By Doug Draper
That beautiful little yellow car with no gas-powered engine in it was back in front of the regional headquarters for Niagara, Ontario again and this reporter is marking the date the date of its return – Thursday, September 15 – down in my diary.
St. Catharines regional councillor Tim Rigby takes his turn riding in prototype electric car Niagara industires could help build here. Photo by Doug Draper
If I sound a bit giddy, I make no apologies and I’ll tell you why. It was the first day in my 40-plus years as a driver of gas-powered cars that I was taken for a spin in a fully functioning electric car – one that doesn’t use an ounce of gasoline from the moment to the ignition key turns the car on to the moment it turns it off. And as a reporter who began covering environmental stories more than three decades ago, I don’t mind telling you this is something I’ve been waiting for.
Steve Dallas, president of Toronto Electric and owner of this vehicle, which is licensed for the road by the way, took me for a short but sweet ride that showed the get-up-and-go, of this vehicle and its ability to ante up to any gas guzzler (including mine) now on the road. It was enough to make up for the anger I felt when I first watched that 2006 film documentary ‘Who Killed The Electric Car?’ about General Motors and the oil industry lobby in the United States pulling the plug on a promising line of electric cars in the 1990s.
Electric car that could be part of Niagara's future pulls in to regional headquarters
So much for the Americans and their hopeless addiction to gas guzzlers and oil. Let them go on singing the bumper sticker slogan of one of their favourite populist icons, Sarah Palin – ‘Drill baby drill!’
Now we have an opportunity, right here in Niagara, Ontario to build and drive electric cars in to the 21st century.
The partners of “Project Eve,” a coalition of Canadian manufacturing companies, research facilities, colleges and universities and others, were back in Niagara for the second month in a row, not just to give journalists and politicians a ride in their prototype electric car, but to find industries in the regions that may want to produce parts for it. They are also hoping governments and others here may be interested in purchasing such a car.
The one this reporter took a short ride in is about the size of a Volkswagen and can travel up to 21o kilometres or 120 miles on a single charge from a standard home electrical outlet. It is capable of reaching speeds of more than 100 kilometres or 60 miles an hour.
The key question is, who, would be the first out of the gate to buy one of these vehicles when, as is the case with any new product that is not yet being made in large quantities, the initial cost would be on the high side compared to a standard gas-powered car. For example, would any government body here consider adding them to their fleet for certain purposes that don’t involve a lot of long-distance driving?
The few fully electric cars on the market today range in prices around $40,000 – a cost that will come down as demand grows to a point where they can be mass-produced. In the meantime, Project Eve directors say the high cost of gasoline compared to charging an electric car (which can travel the same distance on about $8 of electricity versus $100 of gas) will help make the vehicle pay for itself over time.
David Alexander, a former Welland city councillor and executive director of the not-for-profit Niagara Workforce Planning Board made up of business, labour, education and other groups in the region, is helping Project Eve offer the opportunity to sell the car and have parts for it manufactured here.
“I feel the benefit here is that we have put Niagara Region on the inside track in getting the car developed,” said Alexander, “and that means jobs, training and investment in a cutting-edge development.”
Niagara At Large will continue following the status of this project for the purposes of letting our readers know what developments.
Meanwhile, we encourage you to share your views in the comment boxes below.
Niagara At Large 
I’m certainly looking forward to the day (in my lifetime?) when affordable electric cars rule the world! In the meantime, we should be mindful of our impact on the environment, and take steps to reduce that impact, instead of giving in to laziness (using drive-thru’s or leaving your car idling while you go into the bank or corner store) and vanity, believing that bigger is better and that driving a monster truck or SUV somehow makes you look more successful or cool. An electric vehicle is a wise choice but it’s not the only way to demonstrate our collective wisdom, nor should we stop there. We only have one planet. We need to take better care of it.
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Maybe we could attach one of those ridiculous windmills to it.
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Might I suggest that one of the people commenting above forgot to watch Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.
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I tried to buy a hybrid vehicle, but it was prohibitively expensive. Once the electric vehicles are ready, I hope we have a government that will provide incentives to buy them.
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I have no problem with government playing a role in securing the manufacturing facility to locate here through some sort of tax relief for a given time in order to get established. That goes for any manufacturer wishing to locate in Niagara.
I do, however, have difficulty in government subsidizing individuals with the purchase costs. It is essential that this product is competitive in order that the company is profitable and can survive.
