless drivel, supporting fuel “fool” cell vehicles, and creating the oxymoronic “partial-zero” categories) every one of them recalled and destroyed all of the perfectly good battery EVs. A precious few of the Ford Ranger EVs, Honda Plus EVs, Toyotya RAV4 EVs, DaimlerChrysler EPIC EVs, Chevy S10 EVs, and even one or two EV1s and an ALtra were saved by tenacious EV enthusiasts, and many are still on the road TEN YEARS LATER.
My 2000 Ford Ranger EV will pass 50,000 gas-free, oil-free, pollution-free, (nearly) maintenance-free miles shortly, using Nickel-Metal Hydride battery technology. I drive it for my daily commute to work, happily passing gas stations on my emission-free ride.
Imagine if the car manufacturers and oil companies weren’t successful in shutting down the EV industry a decade ago; tens, if not hundreds of thousands of these beautiful EVs would be on the road today, reducing dependence on foreign oil while cleaning the air we all breathe.
TEN YEARS!
