Electric SUV one of a kind
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
John Weiser rides around in one of those $45,000 SUVs that some people love to hate, but nobody can accuse him of driving a gas-guzzler. His Toyota Rav IV is 100 percent electric, the only vehicle of its kind on O'ahu in private hands.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
"It's like magic," Weiser said. "People are stopping me all the time and asking where they can get something like it."
John Weiser owns the only electric SUV in private hands on O'ahu: a Toyota Rav IV with a super-quiet electric motor under the hood. It cost him quite a lot of money and trouble to acquire it, however.
For now the answer is: They can't. Toyota is selling the quiet, sleek-looking vehicles only in California, and says it doesn't have plans to market them anywhere else.
For Weiser, who runs an air tour business and owns the Affordable Casket Outlet and Moanalua Mortuary, that spelled a personal challenge more than an obstacle.
"I just got intrigued when I first heard about it on the Internet, and decided I was going to get one," he said.
It took four months and more than a few twists and turns through the bureaucratic maze, but he finally brought the car of his dreams home to Hawai'i last month.
Now he's wondering why more people shouldn't have the same pleasure of driving a car that reaches 78 mph, goes 100 miles on one charge and never needs an oil change.
"You've got to really want one, but I'm betting that there are at least several hundred people here who would buy one if they had the chance," Weiser said.
California was the first state to receive the all-electric full-size SUVs, because the state has imposed strict new emission standards on auto manufacturers and offers a $9,000 cash-back government payout to residents who buy an electric vehicle. It's a stick-and-carrot approach that makes the vehicles marketable there.
In Hawai'i, as in much of the nation, such vehicles have been slow to catch on with the driving public. Several government agencies, including the military, have been testing all-electric vehicles — including some SUVs — but it's unclear when they will start showing up in auto showrooms, if ever.
The Hawai'i Automobile Dealers Association reports that only three all-electric cars were sold here in the last two years, and they were less than full-size vehicles. Sales of the new gas-electric hybrids offered by Toyota and Honda have been nearly as slow; since they were introduced in 2000, the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius have accounted for only 163 new car sales in the state.
"They're a great car, very clean with great gas mileage, but they aren't for everyone," said Wes Kimura, vice president of Servco Pacific, which markets the Prius in Hawai'i. "They're getting a lot of attention and draw a lot interest whenever we show them, but people are still cautious, waiting before they buy."
Weiser, though, could sell anybody on the benefits of his car.
"It just makes perfect sense for getting around an island like this," he said. The car's 100-mile range is just right for running around town all day, the silent ride is a perfect escape from urban noise, and the battery-powered everything, including air conditioning, is friendly to Hawai'i's fragile environment, he figures.
Even so, Weiser really had to work to bring the car here.
First he placed a phone order with a dealer in California, then waited months for one of the Rav IVs to become available. Before he could take delivery, he had to have a specially designed battery charger installed in a cousin's West Coast home, only to have it removed and reinstalled by an electrician on O'ahu.
Since only California residents are allowed to receive the cash-back payments from the state, and Weiser had to ship the car home, he ended up paying $45,000. (A standard gas-powered Toyota Rav IV retails in Hawai'i for about $28,000).
Weiser figures he'll make most of the difference back in about five years through savings on maintenance and gas. Each plug-in battery charge costs between $2 and $4 — which he estimates is half of what gas for a regular vehicle would cost.
Weiser said he uses the car almost every day for business and just tooling around Honolulu. One thing he doesn't use it for is commuting: He lives on Moloka'i and flies home each night in his own private plane.
Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.
