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- THE WEEK, Page 18BUSINESSPlug It In, Drive It Off
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- Chrysler introduces an electric van that can hit 65 on the
- freeway
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- In theory, an electric car is an idea of blinding brilliance.
- Since such cars are powered by batteries, not internal
- combustion engines, there are no noxious emissions and no need
- for gasoline. Gas stations soon disappear, as do refineries and
- their occasional unhappy by-products, oil spills and groundwater
- pollution. Electric cars are easy on the ears since they make
- virtually no noise. Refueling? Drive up to a handy 220-volt
- electrical outlet, plug in and charge up.
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- Auto-industry critics have long complained that
- manufacturers, slavishly wedded to the status quo, have never
- given electric cars a chance. No longer. Chrysler says it will
- start rolling out electric-powered minivans this fall. Anyone
- wishing to own the first on the block must be prepared to shell
- out as much as $125,000, but utility companies are expected to
- buy the entire production run of 50.
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- The van on display at the New York Auto Show has a range
- of 100 miles per charge and can go from 0 to 60 in 25 seconds.
- With a top speed of 65 m.p.h., it can hold its own on the
- freeway. It is much more than a "glorified golf cart," as
- Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca points out, adding, "You can get
- a speeding ticket in this van."
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- Until battery technology improves dramatically, however,
- electric cars will continue to occupy the smallest of market
- niches. So Chrysler, Ford and GM are pooling their resources
- with government approval in a $260 million research effort to
- achieve a battery breakthrough. Some of the impetus comes from
- a deadline set by California: as of 2003, the state will require
- 10% of the new cars sold there each year to be emission-free.
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- Ford did its share to reduce smog in the Golden State as
- it unveiled two models that will exceed the first stage of the
- state's stringent new clean-air code. By improving the
- catalytic converters in their subcompacts, Ford beat the clock
- on the tougher standards by four years. Research also continues
- on vehicles fueled by natural gas and flexible mixtures of up
- to 85% methanol and gasoline. As a result, car buyers are soon
- going to face choices much more complicated than merely
- deciding whether to buy their favorite sedan in green or red.
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