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To: Futurist who wrote (2733)	12/3/1998 3:43:00 PM
From: Don Devlin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8393

GM Unveils Longer-Range, NiMH-Battery EV1 12/3/98, Phoenix, Arizona - General Motors today unveiled its 1999-model EV1 electric car, which is now available with optional longer-range, nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. GM says the NiMH EV1 will travel 75-140 "real world" miles on a single charge. It will be available in California at a manufacturers suggested retail price of $43,995, which equates to an approximate monthly lease payment of $499. The lease amount includes a wall-mount, 220-volt inductive charger. A new, one-time fee of $500 for standard installation of the charger will be available. According to GM Advanced Technology Vehicles spokesman Jim Evans, existing EV1 lessees will have the option of cutting their leases short and starting a new three-year/36,000 mile lease. Those who have had their EV1s the longest will be given first priority. Deliveries are scheduled to begin on Jan. 1. The standard EV1 now comes with improved lead-acid batteries that reportedly extend its range to 65-95 miles per charge.

To: Futurist who wrote (2733)	12/4/1998 8:23:00 PM
From: Futurist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8393

Again, the Ford Ranger is carrying our battery? Push for Cleaner Cars Accelerates .c The Associated Press By DAVID E. KALISH NEW YORK (AP) -- Efforts to develop cleaner-running automobiles are accelerating despite a plunge in gasoline prices that has lured millions of Americans into gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. But the push isn't turning out as planned. Government and industry have shifted focus from electric cars, until recently seen as a main anti-pollution tool, to hybrids that aren't as clean, but easier to make. At the same time, regulators are tightening fuel-efficiency requirements for today's dirtiest models. These two trends are expected to usher in cleaner cars on America's roads this coming decade, tidying up smoggy cities such as Los Angeles. Less certain is whether the drive will help cut pollution that is believed to cause global warming. A nearly two-decade-long drop in gasoline prices has been threatening to set back clean-air efforts by regulators. U.S. sales of new pickups, sport utility vehicles and vans topped car sales in November for the first time as Americans' love affair with roomier trucks continued to grow. One study shows fuel economy ranks 35th on the list of attributes important to truck buyers. Aggravating matters, the number of vehicles on U.S. roads nearly doubled since 1970. Carbon dioxide emissions, which are believed to cause global warming, jumped 20 percent between 1980 and 1996. The Environmental Protection Agency has said that cleaner-burning vehicles are needed to ensure that urban smog doesn't get worse. Technology is starting to catch up to the problem, said several experts, potentially offsetting the effects of the gas guzzlers on the road. ''People who just look at fuel price, who don't look at the technology revolution, are missing the whole story,'' said Amory Lovins, director of research at the Rocky Mountain Institute, a non-profit research organization. He noted that a new breed of cleaner vehicles under development at virtually every car manufacturer is expected to offer more comfort, acceleration and other improvements over today's cars. ''People will buy them because they are better cars,'' he said, ''for the same reason people buy compact disks instead of phonograph records.'' Electric cars have so far been seen as too much of a tradeoff for consumers. This past year, California and New York backed off requirements that 2 percent of all vehicles sold by automakers in their states be non-polluting. Auto makers successfully argued there was too little demand for battery-operated cars that required charging every 100 miles or so. In addition these cars were just too expensive, particularly at a time of dropping gas prices. But advances in battery technology are spurring other types of clean cars that still rely partially on the automobile's century-old combustion engine. Toyota Motor Co. announced last fall that it would become the first automaker to market a hybrid gasoline-electric car with its Prius. The car, which goes on sale in the U.S. in 2000, will be four times cleaner than required by California standards and also get 66 miles a gallon. Other major car markers here and abroad have followed suit with plans. One reason Japanese automakers have led the push: Gas prices there are far higher than in the United States. ''The majority of the industry is working very hard on doing as much as we can to continue to reduce the impact that the automobile has on air quality in the United States,'' said David Raney, manager of environmental and energy affairs for American Honda Motor Co., which is working on a hybrid car that is 10 times cleaner than required by California. Regulators also are stepping up efforts. Last month, California drastically tightened emission controls on full-size pickups, vans and sport utility vehicles, saying the growing popularity of the big-polluting rigs has undermined the state's efforts to meet federal clean air goals. Under new rules, emissions levels from SUVs must begin coming down in 2004 and be as low as passenger cars by 2007. Other states are expected to follow suit, with the federal Environmental Protection Agency not far behind.