Correspondents' Correspondence Car of the Future
LAND, THOMAS
correspongents' orresponaence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS Car of the Future Brussels—The 1973 oil crisis and...
...The fruits of such a program could be substantial," comments a spokesman for the Commission...
...stage two, for medium-term development of an electric town vehicle (to correspond to the second- and third-car market...
...Along with energy savings and low noise and air pollution, the electric car has many other virtues that have suddenly attracted the interest of the Communities' economic planners: Its design and flexibility, for example, could be the basis of more rational and more rapid city traffic systems...
...and its Department of Industry recently announced a contribution of roughly $4 million over the next three years to the development of one-ton electric commercial vehicles by Lucas Industries in association with Vauxhall Motors...
...Britain, for instance, already has more than 40,000 electric delivery and service vehicles in circulation...
...It would last longer and require less maintenance and repair than conventional vehicles and, in addition to relatively cheap running costs, it could be quickly dismantled and recycled...
...correspongents' orresponaence BRIEF TAKEOUTS OF MORE THAN PERSONAL INTEREST FROM LETTERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY THE EDITORS Car of the Future Brussels—The 1973 oil crisis and subsequent international fears of future fuel shortages appear to have persuaded Western Europe that the long-forgotten electric car may hold the key to reducing dependence on imported primary energy sources, as well as to several other problems...
...For such a centralized research approach would bring together all the initiative and expertise hitherto developing in isolation throughout the Community, and would serve the combined interests of the electricity producers, the car industry and the congested cities.—Thomas Land...
...Stage one calls for the short-term development of a utility electric vehicle for goods transport in towns and an electric bus standardized at the European level...
...He explains that, "By 1990, extrapolating current trends, the Community could have 7.2 million electric vehicles (comprising 7.2 per cent of the car market) which would consume only 2 per cent of the total electricity production—and two-thirds of that would be drawn during off-peak periods, at night...
...Identical work is, in some cases, being carried out by as many as three different bodies, while other areas are neglected...
...Private car owners are also expected to find the vehicle attractive...
...As a way out of this vicious circle, economists here have proposed a three-stage program...
...Accordingly, each country in the nine-member European Communities organization is engaged in the development of the frugal, ecologically-sound vehicle...
...There is, however, a long-standing major obstacle to widespread use of the electric car: its energy storage system...
...stage three, for long-term development of a high-performance, long-range inter-city vehicle, run by perhaps a hybrid of batteries and fuel cells...
...As one Commission spokesman recently noted, though, "there has been a complete lack of coordination in European electric car research...
...Thus considerable enthusiasm has been generated by the prospect of the European Commission coordinating these efforts...
...And more important, the Communities' governing body, the European Commission, is not only expected shortly to give financial assistance to manufacturers working on the car, but is also considering a collaborative program to speed progress...
...In France, the town of Tours has started using electric buses with a capacity of 50 persons each, a 50-mile range and a top speed of 37 miles per hour...
...and since most of these vehicles would be concentrated in city areas, they could lead to a substantial drop in air pollution...
...Similar experiments have been introduced in several West German towns, and the city of Amsterdam is testing the feasibility of renting out small electric cars...
...Most of the prototypes for the various stages are being developed by individual manufacturers in the Communities' member countries, with financial assistance from national public authorities and such semipublic bodies as the electricity manufacturers...
...But dramatic progress in battery technology would require the kind of substantial investment that the car industry could justify solely in terms of an assured future profitability—and the actual size of the market will become clear only after such improvements are made...
...At present it is extremely heavy and requires frequent recharging, restricting the vehicle's range—and popularity...
Vol. 61 • September 1978 • No. 19
