I just finished watching this amazing documentary, and I urge all of you to see this film, either while it's in the theatres, or as a rental. It documents the rise and fall of the electric automobile, GM's EV1, from inception to destruction, and it's quite an eye opener. I've always been a fan of alternative fuels and reducing emissions, and the electric vehicle will be able to improve our environment and health.

Here are some links which I hope you all will find helpful..

www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com (Film page)
www.evfinder.com (Buy an electric vehicle or retrofit yours)
www.edrivesystems.com (Convert a Prius to plugin capability)

Personally I'm waiting for the Tesla reveal. It'll be out in 11 days. If it's fairly affordable (if close to Elise price), I may trade in my Cooper S! Never have to visit a gas station again? Awesome.

http://www.teslamotors.com/

 

I've had the opportunity to use both the EV1 and the HondaPlus -- both fully electric cars. These cars were absolutely wonderful to drive. They're absolutely quiet, and they have incredible pick-up. They're a lot of fun on freeway on-ramps (and on the freeway!) Both cars had a limited range -- about 50 to 90 miles -- that's heavily influenced by how you drive. Not surprisingly, lead foot = lower mileage.

I'm a one-car family, and EV would not meet my needs. I have to travel about 100 mile one-way to see my family and I don't think any EV could make that (certainly not if I wanted to make a round-trip in one day).

HOWEVER I still think that an EV would meet many families' second -- or even third -- car needs. They're perfect for errands or trips around town.

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie!

 

Wasn't it VIDEO that killed the Electric car

uuhhoohhh wait

it was video that killed the radio star I'm not sure about the electric car

 

Correction:
VRBeauty said... "I have to travel about 100 mile one-way to see my family and I don't think any EV could make that (certainly not if I wanted to make a round-trip in one day)."

Tesla is predicting 250 mile range (www.teslamotors.com) using more modern batteries than EV1 did. The Tesla car will be unveiled next week. Plus, you can plug into a regular AC outlet (unlike EV1) while you're visiting, and extend your daily range.

The original EV1 used lead-acid batteries with uninspiring 50-100 mi range, but later generations used NiMH, with 75-150 mile range. Today's Li-ion batteries do even better than NiMH (at some increase in cost, currently).

When you consider the lower maintenance (no "tune-ups", no cat converter, no engine oil, no transmission (or at most a simple one), the fact that you never need a gas station, that they are virtually silent, the clean tailpipe, the incredible acceleration, well, you can understand why the owners were so outraged when GM terminated all the leases and ground the EV1's into little bits of metal.

And that outcome is what makes the "Who killed the electric car" movie such a riveting "who dunnit". And it's why I found the characters in this film much more engaging than than anything by Keanu Reeves or Johnny Depp.

 

I was lucky to try an EV1 in a parkinglot. Great acceleration.
Never liked the "zero emmisions" ploy, need to generate the electricty first!
I look forward to seeing this movie.

 

I have never seen a GM EV1 (Only in photos) because they were mostly made available in the west coast. I think the EV-1 was very advanced for its time and I am pleased to read that it displayed good driving dynamics. Too bad it was a 2 seater, though.

To me, fuel efficient diesels, 100% electric vehicles, E85 Ethanol and even hydrogen powered vehicles are much better ways to go than the "Hybrids" which in my mind play mostly as a marketing gimmick and a seemingly mediocre appraoch to a real problem. To me Hybrids, don't deliver the "promised" fuel mileage, are substantially more expensive than its gas only counterparts, are heavy, too mechanically complex and generally destined to be a "cow" that no one will want to deal with once these vehicles become obsolete in the transportation fleet.

Looking forward to see this documentary. The oil industry has much to do with the demise of these vehicles. Just think of this.... If I were an oil "King pin" I would do anything within my power to prevent the development of new alternative fuel technologies to avoid losing my business and the control it exterts over people's lifes.

 

True enough, but the most electricity is generated in facilities that do so far more cleanly, on an energy output basis, that even the best engineered and maintained IC engine.

Some small manufacturers are working on plug-in hybrids & I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with. It could be an option for us one-car families: a car that uses mostly (or all) electric power for around-town use, but also has the range a traditional engine offers for longer trips and "just in case."

I recently heard one plug-in proponent talk about the lower true emissions that could result if you're charging the battery using electricity generated by solar or wind power. I got a mental image of pulling into a rest stop with my plug-in hybrid electric MINI, pulling a portable windmill out of the boot, and recharging the batteries with wind power while I recharged my own batteries with a latte and sudoku or crossword puzzle!

Moticator: thanks for the Tesla info. Good news on the battery front!