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    I understand CARB is again considering a Zero Emissions
Vehicle (ZEV) mandate.      
    After the mid 1970s "Oil Crunch", I built an electric car. 
The electric part of the car worked fine but I'm not a "Sedan"
person.  In 1982, I built an electric wagon.  It had a top speed
of 70 MPH and Max range of 75 Miles.  I immediately started
driving it full time.   I was paying approximately  $100  a month
on my gas credit card on my 20 MPG Suburban style truck. 
(presently called SUVs.)  Gas was around 76 cents per gallon.    
    The month after I started driving the EV my electric bill went
from $25 - $30.  My gas card dropped to $10.  This continued for
the next several months.  Another thing I noticed about the EV was
that there was no oil to change, no mufflers to buy no tune ups. 
About every 6 months I'd check the battery water.   At 90,000
miles the series motor lost about half power.  With a screwdriver,
20 minutes and $60 worth of brushes, the motor was "rebuilt".      
  
    It wasn't trouble free.  The door and lift gate hinges wore
out, the seat belt latch wore out, the door and steering wheel
locks wore out after many years of delivery service.  The electric
motor still works.    
    In the 1990s, California Air Resources Board (CARB)
established the Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate.  The ZEV
goals were once 2% in 1998, 3% in 2001, and 10% in 2003.   I
thought to myself, "That's not very stringent, but when people
notice how inexpensive the EVs are to operate, the Internal
Combustion Vehicles (ICVs) will quickly become history."       
    When the first batch of new EVs came out in the 1990s, I tried
to buy a "Pregnant" Honda Civic.  Then a GM Impact (later called an
EV1).   The dealers refused to sell them.  When I got to Toyota,
the Rav4-EVs were all gone.
    Rather than complying with the (ZEV) mandate, The Auto
manufacturers sued.  I won't rehash the documentary, Who killed
the Electric Car. 
    Alternatives to foreign petroleum have been proposed.  Some
quite ludicrous.   Briefly, burning vegetable and animal oil will
relieve the  dependency on foreign oil but produce CO2.  The worst
being corn oil that takes 1.3 gallons of petroleum to produce one
gallon of ethanol.  A gallon of Ethanol produces less power than a
gallon of petroleum so it takes around 1.4 gallons more.  It also
would require 6 Midwest states to devote their entire acreage to
growing only ethanol corn, no food crops.  Photo Voltaic Panels
(PVs) covering Alameda County would provide the same energy.   It
would be much more efficient to burn switch grass and waste
vegetation  (leaves, stalks) in a stationary power plant than to
refine it to be used as motor fuel.    
    Hybrids are a great idea for municipal buses and delivery
vehicles but EVs would cost and pollute less.
    Hydrogen has to be extracted from other elements before it can
be burned.   It takes 4 times the energy for this extraction than
if batteries were charged and used to propel a vehicle.  Hydrogen
fuel cell vehicle will go a maximum of 100 miles per charge.  A
bit less than battery EVs.  Hydrogen and Natural gas vehicles
require hours for refueling as compressing gas causes heat that
would ignite if fueled too quickly.   One accident would make the
Hindenburg look like a marshmallow roast.
    There has been an argument against EVs that they don't go very
far per charge and take too long to refuel.  Curtis Publishers
(Saturday Evening Post) of Philadelphia, used CT drayage trucks
till they closed their doors.  They were driven 24/6 as their
drivers got Sunday off.   When they pulled into the dock for a
load of magazines, a new battery pack was slide under the bed. 
(See photos.)    The first GM Impact had a T shaped replaceable
battery pack.   It was deleted from the lease fleet and replaced
with an overly expensive "paddle".    On the Phoenix race track,
the Snow White vehicle had it's battery pack swapped in under 10
seconds when it made pit stops.    With different battery
technologies available, this would quickly determine which one was
least expensive, longest lasting, and preferred.  There is no
excuse to wait for advanced battery technology.

CT 3 in a row Q.jpg                  

Battery swapping has been around for a while.  Look at your Makita
Drill.  The batteries were located in wooden boxes between the
wheels.  With doors open, the used pack would roll out one side as
the fresh pack would roll in the other.  Would you stand at a gas
station waiting for fuel to be distilled?  Why wait for the
battery to charge?      
     The energy for all these EVs could come from PVs.  Nuclear
has a waste disposal problem.  Hydro electric has extra capacity
at night when EVs usually charge.  With Battery exchange stations,
  there would be no more power surges as the batteries waiting for
vehicles could store energy and be used to power the grid when
emergency called for it.  This is a great deal for California.   
       Some say that EVs won't reach the necessary speed to travel
on public roads.   The Iowa Light rail electric trolleys routinely
traveled about 90 MPH.  When they were replaced with gas-electric
and diesel buses in the late 1940s, the buses had a top speed of
50 MPH.  Historically, the fastest steam locomotive traveled 126
MPH.  The fastest Diesel electric at 198 MPH.  The TGV electric
train at 320 MPH.  The Mag-Levs are designed for speeds that
compete with the airlines.
  
     The Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate should be installed
retroactively.  Thus  requiring 20% ZEVs immediately.
The SAE should require all EVs to use the same size
interchangeable battery pack.  One pack for small cars and large
trikes.  Two packs for large cars and SUVs.  More for semi trucks.
 These packs should contain all the battery management systems
necessary.   
    If the oil executives whine about the bottom line, Just
remember that they just made record profits for the last 7 years
at our expense.  If the Automotive Manufactures association say
they cost more than Petroleum vehicles.  They're wrong.  They
could afford to scrap all the EVs they made before.   If they try
to bribe you again, prosecute.   
    The DMV needs to change their law that prohibit EVs because
they don't have air pollution control devices on them.   
    Electric vehicles are less expensive to build and operate. 
Ask San Francisco Muni that operates Diesel and Trolley buses in
their fleet.              
       Thank you,        Lou