Several legislative and regulatory actions in the United States and worldwide renewed the electric vehicle development efforts. Primary among these was the U.S. 1990 Climate Act Amendment, the U.S. 1992 Energy Policy Act, and regulations issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Besides tighter air emissions requirements and regulations requiring reductions in gasoline use, several states have issued Zero Emission Vehicle requirements.
The "Big Three" automobile manufacturers, and the U.S. Department of Energy, or a variety of vehicle conversion companies became actively linked to electric vehicle development through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Electric conversions of familiar gasoline powered vehicles, along with electric vehicles designed from the start, became available that reached highway speeds with ranges of 50 to 150 miles between recharging.
Examples of 90s vehicles were the Chevrolet S-10 vehicle converted by U.S. Electricar. It had been powered by dual ac motors and lead acid batteries. It has a selection of about 60 miles and can be recharged in just 7 hours.
The Geo Metro, converted by Solectria Corp., a stainless steel-powered 4-passenger sedan powered by an AC motor and lead-acid batteries. It a selection of 50 miles, also it cpuld be recharged in less than 8 hours. Over the 1994 American Tour de Sol from Ny to Philadelphia, a 1994 Solectria Geo Metro cruised over 200 miles on a single charge using Ovonic nickel metal hydride batteries.
Ford offered a version of its Next year pickup. It had a choice of about 65 miles with its lead acid batteries, a top speed of 75 mph, it accelerated from 0 to 50 mph in 12 seconds, also it had a payload of 700 pounds.
General Motors EV1
General Motors designed and developed an electric car in the ground-up rather than modifying a current vehicle. This vehicle, referred to as the EV1, was obviously a 2-passenger sport car powered with a liquid-cooled AC motor and lead-acid batteries. The EV1 stood a top speed of 80 mph, stood a array of 80 miles, and can accelerate from 0 to 50 mph inside of 7 seconds.
As well as the EV1, General Motors offered a vehicle Chevrolet S-10 pickup. This vehicle had a selection of 45 miles, it accelerated from 5 to 50 mph in ten seconds, also it stood a payload of 950 pounds.
Other electric vehicles that have been available during 1998 included the Toyota RAV4 sport utility, the Honda EV Plus sedan, and the Chrysler EPIC minivan. These three vehicles were all built with advanced nickel metal hydride battery packs. Nissan placed limited amounts of their Altra EV station wagons in California fleets during 1998. The Altra was built with a lithium-ion power supply. Furthermore, both Ford and General Motors during 1998, made the Ranger, the EV1, as well as the S-10 pickup available with nickel metal hydride battery packs.
Cost-effective
By 1998, electric vehicles satisfied the driving requirements of many fleet operators and 2 car families, however, an expense of $30,000 to $40,000 (1998) made them expensive. However, this cost was considerably lower when tax credits and incentives were included.
Large-volume production and improvements inside the production process later reduced prices competitive to gasoline-powered vehicles.
An outstanding site for the history of electrical vehicles would be the "History of Electric Vehicles" created to encourage electric vehicle enthusiasts and help preserve the the recent past of electric vehicles.
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