(IVHS) is also excluded,
technologies more closely
although there is a case to be made for integrating advanced vehicle
with the broader systemwide concerns of IVHS.THE FEDERAL ROLE IN ADVANCED VEHICLE R&D: A HISTORICAL
PERSPECTIVE-1970-1995
The federal government has played an active role in R&D of advanced automotive technologies
for more than 20 years. Fuel efficient, low-emission vehicles have long been seen by both federal
and state governments as crucial to achieving the twin goals of reduced U.S. dependence on
imported oil and improved urban air quality. Key pieces of federal legislation that have promoted
advanced vehicle R&D are shown in table 5-1.
Reduced Oil Use.
Beginning with the first oil shock in 1973, reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil became a
major focus of U.S. transportation policy. In an effort to stimulate the development and
commercialization of more fuel-efficient vehicles, Congress passed a series of laws beginning with
the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which mandated a doubling of the fuel economy
of the new car fleet from 14 to 28 mpg. The Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development,
and Demonstration Act was passed in 1976, which launched the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s)
Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Program.^3 Congress continued to promote the reduction of
transportation oil use through the Automotive Propulsion Research and Development Act of
1978, the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
Air Quality.
The desire for cleaner air, particularly in urban centers whose air quality falls below federal
standards, has also been a major motivator for government involvement in advanced vehicle
technologies. In fact, the Public Health Service (and later, the Environmental Protection Agency--
EPA) began finding research on cleaner-burning hybrid vehicles in the period 1969 to 1974.^4 But
perhaps no regulation has had a greater impact on R&D than California’s Low Emission Vehicle
Program--LEV (adopted in September, 1990), which was devised to ensure compliance with the
federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.
In particular, California’s requirement that 2 percent of vehicles sold in the state in 1998 (about
40,000 vehicles) must have zero emissions, rising to 10 percent--or 200,000 vehicles--by 2003,
has greatly stimulated research on battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles, the only
(^3) The EHV Program had three parts, including R&D funding, vehicle procurement for market demonstrations, and loan guarantees to promote the
involvement of small and medium-sized companies. (^4) Victor Wouk, "Hybrids: Then and Now,” IEEE Spectrum, July 1995, p. 16.