From the Archives: The Electric Car (1980)

In May, we looked back to show you that the Solar Power push didn't just happen in the 21st Century.   WDEF did a series of reports in the early 80s on TVA's Solar program, and we wondered what went wrong with the promise?

Now that gas is hitting $4 a gallon nationwide, it's time to talk about Electric Cars.

They, too, have been around for awhile.  The question is why haven't we put more of them on the road?

Chattanoogans had their chance.  WDEF reporter Russ Geller found this electric car at the old Burcham Motors in 1980.

 (Joe Burcham is an interesting story himself.  His career in the car business hit a snag when he got into some legal trouble, served his time, got Saved, and became involved in prison ministries.  He died last year, but still has family in the area.  Burcham Motors is still in operation, under different management, on Hixson Pike)

Sure, this wasn't the most practical car, but it was a start.

By the next decade, GM had a fleet of electric cars on the road.

They too had their limitations.

But they had a small group of willing customers, California liberals and the Hollywood elite, who were perfectly willing to the guinea pigs for all of us.

However, in ten years, the company took back all the cars and shredded them.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

They made a movie about it a few years ago.

And now that gas prices are topping four dollars, I highly recommend it to you.

Sure, it's full of lefty, California environmentalism propaganda.

But whether you blame Big Oil & Big Auto Companies for fighting the competition, or California liberal government for trying to over-ride the free market system, the result was the same.

The trial period we needed to refine this technology was cut off.

And those cars sure would be handy now.

But there is a happy ending that has the makers of "Who Killed the Electric Car" thinking about a sequel.

There is a rush of new electric vehicles rolling off production lines now.

Senator Lamar Alexander (TN) and Rep. Bud Cramer (AL) hosted a forum last week in Nashville showing off new electric and hybrid vehicles, including hybrid delivery trucks now used by FedEx.

Senator Alexander predicted “Within five years, tens of thousands of Tennesseans could be driving plug-in cars and trucks, saving money on fuel, making the air cleaner, and reducing the number of dollars we send overseas to countries funding terrorists who are trying to kill us.  Plug-in electric cars and trucks are about to give Big Oil some real competition.”

And here is Tom Hanks pushing his new E-Box from AC Propulsion.

And here is the E-Box from the outside.

So we've come a long way from the ComutaCar on Rossville Boulevard back in 1980.

But we didn't come far enough, fast enough to avoid $4 gas today.

One footnote from Who Killed the Electric Car.

The closest connection the Tennessee Valley had to the film was S. David Freeman.

The former TVA Board Chairman was interviewed extensively in the movie.

He's the guy who said that the Federal Government should have mandated electric car production, much like they mandated Seatbelts in cars.

Well last week, Freeman returned to Chattanooga for an energy forum.

And this time he took on TVA's plans to expand their nuclear program.

He says the agency has dropped the ball by fixating on nuclear power.