Clean cars better

The board has a mandate of making sure 10 percent of all vehicles sold in California are Zero Emission Vehicles, or ZEVs, by 2003. With disappointing consumer demand and a recall by General Motors, the Air Resources Board regulation may be weakened.

The state should stick firmly behind the 10 percent goal, but it must also be the catalyst for the use of electric cars.

The best way to start is to encourage all public agencies within California to buy fleets of electric vehicles. Electric cars now have ranges of 80 to 100 miles, which is fine for many light-duty vehicles used by state agencies for official business.

Cal State Long Beach is a good example. Except for dozens of battery-powered carts, maintenance and University Police vehicles are gasoline-powered. With the vehicles used mainly within the confines of the campus, range is no problem. Electricity makes even more sense, and the university does its part in reducing pollution.

In fact, Parking and Transportation Services on campus used to have a few electric Chevrolet S-10 pickup trucks. Those disappeared after the GM recall.

Now, imagine if electric cars are widely used throughout California. Thousands of vehicles would make a sizable step in keeping the state's air from getting dirtier from smog.

By having the state making the first large purchases of clean air vehicles, public agencies and automobile manufacturers would work together and use the findings to improve the operability of vehicles, with a farther range and none of the design bugs the first generation of ZEVs had.

This would also give a chance for electric motors to be available outside of no-frills fleet purchase mainstays like Ford Crown Victorias or Chevrolet Cavaliers. Perhaps if a sport utility vehicle has this option, people would think it would be cool enough to buy.

The state taking the lead in purchasing clean-air vehicles also has another benefit for consumers: lower prices. When GM's EV1 was still on the market, it was too expensive to buy outright; at $500 a month to lease, it was out of reach for most motorists. Government agencies have enough buying power to get carmakers to restart electric car production. Once the investment has been made, prices will slowly come down for the rest of us.

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