Electric vehicles, why don't we see them?
I haven't posted to the Vanagon list for several years.  I read them and sometimes p-mail individuals with help on certain subjects.  This issue of safe vehicles, electric vehicles, oil dependence, etc., it really burns me that the auto makers and the oil industry are so slow to recognize what is going on.  They are cashing in while the getting is good and we will be left holding the bag when oil prices are $5 a gallon by next winter (or sooner).  There are several folks on this list that have converted their vans to electric power, neat idea, but a box powered by an electric motor isn't ideal.   Good aerodynamics are needed to obtain an efficient package.  There was a movie made called, "Who killed the electric car?" that was VERY revealing.  It is available on Netflix and probably on Blockbuster.  This was about a SUCCESSFUL electric car that GM made back in the 90's (?), where everyone that owned one really liked them.  There was a waiting list for them!  They weren't actually sold to people, GM leased them to the owners.   After someone in the government (big oil?) put some pressure on GM, GM took all of the cars back from owners.   Some of the owners tried to keep them, but GM wouldn't let them.
It's a sad reflection of turning a quick buck and the big corporations controlling the daily lives of us lowly citizens.  The more I read and see on TV about all of the stupid things that the United States government has done (poor handling of Iraq from the onset, limiting resources for alternative fuels/energy, outsourcing basic supplies/industries to other countries that ends up hurting the economy of the U.S. and INCREASING costs for those supplies/industries in the end, etc).  Sorry, I'm ranting and I don't usually do that.  I'm just disgusted with the direction our current government/economy is heading.
Back to your normally scheduled Vanagon info.................

Matt
'87 Subie powered Westy

Matsuwesty Adventures website: http://home.earthlink.net/~matsuwesty
FAVOR website: http://home.earthlink.net/~clubvanagon
Yahoo FAVOR website: http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/vanagon_club