Electric cars becoming a more mainstream choice

[sonya zafar]

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The jokes about electric cars — do extension cords come standard? — tend to fade when the cost of gasoline enters the discussion.

Few things in the automotive world have the sobering power of conversations about gas prices.

Owners of electric cars, of course, make very few trips to the gas station. If one's electric car is also one's commuting car, entire months may pass before the auxiliary gas tank, typical on plug-in hybrids, gets attention at the pump.

For drivers who face the obligatory $50 to $70 fill-up cost at least once a week, the thought of a leisurely, monthly stop for a few, perhaps superfluous gallons has the power to excite automobile envy. And that, for generations, has been the start of the car-buying process in America.

"When I tell people how little I'm spending on gas, they're amazed," said Michael Schwabl, president of the Dixon Schwabl advertising and marketing company in Victor.

Schwabl likes that he makes so few gas stops. But his motivation for buying an electric car — he owns a Chevrolet Volt, currently the industry leader in electricity-powered vehicles — was as much environmental as financial. He was tired of spewing expensive fossil fuels into the atmosphere. He knew that electric cars were entering the mass market, albeit slowly, and he was resolved to get one.

"I bought my Volt last April. Earth Day," Schwabl said. He bought his at Farnsworth Chevrolet in Canandaigua, and in so doing became one of the first Volt owners in the Rochester area. "I think I'm the second. Bill Destler (president of Rochester Institute of Technology) was the first, I believe."

Electric cars have long had their adherents, champions out on the fringe. But that's not what is happening now. Now they are in vogue.

Next year, nearly every major automaker, from Ford to General Motors to Nissan and Volkswagen, will roll out either an all-electric car, or EV; an electric hybrid like the plug-in Volt, with a supplemental 1.4-liter gas generator; or a straight hybrid, like Toyota's Prius, which essentially has two engines, one electric-powered, one gas-powered.

The Volt, with its unique power train, has changed the conversation. It was named 2011 car of the year by Motor Trend magazine.

Ford's entry, the Focus Electric, an all-electric version of the existing car, is expected to go on sale next year in major markets. Toyota may introduce several models, and Volkswagen, BMW and Mitsubishi have electric cars to add to their fleets next year, though they will remain a small part of the overall brand.

In the Rochester region, the Volt and the Nissan Leaf are the two models currently available, and most dealers have only a smattering to show, largely to the curious, though ordering one is always an option.

Independent car companies like Tesla sell a few EVs, though these companies and their avant-garde vehicles skirt the margins in the domestic market. Tesla has sold just 2,000 electric cars since 2008, while about 5,300 Volts and 8,000 Leafs were sold in 2010. Those figures compare with the sale of more than 11.5 million new cars, mostly the traditional gas-powered variety.

Still, gas prices that went up a year ago and never really came down lend currency to the electric option, as do tougher efficiency standards — the Obama administration has proposed a 54-mile-per-gallon standard by 2025.

Some predict that one in 10 cars on the road will be electric-powered by 2020.

Moreover, there's big support money in electric cars, much of it coming from federal and state governments eager to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The United States plans to invest more than $2 billion in electric vehicles and batteries, and China wants to invest billions in an American electric-car industry.

Buyers of EVs may be eligible for $7,500 in federal tax credits. New York state currently doesn't offer credits for these purchases.

Charging stations

Helped by grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, electric-car charging stations have been established in Buffalo and will be soon in Rochester, including several at City Hall and in city parking garages. Price remains an issue. At roughly $40,000, the electric car isn't for the faint of wallet.

But the lithium-ion battery that powers the Volt is a decided advance in the field, and that, along with increased public acceptance and high gas prices, has brought more cachet to the plug-in car, a recent battery fire during a test on the Volt notwithstanding. General Motors has offered to compensate owners, and systemic problems have yet to be alleged.

Doug Indovina, vice president of the Vision Automotive Group, said Ford dealers from around the country spent at least part of their time at a recent national meeting discussing the electric-car options.

"The concern is something called range anxiety," Indovina said. "A plug-in hybrid rather than a straight EV like the Leaf gives people some peace of mind when it comes to how far the car will go on a charge."

Gas as a backup

The Volt runs about 35 miles on a single, overnight charge, a range that might be enough for a daily commute but not much beyond that. Cars that have a separate gas generator, like the Volt, allow longer trips without the fear of being stranded. Schwabl, for example, went to a Notre Dame football game in his Volt, getting 40 miles to the gallon from his gas generator.

Battery prototypes — they're a long way from production — have demonstrated much longer lifespans. One being tested could power a car for 10 years or 180,000 miles.

For the foreseeable future, though, EV owners without a gas backup will have to keep their car charged or face being powerless in the breakdown lane.

Kevin Pickhardt, CEO of Pharos Systems in Rochester, bought a Volt in September. He likes the idea of charging stations set up at workplaces or dealerships so electric-car owners have options other than the house, where a plug-in car using a regular outlet requires a full night to restore power fully.

"You see them in California. Apple has a lot of them," Pickhardt said of the charging stations, also referring to the consumer technology company.

Schwabl said one of his goals is to establish a charging unit at his company so that he and other electric-car owners can conquer range anxiety while they work.

"The infrastructure definitely has to be there," said Brad McAreavy, president of the Rochester Automobile Dealers' Association. "There are superchargers being developed that will enable an electric car to be charged in 30 minutes to an hour."

Electric cars have always faced an uncertain future. The ground seems a mite more solid now. But, as McAreavy said, people now have grown accustomed to gas prices around $3.50, a figure that only a few years ago would have seemed unacceptably high.

And historically, that kind of comfort has meant discomfort for electric cars.