FIGHT BACK : GM CHARGES INTO ELECTRIC CAR MARKET.

Byline: David Horowitz 

It's an event that environmentalists and proponents of electric vehicles have been looking forward to for years. For the first time since the early 1900s, a major American automaker will offer an electric passenger car - not a converted gasoline vehicle, but an entirely new design.

Early in November, General Motors will introduce its EV-1 electric coupe in Saturn dealerships across California and Arizona. The EV-1 is a lightweight two-seater equipped with dual air bags, anti-lock brakes, a CD player and cruise control. The car's lead-acid batteries can be recharged from either 110-volt or 220-volt power sources. Driving range between charges is 70 miles to 90 miles, depending on traffic and weather conditions.

Figuring out what the EV-1 will cost takes a little number crunching. The sticker price will be about $35,000. But federal, state and local incentive programs may knock that down to around $27,500. Initially, Saturn will not sell the EV-1 but only lease it, along with the home battery charger. The mandatory three-year lease is intended to relieve buyers' concerns about the car's mechanical reliability and resale value. The bottom line right now looks like $450 per month for the car and charger, or about the same as a $30,000 car.

That's a lot of money for a tiny little car with a limited driving range and no record for safety or reliability. And yet the EV-1 may be sold out as soon as it hits the showroom floor. Saturn says it already has received more than a thousand inquiries about the car, of which about 300 are considered serious potential buyers.

That's not a lot of cars. But this is a limited-production vehicle being sold in a very limited area of the country. In fact, GM is using the EV-1 to test the concept of producing low-volume specialty vehicles. If all goes well, the company will follow up with an electric version of its popular Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck for commercial fleet operators.

GM spent a lot of money and devoted a lot of resources to be the first to come out with an all-new electric passenger car, and the competition is not far behind. Both Honda and Toyota plan to introduce electric vehicles this coming year.

But for all the energy and enthusiasm being lavished on electric cars, no one is really sure what kind of retail market there will be for these vehicles - or how soon. Will the cars' performance live up to buyers' expectations? What will the prices be like five years from now? Will people want to own these cars for themselves, or are they more likely to become corporate fleet vehicles?

Backers of electric cars say these problems will all work out, that technology and performance will improve and that these vehicles will make a significant contribution to improved air quality. Critics concede that enough electric vehicles on the road could reduce local air pollution. But they also say that as long as we depend on fuel-fired power plants for electricity, the effect on carbon dioxide emissions and global warming will be minimal. They argue that we would get better results for less money by improving the internal combustion engine.

For the moment, however, all eyes will be on the EV-1 next November. And as a Southern Californian who has to breathe the air here, I wish GM well with its new car.