T.O. DEALER SHOWS OFF ELECTRIC CAR : GETTING A REAL CHARGE.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Perrin Davidson is too young to drive - there aren't many 11-year-olds with driver's licenses these days - but he was delighted just to sit in the passenger seat for a ride in a new electric car.

After a spin from the Saturn of Thousand Oaks dealership up Thousand Oaks Boulevard and around to the Ventura Freeway on Thursday, the self-described car buff was ready to comment on General Motor Corp.'s new EV-1 car.

``It felt like a jet plane . . . like if it had wings, I would have taken off,'' said Perrin of Westlake Village. ``It was a really different feeling.''

Perrin was one of about a dozen people who rode the new EV-1 electric car, which was unveiled Thursday at Saturn of Thousand Oaks, one of two locations in the county where the car is available for lease. The other location is at the Oxnard Saturn dealership, officials said.

The EV-1, designed and built to run on electricity, has been classified by air quality regulators as pollution-free.

Though available to the public, the EV-1s are still essentially experimental and available only on a three-year lease basis arranged through General Motors Acceptance Corp., said Dale Van Wagner, a sales specialist for the corporation.

``They want to get the vehicles back after three years and see what they look like, how they held up,'' Van Wagner said.

Lease payments will range from the high $400s to the low $600s per month, depending on several factors, he said.

So far, Saturn has 10 confirmed orders for the cars, and the applicants are being evaluated for qualification, said Jerry Stevens, general sales manager for the dealership in the Thousand Oaks Auto Mall.

To qualify, the applicants' homes or businesses should be able to handle the chargers needed to recharge the car's battery, he said.

Westlake Village resident Cecil McLester became the first lessee to drive off the lot with an EV-1 - a ribboned, fire engine-red model that sat in the showroom during Thursday's official unveiling ceremony.

McLester, a corporate account manager for Motorola Semiconductor Products Inc., said that for six years, he had been on the team that developed the semiconductors used in the car.

When he learned that the EV-1 was about to become available, he approached the company and requested that they lease one for his company car. Motorola is paying $500 a month, he said.

``They said OK, all you have to do is write us a quarterly report, and I said fine,'' he said.

Because the cars get only 70 miles city and 90 miles highway on 85 percent of a battery charge, he said that he would retain his gas-powered company vehicle for longer trips, using the EV-1 for short trips, he said.

Also, under the lease agreement, he can drive the car only 10,000 miles a year - one-third the mileage he travels in a typical year, he said.

The cost of recharging the battery should be about $10 a month - a pittance, as far as he is concerned.

But there are other advantages, McLester said. For example, on a hot day he can set a timer in the car to start the air conditioner 15 minutes before he gets inside.

Also, the EV-1s are exempt from laws barring cars with only one passenger from freeway car-pool lanes, he said.

``Just riding down the diamond lane by myself is exciting - I don't need my blow-up dummy any more,'' he joked.

Their clean operation should make the EV-1 a good addition to the city's car fleet, Thousand Oaks Mayor Judy Lazar said. She plans to make a positive report to the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, she said.

The only thing that could place the cars out of the city's reach is the price. ``Hopefully the price would come down eventually,'' Lazar said.

Councilwoman Linda Parks, a staunch environmentalist, also saw the car's benefits: They're clean and quiet.

``The environmental friendliness of this car cannot be matched,'' Parks said.

Most of the people who tested the cars were taken by the smooth ride, their rapid acceleration - and that it sounded just like an airplane.

After a test drive, Lazar popped her head out of the sleek gray model like a victorious racer, a broad smile playing on her face as she described the sensation.

``Hey guys, I gotta tell you, this car flies,'' she said. ``This is like taking off on a jet plane. It's a little fast.''

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3 Photos

Photo: (1--Color only in Conejo edition) Saturn of Thousand Oaks offered test drives Thursday of the new EV-1, which is available only on lease in green, red or silver.

(2--Color only in Conejo edition) The charging port is located in the EV-1's front. The electric car is expected to cost customers $10 a month to recharge.

(3--Ran in Conejo edition only) The Saturn slogan for the electric car hangs on the front door of the dealership's showroom.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News