“The past was a gas,” Kris Trexler says. “But the future is electric.”

And he wasn’t talking furnaces or water heaters. He was talking automobiles.

He should know. He just completed a 3,275-mile trouble-free trek from Los Angeles to Michigan without burning a drop of gas.

In his sporty red all-electric General Motors EV1, Trexler, an L.A.-based film editor and automotive enthusiast, set out on the three-week, one-way mission: to prove an electric car could cross the country and provide a fun adventure.

This trip was originally for the naysayers he knows back in L.A., he said. “I’m tired of people saying, ‘yeah, but you can’t drive it on a long trip.’ ” But from the receptions of people he met all along his eastbound odyssey, his “Charge Across America” seems to have trumpeted EV1’s arrival as more than a mere novelty.

“It’s not a golf cart,” he said. “It’s a real car. It just happens to run on electricity.” He’s noted that the EV1, with its 137-horsepower motor, will go from zero to 30 mph in three seconds, and zero to 60 in eight. Top speed is electronically regulated to 80 mph, but ungoverned models have reached 183.

The two-seater comes with all the amenities expected in a fully-loaded upscale coupe. His $399 per month lease includes all maintenance, tire rotation and roadside assistance. The average cost for electricity to drive his EV1 approximately 800 miles per month has been only $17!

During the trip, he became kind of a Johnny Appleseed sowing seeds of the future. “I really like talking to kids because the reality is kids will be driving electric cars,” he said. And, some day, he said he hopes the kids he spoke to will look back and say, “I remember 30 years ago when that guy brought the first electric car to Clinton, Okla.”

Trexler made cross-country drives before, but this trip admittedly required preparation unlike the others. Each day’s route had to be carefully planned considering distances, road grades and where he’d be able to find a 220-volt outlet to recharge for an hour or two after every 70-80 miles. More than 40 stops had to be pre-arranged along the entire route. “I’m not saying this trip is for everybody,” he said.

He received cooperation from electric utilities along the way and groups like Electricore, a public/private partnership promoting electric and hybrid vehicles. Electricore coordinated his trip through Indiana. One planned recharging stop was at United REMC’s office in Markle near Fort Wayne.

Other stops in Indiana included tours of Raytheon Technical Services, GM’s Advanced Technology Vehicles and Delphi Energy & Engine Management Systems in Indianapolis; and Delco Remy America Headquarters in Anderson. Much of the EV1 was engineered and tested in Indiana.

For added emphasis, the day Trexler arrived in Indianapolis was a “Nozone Day,” one of those hot, hazy days when the ozone pollution reaches unhealthy levels. Folks are asked not to pump gas or mow lawns until after 6 p.m. The EV1 was introduced in L.A. to help that city’s notorious pollution problem. But as Trexler noted, it’s a growing problem for all metropolitan areas.

Trexler’s last stop before crossing into Michigan was for a visit and a recharge at the home of Jim Morken, a Delco Remy specialist at Kokomo. Morken, a Steuben County REMC member who lives near Fremont, handbuilt the first 50 prototypes of what became the EV1 in the early 1990s. He then traveled the country setting up two-week test drives for specially selected consumers. Trexler was among the 60,000 L.A. residents who applied.

Though he was not selected, Trexler said he was thrilled to hear Morken’s stories about the “PrEView” program. Likewise, Morken was glad Trexler came by. “It’s going to take the general public time to get accustomed to this car,” he said. He noted that people like Trexler are leading the way. “It’s got its roots now and is taking off.”

With the trip complete, the only support Trexler accepted from GM was its offer to ship his car back to California. He was running out of vacation time and needed to fly home. Yet, GM has no better spokesman. With now over 17,000 miles on his EV1, Trexler unequivocally stated, “It’s the most reliable car I’ve ever owned. I just can’t wait till more people get to enjoy what I’m enjoying.” — by Richard G. Biever, senior editor

To follow Trexler's trek, check out his website at: http://www.ev1.pair.com