35MPH Electric Car Fits Bainbridge Pace of Life Perfectly

Sometimes we stop to think--for instance while waiting to hear more about the non-credible bomb threat that's halted the Bremerton ferry run this afternoon--about Bainbridge Island. Which is always the way. Bremerton forever gets the short end of the stick.

So in contrast to hours of snarled ferry traffic, the news out of Bainbridge has to do with this electric car, the ECH, that Bob Fraik has built. It tops out, for now, at 35 mph, and has two battery pack options. The economy size gets you about 80 miles, and lasts 100,000. It recharges on household 110 current. The car, built locally by Evergreen Electromotive, hold two adults in front and two little people (possibly children) in the rear.

That the car exists at all is thanks to Gov. Chris Gregoire signing House Bill 1820, which allows electric vehicles to be driven on city and county roads without having undergone expensive crash testing. Fraik jumped on the opportunity, and his ECH was unveiled on November 5 at the Seattle Auto Show. Now he just needs oil prices to jack themselves again.