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Life is a journey; enjoy the trip! I wake up happy everyday and try to share that with a smile to everyone I see.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

"Who Killed The Electric Car?"

This documentary chronicles the life and mysterious death of the General Motors (GM) EV1, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how they reverberated through the halls of government and big business. It was among the fastest, most efficient production of cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it never wanted to give it up. So why did GM crush its fleet of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert? Was it murder? Or was it natural selection simply weeding out a weakling unable to compete in our consumer world? Or was the electric car just ahead of its time?

The year is 1990. California is in a pollution crisis as smog threatens public health. Desperate for a solution, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) targets the source of its problem: Auto exhaust. Inspired by an announcement from GM about an electric vehicle prototype, the Zero Emissions Mandate (ZEV) is born. It required 2% of new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 1998, 10% by 2003 and it was the most radical smog-fighting mandate since the catalytic converter.

With a jump on the competition, thanks to its speed-record-breaking electric concept car, GM launched its EV1 electric vehicle in 1996. It was a revolutionary modern car, requiring no gas, no oil changes, no mufflers and rare brake maintenance (a billion-dollar industry unto itself). A typical maintenance checkup for the EV1 consisted of replenishing the windshield washer fluid and a tire rotation. But the fanfare surrounding the EV1's launch disappeared and the cars followed. Was it lack of consumer demand as carmakers claimed, or were other persuasive forces at work? Fast forward to 6 years later... The fleet is gone. EV charging stations dot the California landscape like tombstones, collecting dust and spider webs. How could this happen? Did anyone bother to examine the evidence? Yes, in fact, someone did, and it was murder. "I've never seen a company be so cannibalistic about its own product before," says actor Peter Horton ("thirtysomething"), the last Southern California driver to have his EV1 taken away in 2004. “Who Killed The Electric Car” is not just about the EV1, it's about how this allegory for failure reflected in today's oil prices and air quality can also be a shining symbol of society's potential to better itself and the world around it.

I liked this documentary because it investigated many different sides of the “Who’s to blame for the demise of the electric car?” question. They didn’t place the blame solely on the car industry, or the oil industry, or unwieldy government regulations; there were many different factors that played a role. They interviewed not only the environmentalists and die-hard electric car lovers (including celebrities like Mel Gibson and Tom Hanks), but also car manufacturers, and people who tried to explain why the cars are no longer sold and why they never became popular in a big way. They also talked to a mechanic who used to work on electric cars. He lamented the fact that he now has to work on regular cars, which means his hands are dirty all the time. With electric cars, upkeep was a breeze. No oil or filters, no exhaust. Owners would bring their cars in every 5,000 miles for a tune-up, and he would basically rotate the tires and add window washer fluid.

Sounds good to me. I’d buy one.

1 comment:

L'auteur D'Feds said...

I too liked that Who Killed the Electric Car was a who-done-it. It was like Matlock or Perry Mason. The only difference is that in Who Killed the Electric Car the bad guys got away. Sad. I too would buy an EV1 (if I could afford a new car). IT WAS SUCH A GOOD CAR!!! IT NEVER HURT ANYBODY! SOB . . . SOB... SNIFF . .SNIFF...ALWAYS DID WHAT IT WAS SUPPOSED TO! . . .SNIFF . . STAYED IN ITS LANE . . .HEAVY SOBBING . . . IT WAS TOO YOUNG TO DIE! THEY SHOULD'VE TAKEN ME INSTEAD! SOMEBODY SHOULD BE MADE TO PAY FOR LITTLE EVIE!