Wayne Goldman, Electric Car Pioneer

I just had the pleasure of speaking with one of the early developers of electric vehicles, Wayne Goldman. Though I don’t agree with a lot of what he said about the EV industry, I publish it here out of sheer respect for a man whose 40 year background as an engineer has earned him credibility among us EV enthusiasts:

Craig Shields: I’m sure readers would like to hear about the early days of EV development. Please tell me your story.

Wayne Goldman: I’d be glad to. In 1969 I was the engineering manager of Anderson Power Products, the major manufacturer of connectors used in battery-based equipment, like forklift trucks. It was boring. But one day I was looking through a copy of Scientific American and read about an electric car race from MIT to UCLA. I asked the president of the company if I could design a car for the race, and he said sure. Do it at home. I’ll pay for the materials. It featured a replaceable battery back.

CS: Ah. An early “Better Place?”

WG: Yes, you don’t have to sell the battery with the car. It’s the energy the car uses – not the car itself.

And we proved you don’t need $300 million to test a concept. That’s what drives me crazy about the way this industry is going. It doesn’t have to be everything to all people. Just design the vehicle for a specific use that a certain group wants to buy.

CS: OK, how did the project go?

WG: It was a great success. We got AVIS involved as a co-sponsor. After the race I asked the president to give me a small budget and to build a commuter vehicle. For $25,000 I built 2-passenger commuter. It was on the cover of Popular Mechanics, on CBS news – all over the place.

The Post Office saw what we were doing, and asked us to design an electric delivery vehicle. After three months of testing, everybody loved it. But the guy who bought the vehicles for the Post Office wouldn’t buy from a small company; he told me, “We’ll buy them when AM General (American Motors) builds them.” Finally, AM General did a joint venture with Gould that turned about to be a total disaster.

CS: Wow. What did the world learn from that, do you think?

WG: The bottom line is that you can’t convert a car to electric. It has to be designed from the ground up. But design them for specific purposes. I’ve build EVs for coal mining and baggage handling for the airlines.

CS: What about passenger cars?

WG: There is a specific market there, for commuters. But as a consumer, no one’s going to pay $50K for a commuter car. The world needs a cheap, fun, 2-passerger commuter. Don’t try to replace conventional cars.

Here’s another issue: EVs are 20-year vehicles. But after 10 – 12 years, you get pretty tired of your car. So I’ve designed a car that in the summertime is convertible and in the winter is a coupe.

CS: So you see the whole EV industry as headed essentially the wrong way. What about the Nissan Leaf, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, the Mini E, and the dozens of other EVs that will be hitting the streets in the next couple of years?

WG: It’s not the direction I would go. I live in Vermont and one my neighbors has a Tesla. It drives me completely crazy. Accelerating like a Ferrari may impress potential investors, but it’s not what people want, and it’s not the core strength of electric transportation.

CS: Did you mention that you had a book available? I’d be happy to link to it.

WG. Yes, it’s “My Thirteen Years Designing, Building and Testing Electric Vehicles 1969 to 1981”

CS: Thanks very much, sir. I’ve enjoyed the conversation.

WG: Me too.