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I AGREE 100% I WOULD BUY AN ELECTRICT CAR I AGREE 100%
by kwilkes 12/18/2007 13:07
THIS JUST GOES TO SHOW HOE AMERICA IN CAUGHT IN THE GRIPPS OF A NEWS BLACK-OUT WHERE YOU ONLY RECIEVE PROPAGANDA AND UNIMPORTANT FLUFF THAT IS PASSED ON AS NEWS. SHAME! SHAME! SHAME! NOW DUBIE AND HALLIBURTON AND THE SAUDI ARABIANS ARE CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF NEWS AND INFORMATION IN THE UNITED STATES. AND NOW THERES ANOTHER EFFORT A FOOT TO MONOPILIZE THE MEDIA BOTH PRINT AND TELEVISION. BEFORE THE FCC. NOW WHERE NEWS PAPERS AND OTHER MEDIA ARE SEEKING TO OWN MORE THEN ONE MEDIA OUTLET IN ONE AREA. SQUELCHING THE CHANCES FOR FREE AND OPPOSEING INDEPENDENT VIEWS TO BE HEARD. IF YOUR TEVELISION STATION AND LOCAL NEWS PAPER ARE OWNED BY THE SAME PERSON AND OR CORPORATION HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET BOTH SIDES OF AN ISSUE. WHEN WE ALL HAVE LEARNED THERE ARE THREE SIDES TO EVERY ISSUE THIS SIDE- THAT SIDE- AND THE TRUTH! IF WE DON'T DEMAND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION WE ARE DOOMED! IF WE ARE NOT GIVEN ALL SIDES OF AN ISSUE HOW IN GOD'S GOOD NAME CAN WE MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION. WE WILL BE BLIND SIDED EVERY TIME. AND NOTHING HURTS AND STUNDS US MORE THAN A BLOW THAT WE WERE NOT LOOKING FOR. NOW LOOK AT OUR GAS PRICES WE WERE NEVER GIVEN A CHANCE OUR FORTH ESTATE THE MEDIA FREEDOM OF THE PRESS LET US DOWN AND NOW WE ARE STUCK IN AN ENDLESS WAR WITH SKYROCKETING OIL AND FUEL PRICES AND BILLIONS OF US DOLLARS GOING TO PEOPLE WHO HATE US. THE WORLD IS LAUGHING AT US. SAD! SAD! SAD! HOW THE MIGHTY HAVE FALLEN. iF GIVEN THE CHANCE i WOULD HAVE BRROUGHT AN ELECTRIC CAR. I SAW THE MOVE VERY LATE IN THE GAME ALMOST TOO LATE BUT I WANT TO THANK THE MAKERS OF THE MOVIE. KEEP FIGHTING AND PRAYING WE WILL OVER COME COMMON SENCE WILL WIN OUT OVER BLIND GREED.
by K. WILKES 12/18/2007 13:03
For those of you in the con department. Do you not see that the low price of gas at the time of the EV1 was for a reason and as soon as "they" were able to "crush" the environmental bill, the price of gas has soared like never before. In my 40 years I have never seen such fluctuations in gas prices. The price of gas was under $1.00 a gallon for a very long time and just recently we are unable to even come close to twice that amount and sometimes reaching three and four times that amount. It all boils down to Greed, not what is best for our planet, our children, our future. I only hope that some of the people with money, the rich celebrities, athletes, etc... would somehow be able to use their resources and pool together the funds to make another EV1 a possibility, but I'm not holding my breath.
