Well, it looks like spring is finally here! After a rough winter all around, (I think there's more rain & snow on the way - we're not done yet!) it's time to get out in the garage, and put the finishing touches on those EVs. We have lots of events to display at, so lets get them all shined up and ready to go. At the last board meeting, I was able to see the EV project board for the first time, and I was amazed to see that we have nearly 30 EVs in various stages of work. This is great! Many of these are road-worthy, or nearly so. Of the rest, we have several members determined to put together their own conversions. I am truly impressed. (Not that I doubted our commitment, it's just great to see it on something like the EV board.)
Speaking of the EV board, I wanted to address a topic this month which I feel is somewhat overdue. That is the amount of work which goes on behind the scenes at SEVA. As with many organizations of this type, there are many people who put a great deal of effort into keeping the group going, and I wanted to take some time, and point this out. Ruth McDougall, one of our board members is largely responsible for the scheduling our speakers and for the EV board. Please check it out at the next meeting, and make sure and thank Ruth for the job well done. If you are on the project board with a vehicle, and you are one of the "in progress" projects, look for other members on the EV board who may have experience or parts or time to help you get your car on the road. We can all help each other by working together.
Another project which is pretty visible is the newsletter. Since taking it over several months ago, Tony Cygan has put a great deal of time and effort into publishing the newsletter. I think that it has improved each month, and is still improving. Tony has also jumped into the role of hard line deadline boss with a great deal of enthusiasm (I'm kidding Tony) - actually, he makes sure we all get our stuff to him so he can get the newsletter out on time (As I type this in the last minutes of the latest deadline). I also enjoy seeing articles by members which come in from time to time. This is a help to us, and it's great to have input from different sources all the time. Thank you Tony, for a job well done!
Our dedicated treasurer and keeper of the SEVA database, Steve Smith has also put in a great deal of time making sure that a) the bank account is under control, and b) that the precious database with all our names and addresses stays current, and safe. I checked out the latest copy last night, and Steve has reworked it entirely so that we can keep track of all kinds of details about the membership. This is great. Steve has been working with Doug Johnson another, recent board member, who is also the artist putting together our new SEVA logo. Together they are putting together the first SEVA banner, which we will use at our upcoming events. This banner, by the way will be funded by our first corporate sponsor. Intel Corporation has agreed to provide funds for the banner printing costs. Thank you Intel!
With this kind of dedicated support from the members, we can't help but succeed in getting EVs to the community of Sacramento. And, as always, there is room for more volunteers. We can always use more help. Please take a moment to consider what is being done now, and see if you can find something to help with.
The meeting was opened at 10am by V.P. Tim Loree. He announced several upcoming events: Friday April 21 fund raiser in Chico; Saturday April 22 Earth Day in Roseville; Saturday April 29 45-mile rally in Bay Area; Friday May 5 Lung Association event at McClellan; Saturday May 6 Clean Air Commute from Sacramento to Davis.
Cece Martin of California Electric Transportation Coalition provided an overview of state legislation affecting EV policy. She passed out descriptions of the bills and encouraged the group to write to legislators.
Most of the bills are steps in the right direction. However, AB399, a bill by Assemblyman Bernie Richter, R-Chico, abandons movement foreward with new technology, according to Cece. The Richter bill would allow auto manufacturers to scrap old clunkers instead of selling ZEVs in 1998. Cece said that auto makers would run out of clunkers to scrap soon after the year 2000. Oil companies favor scrapping as a way to reduce air pollution. Cece worries that money for technology forcing will be diverted to scrapping. In the past, California has been the world leader in technology-forcing measures.
In the following discussion, someone mentioned that the number of vehicle-miles keeps going up, that there will be no real progress on air pollution with the ZEV. Someone pointed out that scrapping is a good thing for the manufacturers of new cars. Also, a scrapping policy could make polluting cars worth more than normal old cars.
The next speaker was Mike Wirsch from SMUD. He had brought a GM Impact before the meeting started, and the group had a chance to look it over in detail. A lucky few even got to sit in the two seats. Mike said that the Sacramento program has nine Impacts shared by 75 customers, for two to four weeks. Participants keep a diary of driving a week before and after their turn to drive the Impact. The car is fun to drive, has world-class performance, and is a good tool for SMUD to show what the future will bring. Bernie Richter got to drive one on I-5. Mayor Serna had a five-day loan, and it was hard to get the car back from him. The test-drive program involves 30 Impacts throughout the U.S. GM is surprised by the positive responses. The biggest problem is the philosophy against government mandates. Mike also reported on progress of conversion projects at five local high schools. Three have received kits: Kennedy; Bella Vista; Center.
Ruth announced that next month's meeting will be at McClellan. Parking is available at the Air Museum. The board members introduced themselves. Tim pointed out that three of them joined the board in the past month.
