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G&W has high hopes for the zinc-chloride system. "Its importance may well be equal to the development of the internal-combustion engine as it replaced the horse and buggy," says Judelson. In about nine months, G&W plans to have two prototype cars built, each with a range of 200 miles between charges. Fiddling with the chemistry could increase the range even more, he adds, with no increase in the system's weight of 544 kg (1,200 Ibs.). G&W calculates operating costs at 2.3¢ a mile for its Electric Engine, vs. 6.5¢ for a gasoline-powered equivalent. The firm says its system will cost less in the long run to operate, even though it would jack up the price of a car by $3,000.
Though it will require a major—some would say monumental—change in Americans' attitudes about their automobiles, Judelson foresees a vast potential market for EVs, especially as second, essentially commuting, cars. By the turn of the century, Judelson projects electric-car production of 6.6 million vehicles a year, about 40% of the total. If so, then EVs would regain the prominence they had at the turn of the century, when nearly 40% of all cars were electric. Detroit's experienced carmakers, on the other hand, obviously do not think the market is that big, but Detroit has been wrong before. If the EV renaissance that G&W is talking about comes to pass, it could save 225 million bbl. of oil a year, even allowing for some oil-generated electricity to charge the cars' batteries. In current dollars, that could slash the U.S. trade deficit by 30%.