by Dan 10/10/2007 16:34
EV's will never be popular enough to be mass produced until the price of the vehicle is brought down low enough to be lower or at least equal to the price of fossil fueled vehicles. I don't know of any people who want to spend $30K+ for an EV when they can just put $5K into their old clunker and be able to haul their butts around for another 8 to 10 years. It's a simple matter of economics...you're going to take the path that takes less cash out of your bank account. People will only change when they see an economic benefit to them. And, IN MY HONEST OPINION, why would car manufacturers change their politics when "Big Oil" has them and the politicians in their back pocket? Our politicians (Republican or Democrat) do not ultimately have the people's intrests as their #1 priority. I am going to make a gas-to-electric conversion on an old car just so I can at least be partially independant of the oil companies. I realize that this conversion won't have the ability to be a long range driver, but it'll be great for those frequent short trips to the grocery, the drug store or over to a friend's house who lives just a little too far away to walk. All of those short trips add up to a lot more cash spent on fuel, you know! Also, I still remember the long lines to be able to purchase gas back in the early 1970's. When the prices go up over $5.00 per gallon nationwide (and they will), I'll still be mobile (and have cash in my pocket) while most people will be going broke and also be waiting in those long lines for some "pump time" because of some contrived story of another "fuel shortage". I figure I can make a pretty good conversion for about $12K to $15K.....and that sure as heck beats $30K+. DON'T CRUSH THOSE OLD CARS.....CONVERT THEM TO ELECTRIC! If the auto makers won't make them, make one for yourself.
by Dan 07/22/2007 17:02
I just watched Who Killed the Electric Car (the movie) - and I am simply sick to my stomach to see the big car companies, the government, the oil companies all conspire to eliminate the EV and environmental concerns over the almighty $!! It goes to show the government and big business is not at all interested in the public's health or the environment, whatever they need to do to make everyone richer than they already are..
by Jay O. 05/07/2007 17:25
i always wanted one of these since i was a little kid.
i like gas cars, but the ev1 was just a better car
by justin 03/24/2007 9:37
which is more important ? saving making a dollar, or saving the air we breathe ?? we only have about 10yrs left of oil products. then what are we gonna do ? hybrids are a good idea, but they still burn fossil fuels. the reason why the EV1 didn't get any good mileage is because when it was introduced, it had cheap batteries. shortly after it came out, better batterys were available to give it the range to make it work, yet someone said its wasn't a good idea.
what is it going to take to get the message to the rest of the peoples on this planet that ever since the gasoline engine came to be, we have been poisoning ourselves. you wanna know why lots of peoples have serious diseases and illnesses ? easy ! its from the pollution from the exhaust from all the millions of gasoline powered vehicles on the road.
still don't get the picture ????? look outside your window and take a look at the haze over your city and ask yourself "what am i doing to our environment?"
if we continue on this path, we are just dooming ourselves into extinction!
this is the 21st century. we should not have to be dependant on oil anymore. we are an advanced enough of a species to know that what we are doing is w r o n g. and all we're going to end up doing is killing ourselves with our own stupidity.
when ET does finally get here to visit us, they will either be completly disgusted with our air quality, and turn around and go home, or they will see nothing but a dead planet.
take your pick cleaner and better air for everyone, or, we just keep going on poisoning ourselves.
by rob 03/21/2007 20:02
I have watched the "Who killed the electric car?" a couple times now and cannot believe my eyes. I would buy one in a heart beat. The air here is wonderful BUT I know how important it is to get off the dependency of oil. Perhaps taxes would have a chance to come down if we quit invading oil countries for a while.
I have been telling everyone I know about the DVD and ask them to watch it. Some guys at work say that if the technology exists, someone would be putting these cars on the road. It does make for a good argument since our country thrives on startup companies.
I guess my question is, what can we do? Is anyone organizing us to get the electric car back on the road? I am here to help.
by Joe (Nebraska,USA) 03/18/2007 21:47
p.s. do you wanna know why gas won out over electric ????
another easy answer
gasoline is a byproduct of the refining process. and back then, they didn't know what to do with it all. then the ICE showed up.
another p.s. i appologize for my profanity in my previous message, but sometimes it must be said to help get the point across.
THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE M U S T BE BROUGHT BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by rob s 03/13/2007 10:44
i live in Ottawa Canada. when i was 10yrs old(1975) i looked out my window to watch the contruction going on across the river. what i also saw was a blue haze over the cityscape. i opened the window to get some fresh(?) air. guess what i got ??? yeah thats right, a lung full of stinky gas exhaust. i also broke the wondow while closing it. today i am 42 and that blue haze is still there. a few months back i was out in front of my house and it was a cloudy night, but what caught my eye was a formation of clouds that had the perfect shape of a human skull. thats not what got to me. what did was that right in the middle of the forehead was the full moon. picture it. i took it as a sign that Mother Nature is getting upset with us for doing what we're doing to our ONLY PLACE TO LIVE. we as a species are now in the 21st century and the technologies are here, now, so that we can still commute without polluting anymore. although i did drive a ford Ranger for 6yrs, i have never owned a gas car and i do not intend to buy one. like the rest of you i have also seen the movie Who killed The Electric Car, AND I WAS IN TEARS THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH. I stronly believe that its not only the big 3 thats doing it to us, it is also our governments because they seem to be getting off on the smell of death. just the other day i used google earth to look over my city and i found that just in the downtown core, alone, there are over 100 parking places that can v e r y easily be converted for the charging station for electric vehicles. not including the other carious shopping malls and various vonveniences.
back in the late 1980's i heard that the automakers were designing an all electreic car. i said "its about f..king(pardon language :" ) time someone woke up. a few years after that, i heard that they were on the road.(even bigger smile :D ) then nothing. no word from anyone about it. i asked myself what happened. why would someone spend so much money designing and developing a product, then remove it from existance. ??????????? granted we won't be stopping from burning fossil fuels, but what we DO NEED TO DO is STOP BUYING GASOLINE( i'm really starting to be disgusted at saying the word) vehicles.
i've heard that we do not have the infrastructure to support EV's. that is such a load of b.s. it makes me sick to be human. we already have the electric utilities and hardware and technology to keep them charged up. ITS CALLED AN EXTENSION CORD and an electrical outlet.
someone on this page suggested that we bring the EV1 back, but cannot due to the namesake. thats disgustingly simle as well.
call it the EV2.
one last question why are our skies smoggy and not clear by now. do not send me the answer. send it to the big3 and Carb as well as our PTB's.
by rob s 03/13/2007 10:32
I would like to own an electric car when I am old enough to drive, but I can't believe that more can't be done to spread awareness. Why isn't there anything about electric cars in the news? Why have I just heard about them in February 2007?
by 03/10/2007 8:43
I also saw the Movie, Who Killed the Electric Car, what a shame. This is the only planet that we have to live on and big business, oil and politicians act like they have a free trip coming to another planet. One of the things that really shocked me was, I live in Washington State and am an avid news watcher, I never saw a thing about what was going on with the EV1. Did our News Media, once again, fail us. The best way to keep people under control is don't tell them anything. Well enough of my soap box performance. I am so sorry that this occured, that we care more about profit than our own children and grandchildren, destroying the planet is ok I guess, if you have some place else to live. EV1 my vote is for you!
by Dorothy 03/06/2007 7:32
I saw the Chevy Volt at the Chicago Auto Show a few weeks ago. After seeing Who Killed the Electric Car I was already skeptical about Chevy's effort in making the car seem like a real possibility. So when I asked the woman who was giving the information on the car when we might see them on the road I was a little stunned by her answer. She told me that it would be "years" before this car was a reality because the battery technology doesn't exist yet. I know she was just talking from a script so I didn't challenge her on it. But if the movie is true then the technology for these batteries does exist. Thus it is safe to say that Chevy has their people at the biggest auto show around telling the public that battery powered cars are impossible. Its amazing that this really goes on, but I witnessed it first hand.
by Tony 03/04/2007 18:31
I just watched the movie and I can't say I'm surprised by the fate of the EV1. We live in a society today that money rules, and unfortunately the real money is in the hands of a privledge few. There is no concern for the collective and interconnectedness of the environment in which we live. Call it "manifest destiny" but ultimately could you expect big business to sacrifice profit for the sake of the betterment of our planet? And why would they when the government's mantra is to drive the economy, make money.
by Mike 03/04/2007 10:45
Actually, as I think about it, my below comment was somewhat inaccurate. It's more simple than that. Just start buying the electric cars that are available, so those companies succeed and the "Big Automakers" fail.
