Who Killed the Electric Car?

I think it was General Motors in the garage with a monkey wrench.

Lynnette and I pay-per-viewed this documentary while it was raining one evening in Philadelphia. The film is well made, presents facts and theory, and leaves the conclusions to be drawn by the watcher.

Sure, it has an agenda (what movie doesn’t?), but it also gives you the facts. You definitely don’t feel sorry when GM and Ford release declining sales stats these days, especially when they spin why they halted production on electric cars. I really don’t remember hearing a whole lot about these vehicles, but from the movie, they looked like a pretty good idea. And while I’m hoping that my next ride is a hybrid, it still may not be as good as the glory days of the EV1.

We all hate pollution, high gas prices, and all that other car crap. But, like presidential elections, we really don’t have a whole lot of choices. Basically, GM wanted to build an electric car. Those who leased and drove one liked it, and it was good for the environment. But, in the end, it was knocked off like it ratted out a mob boss. The movie explores what happened and why, offering some culprits.

Interestingly enough, it all comes (came) down to money. With electric cars using a non-combustion engine, not only do you lose money on gasoline sales, but also all that stuff that a combustion engine uses (oil filters, oil, etc.) is no longer needed, either. This might have upset part manufactures, which in turn upset car companies. But because the requirements to produce such cars were being eliminated, the car and its electric battery were told to hit the road.