Ruth, Tony Cygan, and Tim gave a report of APS 500, a race sponsored by Arizona Public Service. Cars race on a 1.1 mile serpentine course. Super Stock winner was the Geo Prism from UC Davis, with zinc bromide battery and a 50 kW Hughes drive train. Among stock cars (i.e., normal battery), the first place went to SRP Ford Probe with a quick charger. Ruth helped a women's team come in fourth place with a Porsche 914 featuring a 9" advanced DC motor, a 200V 800A controller, and 13 Horizon Lead Acid Batteries weighing 780 lb. Among the teams were 42 high schools. Tony helped Wild EVolution build a 1929 electric hot rod from a kit. His team also converted a Ford Taurus with a 1000A controller; the motor overreved and came apart. Tim noticed the lack of roaring noises from the cars during the race. He enjoyed contributing in many roles.
Greg McRae told the group that he has 8V the same size as 6V. EV owners can upgrade without redesigning battery racks. Energy density is about 1.42 kW/kg. Greg also has a European converter, the first on the West Coast for regenerative braking. Michael Parker announced that Modesto has an official chapter of EAA. They meet on the third Saturday of the month.
The meeting was adjourned at 1155.The SEVA board met Monday, March 13 at 7:25pm to discuss club business. First on the agenda was a review of the monthly meeting. The scheduled speaker was sick and did not come. Cece Martin talked about legislation. Mike Wirsch presented the GM Impact. Several members reported on APS 500. Tim Loree planned to have members write letters during the meeting, but time ran out.
The project board was updated during the meeting. The board shows that SEVA has 21 EV cars and 4 City El drivers. Ed Brannon knows of several other cars not yet on the board.
The board discussed upcoming events:
Friday April 21, wine and cheese, Chico. The club there will supply recharging. They want to make it into a 3-day rally. Saturday April 22, Earth Day, Roseville. The assistant city manager wants a write-up from SEVA. Arthur Cartwright surmised that members are reluctant to participate because of concern about range. Mark Bahlke said that the club can arrange to get vehicles there, by trailer if needed.
Saturday April 29, SF Bear. A 45-mile course from Presidio, over Golden Gate Bridge, San Rafael, over bridge to Richmond, over Bay Bridge, back to Presidio. Many hills, noted Mark. Sunday April 30, Pacific Coast Dream Machines, Half Moon Bay. All individually designed cars are welcome. Friday May 5, Lung Association event, McClellan. Tim is impressed by the professionalism of the Lung Association. Saturday May 6, Clean Air Commute, Sacramento to Davis. Organizers have promised 5 parking places with 20A outlets. Tim will inspect the site to evaluate their claims. Steve Smith set off a lively debate by proposing that the club do something local rather than drive to Davis.
Thursday May 25, Intel Health Fair, at the site 11-4. SEVA can set up a display.
Sunday July 9, SEVA Picnic. The board unanimously voted to hold the picnic at McKinley Park. Ruth McDougall will obtain a permit. Ruth suggested that SEVA events should emphasize what EVs are good at, i.e., normal commuting rather than long trips. Steve said that the challenging events show the public that EVs are reliable and trustworthy. Mark said that SEVA should let members participate as they can, without overextending themselves. The picnic shows off EV technology as is, within easy reach of members. Every event that puts EVs in the public eye benefits us.
Mark revealed that 2/3 of SEVA members have to belong to the national EAA for SEVA to become an official chapter of EAA. So about 80 SEVA members need to go national, whereas right now only about 25 belong to national EAA. Tony Cygan will put the form in the newsletter and Tim will supply envelopes.
Steve reported that Doug Johnson is redesigning the logo. He will incorporate the EAA logo car into the SEVA logo. Steve asked the board for input on the proposed banner. The options are 10'x24" or 12'x18". Lively discussion followed and some board members measured the room width by pacing off the distance. The board reached a consensus that the banner should be 12'x18", with dark blue lettering on light blue background.
The next item was board member updates. Ed and Arthur were at the meeting. Ken Earnest, from Chico, could not make it.
The board discussed brochures. The club has a nice subscription brochure. Tim said that Scott Perry was going to make an informational handout. Ruth said that EVIA has one. Ed suggested centering the flyer on "what's in it for me." Mark reported that a friend is willing to shoot a video for Roseville Public Access TV. Ruth knows someone who can shoot monthly meetings. Mark suggested a three-part plot: EVs in use; EVs being converted; a panel discussion.
The board meeting was adjourned at 9pm sharp.First off I want to thank Mike Wirsch for arranging for our viewing of the GM Impact at last months meeting. A couple of months ago I had mentioned that I was going to call him about getting a car for our members to see and I never got around to it, but Mike stepped in anyway and gave our members a treat. Thanks Mike.
