I caught a preview screening of this doc about the ill-fated GM EV-1; IMDB entryhere.

Despite the cars being wildly popular with the few people actually allowed to possess them, GM set the project up to fail from the start -- from naming the concept car the "Impact" to talking as many people as possible out of leasing them, to delaying shipments, to finally seizing all the cars (they were all leased) from people willing to drive them forever, and crushing them in the desert -- all the while lobbying to get California to roll back the emissions mandate which prompted the project.

In the most telling scene, a mechanic shows you all the service parts in an internal combustion engine which were not part of an EV-1-- that dead golden goose was the reason dealerships wanted no part of the car. And meanwhile, Toyota and Honda ate Ford and GM's lunch on hybrids. No wonder the American automakers are in the crapper.

See it if you can; opening in July.

 

Yep... It does seem that hybrids bridge the gap between "guzzling" and "true EV". But GM could have been the leader in EV cars and trucks by now, since they apparently had a 20 year head start.

On the bright side, the new 2007 Escalade gets even LOWER mileage, weighs 6000 pounds, and adds an additional 20 HP. Yippie!

 

Yep... It does seem that hybrids bridge the gap between "guzzling" and "true EV". But GM could have been the leader in EV cars and trucks by now, since they apparently had a 20 year head start.

On the bright side, the new 2007 Escalade gets even LOWER mileage, weighs 6000 pounds, and adds an additional 20 HP. Yippie!

 

Despite the fact that I know it will fill me with rage, I can't wait to see that movie. I also can't wait to get a plugin hybrid once they come out.

 

And now...

Just as the documentary, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is coming to theatres and interest in the EV1 is rising in the general public's eye, the Smithsonian has removed the EV1 from display with no plans to exhibit it in the future.

Source: http://apnews.excite.com/article/200...D8I9FA980.html

 

Soon there will be no proof the EV1 ever existed.

 

Something is indeed wrong when you can see Spaceship One and the Enola Gaye, both are historic vehicles for VERY different reasons, but not the EV1. (Both craft are on display at the Air & Space Museums in Washington, D.C.; the latter is @ the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles airport.)

Meanwhile, people celebrate Elvis' "would-be-100th-plus birthday."

{argh!}

 

This seems to be an appropriate time to quote some White Stripes lyrics. They are from Detroit and the album was released in 1999.

White Stripes (1999)

lyrics from The Big Three Killed My Baby

Why don't you take the day off and try to repair
a billion others dont seem to care
better ideas are stuck in the mud
the motors runnin' on Tucker's blood
don't let them tell you the future's electric
cause gasoline's not measured in metric
30,000 wheels are spinnin'
and oil company faces are grinnin'
now my hands are turnin' red
and I found out my baby is dead

 

What is even more interesting is that they say that even though GM is a big contributor to the Smithsonian, this had nothing to do with the removal of the exhibit. They needed room for another exhibit...... about a high tech SUV!!!


Yep, the first mass market electric car in the world is being replaced at the Smithsonian by a high tech SUV..... Amazing..... and GM claims they have nothing to do with it.

 

We also have to remember that GM wasn't the only auto manufacturer to crush/discontinue electric vehicles. Toyota had an EV version of the RAV4.

Ford also had 2 vehicles. They had the Ford Think and they also had an EV version of the Ranger. Nissan also had an EV as well.

These and a couple more can be found at http://www.dontcrush.com/ I stumbled across this web site after I had purchased my FEH.