Living Like Ed - (Page 72) 72 Mandate. It required 2 percent of the vehicles in California to have zero emissions by 1998, and 10 percent by 2003. Unfortunately, CARB was not able to enforce its policy. In 2002 General Motors and Chrysler—along with the Bush administration—sued CARB to repeal the mandate. By 2003 CARB had weakened the mandate to the point that automakers could get zero-emission vehicle credits for non-ZEV vehicles. Now there’s almost no incentive for automakers to develop electric vehicles, which is why GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda—companies that offered electric cars just a few years ago—have all gotten out of the electric car business. They’ve got some interesting pure-electric concept cars, but not one of these companies offers a pure-electric vehicle that you can buy today. So what are your choices, if you want to drive an electric car? Several smaller companies have been developing electric vehicles on their own. After doing a lot of research, I’ve gotten involved with a company called Phoenix Motorcars. I now drive the company’s sport utility truck (SUT), and I’m a big fan. It’s a five-passenger vehicle, and its new battery technology has increased my range to more than 100 miles per charge. I’ll let my friend Dan Elliott, the company’s CEO, tell you more about it: living like Ed Ed’s Green Friend: Phoenix Motorcars Electric vehicles are giving drivers across America hope that their days of dealing with soaring gas prices are coming to a close. Many consumers question electric vehicles, simply because they aren’t informed as to what exactly a battery-run vehicle is and how it can positively affect their lives. Electric vehicles (EVs) produce no exhaust fumes and, if they’re charged using most forms of renewable energy, minimal pollution. Many are capable of acceleration that is equivalent to—or, in some cases, exceeds that of—conventional gasoline-powered vehicles. Simply put, EVs reduce dependence on petroleum. They help to reduce global warming by alleviating the greenhouse effect. They are the time, 28 percent of the roughly 4,200 cars produced in the United States were powered by
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