by John Valenti
The signboard at the local Exxon station a few blocks from the Hicksville train station said it all: Regular $2.19.9 Plus $2.23.9, Supreme $2.33.9.
These are the newest signs of the times in America – gas station signboards that seem more hazard warning than advertisement. You know: Outrageous gas prices ahead, rising daily, no end in sight.
For more than two years now, Martin Marcus has given little thought to those signboards. Not even when prices soared through $2 a gallon.
"Gas prices are absolutely crazy," Marcus said. "I'd just pass a gas station and wave. " He'd wave – or thumb his nose – because his wife works three blocks from home. And because for the last two years Marcus has used an electric car as his so-called "station car" – the car he drove between his home on Rim Lane and the Long Island Rail Road station on Route 106 in Hicksville. The 60-year-old promotion company executive from Hicksville was one of about 100 metropolitan-area commuters who, back in 2002, signed on for the "Clean Commuter Campaign" sponsored by the New York Power Authority.
But now the first phase of the program is nearing an end. Come October, the Power Authority will literally pull the plug on 40 Long Island drivers – Martin Marcus, among them – who, due to federal regulations, will be forced to return their leased TH!NK city electric cars built in Norway under contract to Ford Motor Co. The second phase of the campaign was short-circuited when plans for an American-built version of the electric car fell through. The original version, which received a 30-month test exemption from U. S. safety standards, is no longer made.
"The Clean Commute program was extremely successful," Power Authority spokesman Brian Warner said. But, as Power Authority electric transportation supervisor Kerry- Jane King said: "It has been really hard for us to find a substitute. That is a letdown for us. But, it's out of our control."
Soon, electric car drivers like Marcus will have to find a gasoline-powered alternative at a time when gas prices – and, gasoline-based pollutants – are streaking into the stratosphere. "Of course," he said, "I'm upset about this. " Every day we see more hybrid cars – cars that run on gasoline and electricity – on the roads. But electric cars, powered by nickel-cadmium batteries, are few and far between.
Their range is limited. Their power often is, too. Most American manufacturers fear Americans don't want them. Right now, they just don't offer enough bang for the buck.
But, Power Authority officials argue, their test proves there is a viable market. The test participants leased the $30,000 cars for $199 a month, though they received rebates on railroad tickets and auto insurance costs for the cars. Often the butt of jokes, Marcus said: "We loved it as much as we laughed about it." Even if he wore a clown nose the night he first drove it home.
Bodied in rough plastic reminiscent of a garbage can, the TH!NK is 117. 8 inches long, 63.1 inches wide, 61.5 inches high, runs on 13-inch tires and weighs in at 2,112 pounds – smaller than a Mini Cooper, the smallest current production car in the U. S. It has a maximum speed of 56 mph, takes seven seconds to go from 0-31 mph and has a range of about 50 miles. Which also means it's slow – and it's limited.
But, honestly, the two-seater feels much bigger. And faster. And driving 40 mph feels like 80 mph in a motorized go-cart – something I thought I'd only say about my Mini Cooper.
Besides, Marcus said, it is perfect for morning commutes to the train station. Or for running errands around town on the weekends. Especially, since the Power Authority installed a series of 220 volt plug-in stations at both the Hicksville and Huntington rail road stations – the ones in Hicksville are located in the Town of Oyster Bay Parking Garage – and also installed them in the homes of commuters who tested the TH!NK.
A full charge takes about six hours, Marcus said. None of this matters much now, though, of course. It will soon be lights out on the "Clean Commuter Campaign." Despite it's success.
"I've been thrilled with it," said Marcus, whose other car is a Volvo C70 convertible. "For two years, with only one car using gas, I've saved all that money. Now, if they discontinue the program, I go back to gas consumption . . . I'm not looking forward to that." Considering the signs of the times, who can blame him?
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