Recent news on the EV front has pointed to a problem with the folks at U.S.Electricar. They suffered recent, sever losses and have had to scale back their operation, to include possibly not manufacturing electric cars. There has been much speculation on what this may mean for other EV manufacturers, both big and small.
Some people contend that USE grew too fast, not by selling alot of cars, but rather by aquiring other electric vehicle companies in order to become a big car company and so this consolidation of their business is normal given the EV market at this time. Others argue that this means the EV is dead, that if USE could not pull off making EV's how can anyone.
I personally do not think that this means the death of EV's. In fact I have thought all along that it will take the big auto companies experiences with marketing and making ground up cars to pull it off. That until EV's are available for the average person to walk into a dealer showroom and take one for a test drive or to see their next door neibor driving one down the street, that the EV marketplace will be slow and hard on the manufacturers.
We are the leading edge of the population as far as the EV manufacturers go. We are the early adopters, the ones that the car makers are looking at to buy the first EV's in our neiborhoods and to show others what they are all about. While we are waiting for these vehicles to show up in our local auto showrooms, we can spread the word and counter any misinformation we hear. We can make our own EV's by converting ICE cars and these in turn will be the first used EV's available to the population who will not be able to afford a new EV, but still want one.
Even while I'm converting my Porsche 914 to electric, I am eagerly waiting for those shiny new EV's to show up at the dealer. I want to be one of the first to say "got that in red ?".
The following news bits were pulled from the National EAA newsletter. They were compiled by Ruth M. Shipley from the Environmental Information Network
Electric Fuel Corporation has begun construction of a $2 million plant in Jeruslem, Israel that will produce zinc-air battery packs and related components of it's "electric fuel" system.
The plant is scheduled for completion in spring and will initially make 80KkWh and 180kWh zinc-air batteries for Deutshe Bundespost Postdienst field test of more than 50 EVs.
When fully operational, the plant is expected to have the capability to produce the equivalent of 60,000kWh of zinc-air cassettes and 20,000kWh of battery cells annually.
For more information contact Mike Greece at (212) 725-4500.Utilities and other participants in EV America will purchase 54 vehicles and begin field testing to collect data on performance in real-world applications.
EV America wants to accelerate the introduction of EVs into the marketplace by placing up to 5,000 EVs into utility, commercial, government and transit fleets by the end of 1997, with an interim goal of 500 by the end of 1995.
The Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas will collect data on mileage driven each month, reliability, availability and maintenance requirements for most of the vehicles. Some vehicles will be equipped with on-board computers providing real-time data on energy draw, speed, ambient temperature, battery temperature and other perfomance characteristics. Initial field tests are expected in april.
For more information call Gloria Quinn at (202) 508-5659U.S. Electricar and Hawaiin Electric Company (HECO) have entered into a non-binding agreement to determine the market for EVs on the islands and the required infrastructure to support it.
U.S. Electricar, which opened a manufacturing facility in Honolulu in 1994, intends to manufacture and service the EVs used in the state. HECO will provide customers with assistance in the installation, maintance, and design of charging stations.
For further information, contact Leo Heagerty of U.S. Electricar or Jane Inouye of HECO at (808) 543-7778Leading Japanese battery manufacturer, Matsushita Battery Industrial CO., Ltd., reportedly intends to commercialize an EV battery by the end of this year.
The favorite battery for development at this stage is a nickel hydrogen type, according to the president of Matsushita. Matsushita also plans to pursue a zinc based battery. The company's strategy for 1995 includes narrowing the gap between its nickel hydrogen battery and those of its competitors, placing its lithium ion battery operations on a firm footing and expanding its line-up of solar batteries for non-commercial applications.
For more information, call +81-6-991-1141.
SEVA Activities --
o General Meeting, Saturday Apr 8th at 10:00am at McClellan
o Board Meeting, Monday Apr 10th at 7:00pm
o Roseville Earthday Festival, Saturday Apr 22rd at 9am to 3pm.
o 3rd Annual Clean Air Commute, Saturday May 6th.
o General Meeting, Saturday May 13th at 10:00am.
o Board Meeting, Monday May 15th at 7:00pm
o General Meeting, Saturday June 10th at 10:00am.
o Board Meeting, Monday June 12th at 7:00pm
Bay Area & Modesto EAA Activities --
o SF BEAR (Bay Electric Auto Rally), Apr 29th at S.F.Presidio
National EVents --
o Long Beach Grand Prix, April 7-9, 1995.
o Palm Springs Electric Car Classic, Apr 8-9, 1995
o Tour de Sol, May 22-26, 1995.
Return to the SEVA HomePage