The promise of the electric car has been pending for some time. Electric cars were suggested many years ago as a way of reducing oil and gas usage and costs and the harmful effects of their use in the form of air pollution and noxious emissions. The electric car is now a feasibility and is in fact being used by thousands of people in the United states on a daily basis. The electric car under discussion here is one to be produced by the Toyota company. The car is to cost around $10,000 and have four doors. It can be considered a four-seater economy vehicle. The target market for the electric car will begin with consumers in California, a state that has suffered considerably from air pollution and also a state with a strong "green" element, environmentally-minded consumers who would be attracted by the non-polluting electric car. In addition, the economy of California is such that it would be given a boost by the sale of such cars and by a possible manufacturing plant in the area to produce and distribute the vehicles.
The target market for the electric car is also made up largely of commutes, and California is a strong car-commuter culture. The electric cars being produced now have distance limitations which prevent them from being long-range traveling vehicles. They would not do for a vacation which took the family across the country, for instance. However, they are ideal for commuters in the city or suburbs to travel from their homes to their offices and back again. The user drives the car to work and parks it, then drives it home to plug in and charge up for the next day. When businesses begin to install feed plugs of their own, these vehicles will gain in range and popularity. For the time being, though, they are good for about 80 miles of driving, which comes within the range of the average commute in Los Angeles.
The use of these vehicles would help reduce the air pollution in the area, and as noted, this is ...