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North American car manufacturers are heavily subsidized anyways, through bailouts, tax incentives etc. I doubt there’s any bailout money left (I hope not), so why not increase sales, at a reduced cost, by offering incentives for the consumers to buy the products?
Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project illustrates the imperative of shifting to alternate transportation now.
Mind you, given the importance of getting these electric vehicles on the road, I would support massive infusions of government dollars for this company.
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I did not support the bail-out of automobile manufacturers as incompetence should not be rewarded. Similarly, the recent disaster of solar panel maker Solyndra going bust after 500 plus million in US gov’t loans illustrates that governments do a poor job when they immerse themselves in the marketplace.
As for Al Gore, I am apparently considered the equivalent of a racist for holding skeptical views on the cause of the statistically insignificant amount of global warming we are experiencing. Just saying..
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As for Al Gore, why believe someone who strategically omits data to prove his point. As for this car…WHEN CAN I GET ONE!!!??
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Windmills have a place in the production of energy – production costs, implementation tecniques and location choices need work !!
Hybrid Vehicles have a place in the conservation of energy but I do not want my tax dollars paying for any part of anyone’s personal vehicle so they can personally reap any cost saving. I agree with J.L. and would like to add that Al Gore does not seem to practice what he preaches.
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Al Gore and others should read the column in the Review today, All of Gore’s theories have been debunked. He and his telethon are only in it for the money.
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Most would like this electric enterprise to succeed, so it’s worth discussing options. Why is RIM foundering, and are there any lessons to be learned?
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My only concern about the electric car is how will this impact on the grid? Will this mean that MY electricity rates will be jacked up because more and more people are driving electric cars in MY community, when I am not driving? Also, where is this electricity going to come from? Dirty coal, nuclear, or wherever else? I think these are important questions we need to ask before we engage in a venture like this, although if it can be workable, electric cars at least emit zero emissions on their own.
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What I’m asserting relates to electric cars, because the fact of AGW will be a needed catalyst for their future. NOTHING in the Niagara Falls Review or the Welland Tribune successfully “debunks” Al Gore’s message. NO National Academy Of Science in the developed world denies Anthropogenic Global Warming. Not one. Certain unscientific communities like to draw false/unscientific conclusions from scientific experiments. The Welland Tribune basically serves as a lapdog to corporate interests regarding AGW issues. They are serving the corporate interests rather than the community intetrests. I could continue, but I hesitate to do so at this time.
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Obviously Mark Taliano did not read Charles Adler’s column. I don’t know what Mark’s definition of an Academy is but the report of 1,000 scientists (and this is not the first such report) must be given credence.. As Adler says, the sun controls the climate, not my car.
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World-wide, 98% of qualified scientists with peer-reviewed articles indicate that AGW is real.
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And your data comes from where? I will absolutely guarantee you that Al Gore has no qualifications as a scientist. i guess you believe that the 1000 scientists that met are also not qualified.
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Bill McKibben and James Hansen are big names, The article that you referred to is horrible from a scientific point of view, and the papers that publish it are being irresponsible for publishing ****.
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Here’s an e-mail I received from another qualified source. (desmogblog.com) I’ve also asked that he provide a rebuttal for the article that you referenced, and I’m sure there will be additional rebuttals shortly.
Paul Joseph Watson is not the CERN study author, he’s actually a climate denier who writes for the website Prison Planet. Not a trustworthy source of information. Watson mangles the CERN study to suit his agenda here: http://www.infowars.com/cern-scientists-gagged-on-politically-incorrect-global-warming-data/
For a scientific analysis of the new CERN study and what it means, please see Gavin Schmidt’s piece on RealClimate:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/08/the-cerncloud-results-are-surprisingly-interesting/
And the original CERN study in Nature is here:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v476/n7361/full/nature10343.html
Note that the CERN physicist leading the study, Jasper Kirkby, points out: “At the moment, it actually says nothing about a possible cosmic-ray effect on clouds and climate, but it’s a very important first step.”
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110824/full/news.2011.504.html
Best,
Brendan
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Nick,
You might also want to check out out the International Panel On Climate Change (IPCC), 2007
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I don’t care about Paul Watson but I do care about the CERN study in which reputable scientist admit that there is a direct relationship between cosmic rays and climate change. Note: Kirby also states in the article that early results indicate this to be true. You are entitled to believe your own scientific studies. The difference between us is that in analyzing I do not discard other studies as you seem to do with the CERN study. There is credible evidence on both sides to be studied but the grandstanding of Al Gore does nothing to further the search for the truth.
