Cops Can’t Stop California Electric Carmaker

California is in the midst of a major budget crisis. Crime is out of control, and prisons are bursting at the seams. You’d think cops would have more important things to do than bug an eco-entrepreneur who’s working on important clean energy tech. Apparently, they still find the time.

The Santa Monica Police began a sting operation against Paul Pearson, the man behind the hot Lola EV (pictured above) in December that resulted in two citations, one for allegedly remanufacturing cars without a state license and the other for not getting a business license from the City of Santa Monica.

From Autoblog Green:

As part of the sting, two undercover officers discussed converting a gas-only Ford Thunderbird to electric power with Pearson, Pearson agreed, which led to over a dozen local law enforcement officers storming his garage. Pearson is willing to admit he operated without a license, but will fight against the remanufacturing claim, telling the paper (and the police) that the vehicle, a small one-seater, is “legally manufactured as a specially constructed vehicle.” The City contends the charges result from the Thunderbird conversion.

Pearson told AutoblogGreen that the complaint that was issued to him lists the serial number of the single seater. The Thunderbird is “an iffy issue” because it doesn’t exactly exist. Pearson said that the California Highway Patrol told him that he would not need to recertify the fictitious Thunderbird if all he did was add and electric motor and batteries. Smog certification places can certify EVs as pure electric vehicles. “That is our defense on the Thunderbird charge.” The single-seater was certified, insured and has been so for two years. “We’ll beat them in court in a matter of seconds.”

Absurd. I know a lot of people are sticklers for black-and-white application of the law, but this is just ridiculous. Homebrew electric vehicle communities across America – and particularly in this area of California – are making headway on clean auto tech that Detroit won’t be catching up on for years. We need these guys. Luckily, Pearson has no plans of stopping. He’s still working on electric cars while waiting for his case to go to court.

Link [Autoblog Green]

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