BOSTON, May 26 -- Five electric vehicles co-sponsored by the Northeast Alternative Vehicle Consortium (NAVC) achieved more than 100 miles of driving on a single battery charge in the annual Tour de Sol race, which concluded today.
"NAVC salutes those who participated in the race," said Sheila Lynch, NAVC Executive Director. "The outstanding performance of these vehicles gives a lie to the bogus claims by the auto and oil industries, which are conducting a massive propaganda campaign against electric vehicles."
Leading the pack was the new Solectria Corp. four-door "Sunrise," which broke the Tour de Sol record by driving 238 miles on a single charge. The Sunrise, sponsored by NAVC, Boston Edison Co. and the Pentagon's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), used a nickel metal hydride battery. The previous Tour de Sol record, set last year, was 214 miles.
The advanced nickel metal hydride battery is the same technology that General Motors is expected to use in commercial sales of its "Impact" electric vehicle.
Lynch noted that four other NAVC-sponsored electric vehicles achieved more than 100-miles using lead acid batteries. These vehicles included:
* A converted Solectria S-10 pickup truck from Hanscom Air Force Base, which went 109.7 miles;
* A Solectria Force (a converted Geo Metro) car, driven by Harold Garabedian, of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, which went 127.3 miles;
* A Solectria Force, using Horizon lead acid batteries and driven by two female high school students from the Ethel Walter High School in Connecticut, which went 127.3 miles; and
* A four-passenger 1995 Solectria Force, driven by Connecticut state officials, which went more than 100 miles.
"The race results show that the Big Three auto companies and the oil industry are dead wrong," said Lynch. "We've seen dramatic breakthrough in electric vehicles, and more are still to come."
The race of solar and electric vehicles, sponsored. by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), went from Waterbury, CT to Portland, ME through Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and New Hampshire.
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Wednesday, September 08, 2010 
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