GM Electric Car Creating a Buzz Among Drivers

Since July, ordinary drivers in Southern California have been commuting to work in cars powered by sophisticated battery-powered systems--and by all reports they like what they are driving.

Less clear is whether they would be willing to pay as much as $25,000 for an electric car whose range is so limited that it is likely to be used only for driving around town or commuting.

Still, more than three months into General Motor Corp.’s $32-million test program of its Impact car, virtually all the drivers have been surprised at and pleased with the performance, according to officials at GM and utilities in Southern California.

“My husband and I would buy one in an instant, assuming the price were reasonably comparable” to conventional vehicles, said Eileen Givens, the mayor of Glendale. “I had no idea it would drive like that--very smooth, very powerful, a luxury car compared to my station wagon.”

The GM test is the first market research based on the use of real cars for ordinary commuting. Other auto makers have run less-ambitious tests of vans and delivery vehicles for fleet use.

While Detroit has been deeply skeptical of the potential market for electric vehicles, it is nonetheless moving ahead to develop the cars for eventual sale to the public because of California’s tougher air pollution rules.

By 1998, 2% of new cars offered in California showrooms by the largest U.S. and foreign auto makers must be emission-free. Given the current technology, these will almost certainly be electric cars.

Southern California Edison Co. and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are administering the Los Angeles tests along with GM engineers. The utilities are preparing to provide the infrastructure to recharge electric vehicles in what they hope will be a major transportation shift that could generate huge new revenues for them.

By December, a total of 80 ordinary commuters will have a chance to take the car home in Southern California. So far, 11 volunteer drivers have tried the sporty two-seater, along with dozens of public officials and utility executives. The cars are also being tested in Phoenix, and tests begin next week in San Francisco, with nine more U.S. cities to follow.

So far, the only glitches have been a paper cup full of root beer that fell into an instrument panel (which had to be cleaned) and a mouse that chewed up the leather upholstery in one of the prototype cars, utility officials say.

The Impact draws stares on the highway for its distinctive shape, and a lot of questions whenever it’s parked. One of the first is price.

Though GM once estimated that it could market an Impact for $20,000, it is now hinting at a price closer to $25,000. The auto maker has not said whether it would market the Impact or a different electric car, or when the first car would be sold.

Chrysler has said it expects to market an electric minivan for $18,000 but would keep the price that low by spreading the development costs among conventional cars throughout its California fleet.

Many who have driven GM’s Impact said in interviews with The Times that $25,000 would be a reasonable sticker price. But not everyone.

“I’m a middle-class guy,” said Bob Ercek, a certified public accountant in Lancaster, as he pulled a pocket calculator out while his Impact was recharging at a small restaurant on the Angeles Forest Highway.

After factoring in utility estimates of lower maintenance and operating costs, Ercek figured he would be willing to pay as much as $21,000 for a car that has a range of 70 to 90 miles, can travel 80 m.p.h and will accelerate from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in 8.5 seconds.

“And the looks are fantastic,” he said.