Fuel Cells and Steam-Powered Cars
* Re “Keep Spark in Electric Car Market,” editorial, Aug. 21: The California Air Resources Board zero-emission vehicle rule needs to be recognized for the bad and foolish idea it is and replaced with something that encourages viable, safe and clean alternative fuels for passenger vehicles and light trucks. Forcing auto makers to sell, at a loss, vehicles with severely limited range containing hundreds of pounds of highly toxic metals and acids that do nothing other than export our emissions problems to other states is foolish not-in-my-backyard activism at its most foul.
Fuel cells offer more promise as relatively safe, effective and efficient power sources for personal vehicles, as you mentioned in your editorial. Unfortunately, fuel cells do not qualify as zero-emissions vehicles--they exhaust water vapor and (unless running on pure hydrogen) carbon dioxide, as well as oxides of nitrogen and whatever other impurities exist in the fuel being converted.
Please encourage the air board to replace the ZEV mandate with something that will actually do some good.
RICK DAMIANI
Altadena
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My heartiest congratulations on your editorial. It is the most accurate depiction of the current state of this highly charged issue. At stake is the future of clean transportation. As an electric automobile driver of over three years, I can only praise the law that forced the manufacturers to develop the current fine technology. Left to their own devices, the auto manufacturers would continue to manufacture engines the same dirty way they have for over a hundred years.
TOM WHEAT
Studio City
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Much as I agree with your editorial advocating the increased use and continued development of electric vehicles, I marvel that nobody today mentions steam-powered automobiles.
A century or so ago, electric, steam and gasoline cars were all in use, and had their proponents and detractors. Ultimately, since air pollution was unthought of in that innocent era, gasoline won out, despite the complexity of internal-combustion engines, because of superior power and range.
Electric cars were driven mostly by the fair sex, since they were clean and easy to drive and were suitable for short trips.
But steam autos were the equal, if not the superior, of gasoline cars in speed, power and range--and were simpler mechanically and devoid of noxious fumes. Circa 1901 a stripped-down Stanley Steamer was clocked at 110 mph. But the problems that eventually brought them down were the inordinate length of time required to build up an adequate head of steam and the possibility of injury from leaking boilers--both of which could be easily solved with today’s technology.
Even so, the last steam car, the magnificent Doble, was built as late as 1925.
MARVIN H. LEAF
Rancho Mirage
