District Refuses to Fund Electric Car

One man’s vision of building an electric car was temporarily stalled this week when the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District refused to fund his project.

Oxnard inventor Ed Young asked the district to spend almost $25,000 of its $1.5-million Clean Air Fund to convert a Jaguar XKE to a vehicle that runs primarily on electricity.

Young said he would alter the vehicle to run on 90% electric power and just 10% on gasoline. But, Young added, it would be a vehicle that consumers would accept as a viable alternative to contemporary cars. “People will stand in line to buy it,” Young told district board members. “It will be built out of components that are recently patented that very few people know about.”

But Air Pollution Control Officer Richard H. Baldwin recommended the district deny the request because major car manufacturers already are experimenting with electric vehicles.

“I don’t believe funding this car is going to add anything to the development of electric car technology,” Baldwin said.

Members of the Air Pollution Control District denied the request without discussion Tuesday. The panel controls the $1.5-million fund, which was donated by a local manufacturer to help find clean-air solutions.