Seattle Times, Business & Technology:
Sunday, November 03, 1991
Robert O'Boyle
Cruising south on Rainier Avenue under the I-90 overpass, the ION-1 attracts a lot of attention. The car is curiously sporty, futuristic and slick, like the vehicle of an evil-doer in a comic strip.
But it's more than flashy tapering and the alarming red paint job on Steve Lough's hand-built sports car that makes other drivers do double takes. In large-scale lettering on the side of the vehicle, Lough informs onlookers the ION-1 is electric.
The race-car design Lough used for building the car was chosen partly to steer public opinion away from the suspicion that electric cars are glorified golf carts, incapable of high speed and distance.
On flat Rainier Avenue, the ION-1 rides like any other car. On the steep slopes of Beacon Hill, it's questionable if the electric car equals the pickup of a Mazda GLC.
Lough, president of Lough Motors in Seattle and organizer of the electric-vehicle exhibit at this year's Seattle International Auto Show, readily admits that electric cars won't take first place in any race with standard automobiles.
But their benefits may outweigh the drawbacks. Promoting the use of electric cars is a matter of overcoming a perception problem, a bad rap and a psychological block in the minds of most car buyers, says Lough.
"It's not necessary for a car to do 70, 80 or 90 miles an hour to be useful," he says. "And it's not necessary for a car to travel 80 or 90 miles (a day) to be useful. People nullify the 90 percent practicality because of the 5 or 10 percent that makes the electric vehicle impractical."
The average urban driver clocks only 25 to 30 miles a day, and high speeds are not required on city streets. Even in Lough's car, which is not the most technologically advanced of electric vehicles, utilizing I-5 or I-90 in your daily travels is possible. The ION-1 reaches speeds above 70 miles per hour, exceeding the legal limit on any road in Washington state.
A more troubling drawback is range, or distance. At freeway speed, Lough's car will not take you much farther than 45 miles without regeneration. At boulevard speed, the range is at least 95 miles.
That would be acceptable to most drivers if you could swing into a recharging station and in a few minutes - maybe even an hour - be back on the road.
But electric vehicles need to be plugged in for at least six hours before they are sufficiently rejuiced.
For that annual trip to Portland, however, you can rent a Cadillac and go in style, says Lough. Or better yet, keep your internal-combustion vehicle for road trips and use the electric one to dash about town during the week.
There are other disadvantages, however. Space is one consideration. Lough's car, for example, requires room for 20 extra-volt batteries, each slightly larger than the average car battery. And that means no back seat.
But technology is on the verge of major breakthroughs in electric vehicle design, says Lough. And there's newfound motivation: California has passed a law requiring that 2 percent of all vehicles sold in that state in 1998 be zero-emission vehicles. That number jumps to 5 percent in 2001 and 10 percent in 2003.
Before California's pollution-control law, there was little incentive for the advancement of electric-vehicle technology, says Lough. Automakers have been reluctant to invest big money in technology until there's a strong market for sales.
"That's the Catch-22 electric vehicles have been in for 15 years," says Lough.
It will take more than improved electric-car technology, however, for the average car buyer to make the switch to low-emission alternative vehicles, says Michael Seal, who runs the Vehicle Research Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham.
Seal, who with the help of his students designed the internationally award-winning Viking XX Solar Race Car, says the future lies in hybrid vehicles.
His team is currently working on a car that will run on both electricity and a small natural-gas internal combustion engine. The engine will kick on when electric power is low so the driver can achieve enough range for those trips to Portland.
Like the Viking XX, the hybrid electric-power system will run on solar energy, when available. For motorists in the Northwest, the potential for solar power is somewhat limited, he admits. But in Los Angeles, a solar-electric car could ride emission-free most days. And because it uses natural gas, even the hybrid's engine will beat gasoline-powered vehicles in the race to limit air pollution.
Car buffs will get a taste of the institute's technology at this year's auto show Nov. 6 through Nov. 10, where the solar-powered Viking XX will be on display in its first auto-show appearance.
The Viking XX has generated excitement worldwide on the road to alternative power. The solar-electric car finished in first place at the California Clean Air Race in July, averaging 34 miles per hour across 670 miles from Sacramento to L.A..
The car also ranked fifth overall among 39 competitors in the World Solar Challenge in Australia in November 1990.
Weighing in at only 572 pounds, the Viking XX is not exactly considered safe for the road. But the institute's hybrid, the Viking XI, which it plans to unveil in the summer of 1993, will weigh about 1,800 pounds, in the range of a Honda Civic, and meet crashworthiness standards.
The estimated value of Viking XX exceeds $1 million. But in the spirit of this year's auto show, which will feature the largest ever selection of electric cars for sale, Lough's ION-1 is available for purchase in the range of affordable automobiles: $18,900.
Copyright (c) 1991 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
