Taming pollution with hybrids

Hybrid cars are a clever product and a fascinating story. An all-American concept that resulted in a Japanese success.

 The first hybrid vehicle was a 1972 modified Buick Skylark built by Victor Wouk, an electrical engineer and entrepreneur, in response to the US Clean Air Act of 1970. The US Environment Protection Agency at the time offered funding for innovative car concepts. Mr. Wouk looked at the possibility of an all-electric vehicle but came to a conclusion that such vehicles were impractical. The agency accepted Mr. Wouk’s proposal to build a hybrid.

His car was equipped with a gasoline engine for starting and for extra power but the main motor was battery-operated. Although the batteries were re-charged by the car’s braking action, there was still an additional need to re-charge them overnight.  The initial tests went well, Victor Wouk received $30,000 as a reward and the agency continued testing the prototype. Since there were no electric vehicles on the roads between 1972 and 1997 when Toyota’ Prius was introduced, it is obvious that the agency let the project die. Yet Mr. Wouk’s smart idea survived.

In 1993, President Clinton initiated the Partnership for the Next Generation of Vehicles. This was similar to the 1970 initiative but bigger. American carmakers were invited to use government funding for research. Toyota was specifically excluded as a foreign company, felt slighted and commenced immediately to work in secret on its own project. Two years later, the company unveiled a concept hybrid car, not unlike Victor Wouk’s model but much more sophisticated.

In 1997, a production model of Prius was made available in Japan. American carmakers were horrified because they were nowhere near a concept car. After three years, Prius went on sale in North America. In 2001, Clinton’s initiative was ended without any results from the American industry. The worldwide sales of Prius are meanwhile soaring despite the high cost of the vehicle.

Environmental solutions are available but governments lack resolve and are easily persuaded by the oil industry not to upset the apple cart. Driving a hybrid today is an act of individual contribution towards clean air, laudable, expensive and unsupported by our governments. Clearly, more needs to be done.