Rob Lechner looks under the hood of one of the Lodi Electric Utility's 2001 Toyota Rav 4's on Thursday afternoon. The electric cars are completely powered from solar panels placed on the roof of a docking station. Once the cars get their full-powered one-hour charge, to drive 100 miles until empty, the excess solar energy goes back into the grid. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

'Who killed the electric car?'

Lodi utility to host talk on electric cars at Hutchins Street Square

It was among the most efficient cars ever built, running on electricity and producing no emissions. Yet General Motors crushed its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert in 2004.

The Lodi Electric Utility is highlighting the tragic fate of the first electric cars by showing the film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" on Monday at 6 p.m. at Hutchins Street Square.

"This is a nice opportunity to talk about alternative fuel vehicles," said Rob Lechner, manager of customer service and programs for the utility. "This keeps the issue in the forefront for the community."

For the last five years, the utility has leased three electric cars from Toyota. The RAV4-EVs are used to drive to meetings and for meter reader routes.

Lechner added the vehicles have had virtually no maintenance problems. And the utility's cars run on solar energy, not fossil fuel-generated electricity.

"We have a charging station using the sun," Lechner said. "There is truly nothing wasted."

He said the cars take about an hour to charge and run for up to 100 miles before needing to be recharged. When the solar panels are not charging cars, the power they generate is put back into the utility's supply.

Chelsea Sexton, executive director of the nonprofit group Plug In America, will speak before the free showing of the film and answer questions afterward. Sexton, who sold many EV1s as a saleswoman at General Motors, now promotes electric-powered cars through her organization.

The film, which is narrated by Martin Sheen, explores the automobile industry's response to California's zero-emissions mandate. Automakers developed electric cars, then fought to have the rules relaxed before destroying their fleet of electric vehicles.

Utility Director George Morrow said the city has tried to purchase the RAV4-EVs from Toyota, but the auto maker prefers to lease them. Electric car makers have confiscated and crushed vehicles after their leases have expired.

Electric utilities have partnered with the electric car industry, Morrow said, adding that surplus electricity could power all the electric cars in the world.

"There's a nexus between the electric industry and electric vehicles," he said. "It's good for the environment, good for air quality and good for business."

Each family or individual attending the event will receive a compact florescent lamp, a bag of popcorn and will be entered into a drawing for one of five DVDs of the film.

Contact reporter Matt Brown at mattb@lodinews.com.

First published: Friday, January 19, 2007