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Going Green: It’s Cool For the Planet

Presented by California Auto Museum at California Automobile Museum

April 22, 2009-December 31, 2010

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The newest exhibit at the California Automobile Museum is not about the past, but the years ahead, as it highlights the futuristic technology that is expected to power low-polluting, environmentally advanced cars on the state’s roads. This exhibit showcases a range of vehicles that span the turn of the 20th century to the early years of the 21st century, including prototype experimental vehicles that have helped develop hydrogen fuel cells, as well as electric plug-in technology that is expected to be widely available in the next five years.

Among the cars featured in the exhibit is one of only 12 surviving models of the EV-1, an all-electric prototype manufactured by General Motors between 1991 and 2003 in response to California’s demand for non-polluting vehicles. The majority of EV-1s, also known as the Impact, were leased to California drivers and were subsequently recalled by GM and destroyed to protect patent rights after the car maker chose not to mass produce it.

In stark contrast to the EV-1, the exhibit also features a 1913 Rauch and Lang, highlighting the fact that all-electric cars are hardly a new idea, but were actually widely available at the turn of the last century. The Rauch and Lang, with a range of 50 miles and a top speed of 25 mph, was manufactured in Cleveland until the company merged with the Baker Electric Car Company in 1916. The ultra-quiet electric cars were popular with doctors who often made late night house calls and also were popular with women, who didn’t have to struggle with crank starting a Model T.

Other cars featured in the Going Green exhibit include:
-The Joule: an experimental gasoline/electric hybrid build by students at the UC Davis FutureCar Project. Built on a Ford Taurus chassis, the Joule has a 400 mile range and delivers an estimated 80 miles per gallon
-The Necar 4: a fourth-generation Mercedes Benz that uses a hydrogen fuel cell to generate electricity. As a result, the Necar (New Electric Car) produces no tailpipe pollutants other than water vapor.