Who killed the electric car
In 1996 GM introduced and mass
produced first entirely electric car. This dream car was fast,
quiet, produced no emission and did not use any gasoline.
It was supposed to be a solution to our environmental problems
and a cure to our addiction to oil . The car was called EV1.
This turned out to be a short
lived dream, as nearly 10 years later these futuristic cars
were almost entirely gone. So what happened? And why did such
a great idea did in fact disappear. Who Killed The Electric
Car is a movie about an idea, a great idea and how government,
car manufacturers, consumers, oil companies and hydrogen fuel
cell technology had their part in killing this dream.
Watch Chelsea Sexton who purchased
new EV1 at the age of 17 and got a job with GM promoting EV1
to help her pay her way through college. Chelsea was also
part of many organizations formed during "the removal
of the electric car idea" to save the EV1 and the idea
of an electric car.
EV1 car was simple to use, you
plugged it in at night and it was ready for you to drive it
the next morning. You were able to do 70-80 miles per day
on a single battery charge. Watch how car manufacturers deliberately
advertised EV1 in a way to discourage consumers from buying
the vehicle. Inappropriate batteries were chosen for the car.
It was made as difficult as possible for interested buyers
to purchase the electric car.
"If you sincerely want
to market a product you don't start out by describing limitations
of the product" - Chelsea Sexton.
Watch how California regulators
introduced and passed Zero Emission Vehicle mandate in 1990
(knowing that making a car able of producing no emission was
a reality). Mandate stated that if auto makers wanted to continue
making cars, some of those cars would have to produce no exhaust.
The amount of cars to be produced by car manufactures was
to rise every 5 years by 5 percent. Of course this mandate
was dismantled as well and is no longer in place.
The movie also talks about other
car manufactures trying to obey the mandate. It shows their
products such as Ford Ranger EV, Ford Think, Honda EV Plus,
Nissan Altra EV, Toyota RAV4 EV and more.
Watch what happened to these
vehicles, how nobody was allowed to renew their leases. Where
these cars were eventually taken and why they were all crushed
to million pieces.
Other very important part in
this movie is the automotive parts market. The movie shows
how the electric car would pretty much destroy the automotive
parts. The truth is that without combustion engine there is
no need for tune ups, oil changes, timing belts, radiators,
water pumps, various gaskets, spark plugs, transmission and
hundreds of other parts and repairs.
Who killed the electric car
was written and directed by Chris Paine.
You can visit the official site
here
where you can watch the trailer and purchase the DVD.
Also in this movie:
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Wally E. Rippel - Research Engineer AeroVironment
Tom Hanks - himself
S. David Freeman – Energy Advisor Carter Administration
Ralph Nader – Consumer Advocate
Paul Scott – EV Driver
Mel Gibson - himself (EV driver)
John R. Wallace – Ford Think EV Program
John R. Dabels – Former EV Marketing Director
for General Motors
Jananne Sharpless – Chairwoman (1991-1993) California
Air Resources Board
Alan Cocconi – Impact Engineer
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Iris & Stanford R. Ovshinsky – Developers
of EV1 NiMH Battery
Greg Hanssen – Vice President Energy CS
Eric Garcetti - LA City Council President
Edward H. Murphy, Ph.D. – American Petroleum Institute
Dave Barthmuss – GM Communications (spokesman
for GM)
Bill Reinert – Toyota USA
Allan C. LLoyd Ph. D. – Chairman of California
Air Resources Board (1999-2004)
Alec N. Brooks – AeroVironment Chief Engineer
– Impact electric vehicle
Alan S. Lowenthal – California State Senator
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Other related sites:
EV1.org
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