LOS ANGELES — In the automotive industry's early days, they were perceived as feminine cars: Quiet, gentle and limited in power when compared to the sputtering internal-combustion "masculine" counterparts that had to be cranked into action.
Then they settled in as a hobby for back-yard mechanics who liked the mechanical tinkering of replacing the gasoline engine with an electric motor.
In the 1970s, they were adopted by hard-core environmentalists who reveled in the personal statement of a non-polluting vehicle even though it limited them to life in the slow lane. More recently, they became known as the toys of ecologically correct celebrities who see themselves as setting the example for a nation that needs to shake its political dependency on foreign oil.
But now, electric vehicles (EVs)--whose time seems to keep coming and going--are here to stay.
The reason is dirty air. Recent toughening of the state's emissions standards will force the automobile industry to add electric cars to the mix they sell in California, starting with 2% in 1998 (an estimated 40,000) and rising to 10% in 2003 (an estimated 200,000).
And that's just the start.
Surveying the decade ahead, experts predict that the role of EVs will range from filling an important niche as a second family car to being the machine that can reshape Southern California. Los Angeles, in fact, has already announced plans to become the first "EV Ready" city in the world.
There is no question that the electric vehicle, which most people still think of as a golf cart, is going to change our lives. They will reshape not only the design, manufacture and marketing of the automobile, but also the way we live and drive--from consolidating errands to remembering to plug the car in each night.
Currently, an estimated 1,000 electric vehicles drift among Southern California's 8.5 million commuters. Almost all have been converted from conventional automobiles.
These numbers are destined to rise dramatically, thanks to an unprecedented intersection of environmental consciousness and revolutionary air-quality regulations.
The EV is en route. Following the groundwork of back-yard technicians and environmentalists is a hefty crowd of manufacturers, consultants, designers, engineers, utility researchers, battery experts, technicians, legislators and local, state and federal regulators. Many are looking at the EV seriously for the first time, inspired by tough new emission standards set last September by the state Air Resources Board.