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Sorry, the Tribune/Niagara Falls editorial is to be totally discredited. There is no legitimate debate about the science of AGW. The conclusions that the editorial writer drew from the CERN studies are absolutely ridiculous, as are his other points.
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It is amazing how one can consider that scientists who have been educated, trained and have studied for decades are written off as illegitimate by Al Gore and Mark Taliano both of whom have none of the above qualifications. Complete denial of opposing views is the last resort of the uneducated.
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If a qualified scientist (with peer-reviewed articles) tells me that H20 is the chemical formula for water, then I believe it. On scientific issues that have been established, such as AGW, there are no valid opposing views, although there are still some unknowns. For example, global warming is happening much faster than earlier predicted.
There’s probably no point in discussing it further here, since our views are too polarized. Interestingly though, the Gore video did deal with the logical fallacy known as the Red Herring (drag a fish across a path to divert attention). The fact that Al Gore and I are not scientists does absolutely nothing to strengthen your position.
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In the early 1970s we heard about the depletion of the ozone layer at the north and south poles , we also found that the culprit was the freon gases used in air conditioners, fridges, and propellants used in spray cans, since they banned the freons, the ice caps now have an ozone layer again, thinner than before but it has renewed itself, perhaps the damage to the global warming problem started then and like an avalanche is now unstoppable. we have to live with the consequences somehow.
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Al Gore uses more aerosal hair spray tha I do. I’m glad to see it admitted that there is something fishy about Al Gore’s video. I’m sure Mark and George will be making a large contribution to his telethon. Yeah, right.
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As the author of this piece on the electric car, I am now almost sorry I wrote it. Rather than having a broader, more open-ended (and I might say open minded) discussion, there seems to be the same two or three people beating each other up in comments here over Al Gore and which experts are smarter than the others. Why don’t we just all agree to say forget about electric cars, if we can’t get any further down the road on that topic, and give it a break.
What is more frustrating is that it is dialogue like this that will never get us anywhere and is frankly compromising my 20-year-old daughter’s future. It is unfortunate that adults – so entrenched in one camp or another that they can never find any common ground on matters like this- are in the position of shaping young peoples’ future.
Frankly, due to so much polarized dialogue like this, I have just about had it with writing about electric cars or anything else that has to do with “green technology.” It likely doesn’t matter anyway since, if you stopped the pie fights over al gore, etc. for a few moments and talked to my daughter and so many of her friends, they’ll tell you that they don’t think they have much of a promising future anyway. We started squandering it 50 years ago. So fill up that tank with the bounty of the tar sands and gas on.
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Good morning Doug et al,
I’m sorry I have caused frustration over showing this vehicle in the Niagara region. As you can see, a simple discussion for a new product falls off the rails in a very short period of time. All of these comments and no-one has even driven it! There has not been a single dime of Government money put into this project. This is a private venture showing what Canadians have to offer in this area of expertise. We felt very strongly that we needed to produce a product, then show the market what can be accomplished. But alas, I should have been in queue just like the OEM’s for the handouts to produce nothing. It’s another slap in the face for trying our best here in Canada. I do not know how our politicians can deal with any issues once they make office. People look at this car and all they see is a car.
However, I am determined. Failure for a small company like ours is not an option I have at my disposal. The project is rolling along at a speed I can control. We are scheduled to be back in Niagara in early October.
If nothing else, we are enjoying the great food and wine.
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Hi Steve, Love your car and the tv show which showed it’s worth. The article Doug wrote is great and as I said WHEN CAN I GET ONE. By the way what battery source is used in the car to get such good mileage?
Good luck!
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Let me know when you’re hiring Steve!
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I have no objection to electric car manufacturers going into the competetive market place against gasoline powered cars. Who knows, just as the gasoline powered car replaced the horse and buggy it may replace the gasoline powered car as a better source of travel. Go ahead, but market it as a car not as a method to save the earth from some type of destruction.
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Evolution can lead to Adoption as the demand curve drives interest….Go For It!!!! Steve.
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The truth is, electric vehicles are cleaner and less polluting, General Moters in St,Catharines replaced their old gas guzzling headache splitting tow motors with clean quiet cheaper electric tow motors and batteries are changed in less than 5 minutes,the air was cleaner they were less noisy and did not belch carbon monoxide,.for me that is all the proof I need, TVO last night had a documentary of a power company in Portland Oregon the PPandG removed a dam on a salmon river that made hydro power and replaced it with a wind turbine, first time in one hundred years the Salmon River has run naturally, The new generation of Wind Plants are far superior than the older versions.
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