Most of the U.S. was unaware that modern electric cars got their start in California between 1996 and 2002.
Many of the earliest owners and EV advocates from those days remain involved 20 years later, though their names may be familiar only to a small group of activists.
One of those people is Paul Scott, who’s been part of several important events in the early history of modern EVs.
What follows are his words, lightly edited for style and clarity by Green Car Reports.
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Life is a journey. I was a young hippy from San Antonio who found a new home in Eugene, Oregon, until a visual effects company offered me a job in Santa Monica, California.
After 23 wonderful years in Eugene, I had little notion of how life-changing that move would be. Shortly after the move, my life changed forever at age 49 when I received some sobering news from my doctor.
When death knocks at your door, you tend to think about what you have done with your life and what you always wanted to do.
In that moment I decided it was time to get serious about going clean, meaning clean energy. I would get the solar-power system I’d always wanted, so if nothing else, I’d leave a legacy of clean energy.
2002 Toyota RAV4 EV on eBay. Image: Plug In America2002 Toyota RAV4 EV on eBay. Image: Plug In America2002 Toyota RAV4 EV on eBay. Image: Plug In America
Researching solar panels and installation, I came across an electric-car website talking about the first-generation Toyota RAV4 EV electric car.
I was intrigued, and asked the group if there was any way I could test-drive one. The next day Bob Seldon brought his RAV4 over and let me take it for a spin.
I was floored by how nicely it drove, and Bob encouraged me to buy one. Toyota was willing to sell its electric cars, even then, while other makers were only leasing them—including the General Motors EV1.
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I took a deep breath, accepted Bob’s advice, and went for it. On my 50th birthday, the solar-panel installation was completed, and our first electric car arrived a couple of months later on December 21, 2002.
My wife and I were now powering both our home and our car on sunlight. It was an incredible feeling to know we had eliminated most of our personal pollution.
That gave me a new-found passion in my life: clean energy and driving electric.
Cast and crew of ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ at Sundance Film Festival
Around that time, I discovered DontCrush.com, a website sounding the alarm that the manufacturers of those limited numbers of first-generation electric vehicles were taking them back and destroying them.
A group of EV advocates—Doug and William Korthof, Alexandra Paul, Linda Nicholes, Mike Kane, Sherry Boschert, Chelsea Sexton, and Marc Geller— began to organize events to publicize this.
Director Chris Paine had attended nearly all of our meetings, and ended up filiming and documenting our events for almost three years.
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We began as a tiny group wanting to save a single vehicle—and our small but mighty team managed to save 200 trucks in the end. That gave us the confidence to go bigger, and we did.
One day, I received a phone call from Chris Paine, saying his movie—Who Killed The Electric Car?—had been accepted into the Sundance Film Festival.
With that validation there was no looking back.
Paul Scott with Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Marc Geller
Soon after, I helped to form a not-for-profit organization to bring electric cars into wider circulation, and Plug In America was born.
We began working to convince carmakers to build electric cars, as well as with state and national legislators to craft laws to encourage it.
One of our most effective initiatives for consumers was Jay Friedland’s work on what became the $7,500 federal income-tax credit for buying a plug-in electric vehicle.
Founders of Plug In America on the day it was formed, with electric Ford Ranger pickup truck
When it was initially discussed in Congress, the 200,000-unit limit was to be the total for all EVs from all carmakers, at a cost of $2 billion.
Jay and a few others convinced the bill’s authors and sponsors to make it 200,000 units per manufacturer, upping the total to more than $14 billion in incentives. To this day few know about this work.
While I was president of the Electric Vehicle Association of Southern California, we invited speakers to tell us about the efforts of local individuals and businesses involved in electric cars.
Right after he opened his new shop, I invited Harlan Flagg to talk about the business, Hollywood Electrics. He brought a couple of early electric motorcycles out for people to ride.
When Harlan’s inventory arrived for 2012, I bought my first Zero electric motorcycle, and quickly got hooked. Three more Zeros later, I still think they’re one of the best commuter vehicles in the world.
Paul Scott and Barbara [photo: Charles Ryan-Barber]Paul Scott and Barbara with Zero electric motorcycle [photo: Charles Ryan-Barber]Paul Scott and Barbara with Zero electric motorcycle [photo: Charles Ryan-Barber]
Sometime earlier, my enthusiasm for electric cars and clean energy came to the attention of Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.
Little did we know that Nissan had secretly been working on a production electric car to be sold in much higher volumes than that first generation a decade previously.
I was invited to go to Nissan’s headquarters in Yokohama for a test drive of a very early production model of the Leaf, and was among the first non-employees to drive the car.
Paul Scott drives first production Nissan Leaf in Yokohama, Japan, late 2010
That experience inspired me to support the car and Nissan on a totally different level. After returning home, I walked into Santa Monica Nissan and asked to speak with the owner.
By the end of our conversation, it was clear I could best spread the word about the Leaf by selling it directly—so I became a car salesman.
One year later, I had sold more Leafs than any other Nissan salesperson in the U.S.
Exciting as that might be, it wasn’t what drove me. My real aspiration was to share with as many people as possible the real economic benefits of electric cars. That was simply the best way I knew how to do it
Today, my global outlook and involvement with clean energy and electric cars continues to grow.
My core values haven’t changed: I still want to introduce as many people as possible to the benefits of sustainable living.
Now most utilities offer customers the option of close to 100-percent clean energy, and third-party solar-energy suppliers of solar energy can sell you clean energy delivered by your utility.
Now there’s minimal reason for anyone to power their home with dirty electricity generated from fossil fuels. Everyone deserves to know about available clean-energy options that don’t require a major lifestyle change.
We all have a responsibility to take care of our planet.
Fifteen years later, I continue to think one of the single best ways to do that is to start by driving on sunshine.
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