When the Silicon Valley chapter of the Electric Auto Association held its first electric vehicle rally 37 years ago, the cars were a curiosity. These days, with all-electric automaker Tesla setting up a powertrain plant in Palo Alto and President Barack Obama calling for a million electric vehicles on the nation’s roads by 2015, they’re on the verge of becoming big business.
Today, dozens of electric cars from past and present will roll — quietly — onto the Palo Alto High School campus for this year’s rally. Visitors shouldn’t expect a preview of the coming wave of mass-produced electric cars, said Jerry Pohorsky, president of the chapter. Instead, the event will present a snapshot of a diverse and still largely grassroots industry on the eve of its coming of age… Details