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Arguably electric cars from the late 1890s were more effective. The fastest electric cars in the 1970s typically could not go over 45 miles per hour, far slower than the record set in 1898, and had a range of only about 45 miles. There were now increased science and technology symposiums on low pollution power systems that began to emerge in the science communities. The United States began to take the lead in research on electric cars in the 1970s. The 1970s was also the era when environmental damage began to become of greater concern, with the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by President Nixon in 1970 and the Clean Air Act's passing.
In 1976, Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act, which renewed research into electric batteries and hybrid vehicle research conducted by the Department of Energy.<ref>For more on how electric cars reemerged in the 1970s, see: Westbrook, Mike. (, 2001). <i>The Electric Car: Development and future of battery, hybrid and fuel-cell cars (Energy Engineering)</i>. Institution of Engineering and Technology. </ref>During the 1970s, electric cars reemerged again on the roads, with cars such as the Sebring Vanguard. This was a form of "city car" that only traveled 40-50 miles per hour and had a range of nearly 60 miles. Such cars were small, two-person vehicles that made them impractical for many. In other countries, such as Germany, electric cars also began to make a slow comeback, including BMW's 1602 E, which had a range of 30 miles.
In the 1990s, California did pass a bill that car manufacturers could sell vehicles in the state with a zero-emission option. This likely helped the creation of the EV1, perhaps one of the first more practical electric cars. GM's EV1 car, which traveled up to 80-100 miles and could accelerate from 0 to 60 in 7 seconds, made it one of the best electric cars to emerge from research funding from the 1970s. This remained perhaps the best electric car available and represented another small comeback in the 1990s when the car's production developed. GM had spent over 300 million dollars to help make the EV1 a viable vehicle. However, GM stated he never made money from this car, and eventually, it was killed off in 2001, with cars being recalled from their leasers. The car was only leased in a few states. Only slightly over 1000 of these cars were made.<ref>For more on the EV1, see: Mantle, J. (1995). <i>Car wars: fifty years of backstabbing, infighting, and industrial espionage in the global market</i>. New York: Arcade Pub. </ref>
