L.A.'s alternative-fuel industry shifts to higher gear; East Coast decision adds momentum to nascent niche.

California is known across the country as being at the forefront of environmentalism, as evidenced by the state's requirement that 2 percent of all new vehicles sold in the state be pollution free by the year 1998, and at least 10 percent be pollution free by 2003. Now, other regions are jumping on the alternative-fuels bandwagon.

Just last month a bloc of 12 East Coast states and the District of Columbia decided to adopt recommendations that would promote the use of low-emissions vehicles. The program would require the sale of cleaner cars and trucks beginning in 1999.

And that growing drive toward cleaner vehicles could accelerate the growth of Los Angeles-area businesses involved in developing alternative-fuel technology. California's commitment to the use of electric cars was reaffirmed last week when the Assembly Transportation Committee voted down a bill that would have suspended the state's mandate to require auto manufacturers to market electric cars by 1998.

Michael Gage, chief executive officer of Calstart, a Burbank-based consortium of Southern California companies attempting to convert aerospace technologies to electric-car applications, said the growing movement toward low-emissions vehicles is "extraordinarily positive for California -- not just as a step toward cleaning our air, but also as a giant shot in the arms for our (alternative-fuel) industry."

Gage pointed out that, while some large defense firms, such as Hughes Aircraft Co., are involved with developing electric-car technology, the Los Angeles area is also home to several small, entrepreneurial shops developing electric-vehicle technology.

While American automakers have criticized low-emissions programs, small Los Angeles businesses involved in the electric vehicle industry are elated.

The decision by the Eastern states "has a very positive impact," said Dave Brandmeyer, vice president of U.S. Electric Car. "It has broadened the market for electric vehicles."

U.S. Electric Car is a Sebastapol, Calif.-based company that manufactures electric cars and trucks in South Central Los Angeles. The L.A. manufacturing plant will soon be stepping up its production of electric cars.

"Production will start when the results of the crash test come back," said Brandmeyer. He predicted that by May the plant will be in full swing. "We are already back-logged," said Brandmeyer.

He further predicted U.S. Electric Car's backlog will increase, given the recent decision by the East Coast bloc. "We will definitely be providing cars and trucks to these places," he said. U.S. Electric Car is already providing electric vehicles to several utility companies on the East Coast, said Brandmeyer.

Likewise, a local developer of batteries for electric vehicles said he expects to expand his business in the wake of the recent Northeast decision.

"We are very encouraged by the northeast states' decision to require non-polluting vehicles," said Wayne Davis, vice president of Santa Fe Springs-based Trojan Battery Co. One of Trojan's customers is a local manufacturer of electric and compressed natural gas-powered buses.

Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corp., based in Downey, is an early beneficiary of the movement to promote alternative-fuel vehicles in the Northeast. Its sales manager, Ken Allison, confirmed that Specialty was recently awarded a contract to build electric buses to shuttle travelers between the air terminals and parking facilities at Boston's Logan Airport. The Northeast, he said, is going to have a major impact on Specialty's business.

"It is a whole new market," said Allison. The new market opportunities for companies in the alternative-fuel industry, according to Brandmeyer, further enhance the feasibility of mass marketing electric cars.

One of the main criticisms leveled against the alternative-fuel industry has been that the cost of producing clean-running vehicles would be so high that the retail price to consumers would be prohibitive.

The heavily populated states of the Northeast represent a huge new market. When the Northeast jumped on the electric-vehicle bandwagon, electric cars and other low-emissions vehicles gained a toehold in 12 states and the District of Columbia. While California represents only about 10 percent of the nation's overall retail market for vehicles, Gage estimated the Northeast bloc that jumped on the electric-vehicle bandwagon last month represents about 40 percent of the nation's vehicle retail market.

And California companies will likely get a large portion of that expanded business because the state leads the world in the development and production of alternative-fuel vehicles, according to Allison of Specialty Vehicle.

Another potential beneficiary of the growing alternative-fuel industry is Amerigon Inc. of Burbank. Amerigon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lon Bell has a long history in the electric-car business. He founded Calstart and is now at the helm of a company which is developing a pair of products for electric cars. One is an electric-car chassis and the other is a computerized device that channels energy from the battery to those parts of the car that need it most.