WHICH IS WHY THE GAS TAX CAN ONLY BE A TEMPORARY SOURCE OF FEDERAL TAX DOLLARS:

He's a driving force in the world of electric cars: Tom Gage, a self-described 'car nut' since childhood, has been advancing the technologies under the hoods of electric vehicles as chief executive of AC Propulsion. (Ken Bensinger, August 30, 2009, LA Times)

A self-described "car nut" since childhood, Gage moved to Georgia to work as a race mechanic after graduating from Stanford University with an engineering degree. After a few years tinkering with turbos and emissions systems, he wiped off the grease, got an MBA and landed a job at Chrysler. There he got his first jolt of electric transportation, working on a program to develop plug-in passenger vehicles. That effort sputtered, and Gage ultimately left Detroit for California to consult on advanced vehicle technologies.

In 1994, he met Alan Cocconi, who had put an electric drivetrain into an old Honda Civic. Driving it, Gage said, "was a life-changing experience for me." Soon after, he "started hanging out at AC Propulsion," Cocconi's company, and worked his way up the ladder. [...]

Gasoline engines can be great for power or for fuel economy, but not both, Gage said. That's a compromise that electric cars don't have to make. He said vehicles running AC Propulsion's drivetrain, called the tzero, can have bullet-like acceleration yet still get from point A to point B for just a few pennies' worth of juice. The only limitation is range, which is rapidly increasing as lithium battery technology improves.

"The most compelling feature is that you don't use petroleum," Gage said. "For many uses, electrics are superior."

Once you crank up the cost of gasoline the transition will be so fast that we'll have to phase in a broad consumption tax to make up the revenues.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 30, 2009 7:27 AM