Style Weekly
Richmond's alternative for news, arts, culture and opinion
Driving in the Future
I took issue with the sentiments of the economist cited in the Street Talk (A.,ª�"DonA.,ª™t Honk A.,ª?VbCrLf Golf Cart Is Really a Car,A.,ªï¨« May 28) who said, A.,ª�"The electric car has gone virtually nowhere in 100 years,A.,ªï¨« along with the minimal amount of research and flippant tone of the article.
After watching the documentary A.,ª�"Who Killed the Electric Car?A.,ªï¨« I was impressed by the progress in electric car batteries, speed and mileage per charge. The movie explains how GM and most other big U.S. automakers leased viable electric cars in California in the late A.,ª™90s but would not renew the leases or sell to the many devotees and instead destroyed perfectly good vehicles.
While Professor George Hoffer said electric cars A.,ª�"canA.,ª™t really do too much better than 20 or 30 miles,A.,ªï¨« the Tesla, which was released this year, advertises 220 miles per charge. IA.,ª™m no expert, but the article just didnA.,ª™t encompass the magnitude of the issue. Plus, just the other day I drove into work behind a white four-door that had A.,ª�"Electric VehicleA.,ªï¨« printed on every side. They definitely didnA.,ª™t slow me down A.,ª?VbCrLf I had to step on the gas to keep checking them out!
Please look at these sites if you donA.,ª™t want to see the movie: www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com; www.pluginamerica.org/faq.shtm; and www.teslamotors.com.
After watching the documentary A.,ª�"Who Killed the Electric Car?A.,ªï¨« I was impressed by the progress in electric car batteries, speed and mileage per charge. The movie explains how GM and most other big U.S. automakers leased viable electric cars in California in the late A.,ª™90s but would not renew the leases or sell to the many devotees and instead destroyed perfectly good vehicles.
While Professor George Hoffer said electric cars A.,ª�"canA.,ª™t really do too much better than 20 or 30 miles,A.,ªï¨« the Tesla, which was released this year, advertises 220 miles per charge. IA.,ª™m no expert, but the article just didnA.,ª™t encompass the magnitude of the issue. Plus, just the other day I drove into work behind a white four-door that had A.,ª�"Electric VehicleA.,ªï¨« printed on every side. They definitely didnA.,ª™t slow me down A.,ª?VbCrLf I had to step on the gas to keep checking them out!
Please look at these sites if you donA.,ª™t want to see the movie: www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com; www.pluginamerica.org/faq.shtm; and www.teslamotors.com.
Rhiannon Liker
Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Other Publications