by scott 02/22/2007 9:58
It's simple. STOP buying gasoline powered cars, don't even buy hybrids. Drop by your local auto dealers and tell them that you're in the market for a new car, and as they drool over the prospect of a sale, then let them know you only want to buy a 100% electric car. Call other dealers and tell them the same thing over the phone. And tell the oil companies that you're driving less and less because you don't want to buy their product anymore. Oh, and to the individual that mentioned how there were no electric cars in 1991... The EV1 was featured at The International Auto Show from Detroit in 1991, but it was pushed way off to the side, basically hidden behind display panels, with no "fanfare", special lighting, or colorful carpets. It was obvious even back then, that they didn't want to promote it successfuly. I was actually one of the writers on the televised production of that event and an executive from GM told me not to give The Impact (EV1) more than a fifteen second feature in the show, which seemed odd to me at the time, but now it's a bit more clear, I'd say.
by Scott 02/22/2007 9:43
What is the most sad part of it all, is that we have let the Bush Administration abuse the power so he can benefit from the GM and Chevron interests, which he benefits from his interests in oil.
by Heiner 02/16/2007 10:42
I just watched the movie as well, thanks to Netflix. This is a damn shame, and it brought a lot of tears to my eyes. Such a beautiful car and a wonderous dream, that most people never even knew existed. I live on the East Coast, and have been into cars my entire life. I read magazines, go to car shows, etc., and never once have I even seen an EV-1 or heard of this. I would have loved one. I can't imagine who wouldn't. Typical Republican Big Business Corporate Fascism and just horrible goddamned people that killed this program, like everything else good in the world. Again, the EV-1, a sad, sad shame.
by Mike 02/14/2007 17:26
so basically, the only thing that these companies are worrried about is losing money? so they're really saying that they rather polute the air and kill our ozone, because thats obviously better than losing money, feeeeew! good call on that one guys, now all future children can grow up in a horrible, disgusting world, and say "hu, this might have been prevented if oil companies could have let the idea of the EV1 grow, but now we'll never know." lets give a big hand to the oil holdings.
by Liz 02/10/2007 6:43
Chevron has now been hired by GM to research Lithium. As if they would find a technology that would destroy their oil profits!
by doug 02/04/2007 15:10
Just finished watching a documentary "Who killed the electric
car?".
Its available on DVD (Netflix for example).
After watching this movie, I was surprised by how much I did not
know. I had no idea why I no longer say any EV1's on the road.
I recommend folks watch it. It is a bit biased, in that there
was not much discussion on the pollution aspects of the exhuasted
battery and recycling of such batteries, but it was a decent watch
nontheless.
Seems like the Car Manufactures did indeed, and are in the midst
of, the bait and switch for Hyd Fuel Cell. This allowed them to dump
Battery Electrics all-together (presumed to be a non money maker
for them with bogus under inflated demand) with the decades away
technology of Hydrogen Fuel Cells.
I am excited about Gasoline-Electric Hybrids simply because they
are here now, available now, unlimited range, and they work even in
cold weather. Its really too bad that the Electric Vehicle was also
not still around to benefit from all of this new battery technology.
I have yet to see any realistic prices for plug-in retrofits.
Price tags for new PHEV's or retrofit kits will have to be within reach financially for consumers. Although I like what Edrive is all
about, My fear is that the retrofits will only be successfull through mass production, i.e. When the cars roll off the production line with new plug-in kits, improved batteries etc already installed.
by J. Powell 01/01/2007 18:58
We all knew this was hapening around us, but this really hits home.
The one thing I can't understand is the entire blame going to GM? It's clear that other major manufacturers were involved in the EV project, as they were crushing hondas.
I own a Toyota prius & after watching the modded prius that got 150 mpg. I recognized the outlet for the grommet holding the power outlet??? They pluged into the back & all production prius's have a perferated circle cut out that I believe to be an add-on that can be bought at the dealer, given th permission to allow this from the auto industry ofcourse.
I will be taking the front end apart tomorrow when I have light, as of now all that I can see is a very protected part of the front fascia (very odd). I will chime in tomorrow when I find out why they have covered this spot so well.
I hope I'm right & thier is a conversion quick install, as I will find out how to get this babby up to 100 mpg.
Keep in mind everyone that Honda sold the eg chassis from 92 to 95 in a cx package that gave the consumer nothing except a running car that got 65 mpg.
Thankyou Chris Paine for this eye opening film, Rob.
by Rob 01/01/2007 16:12
I have just finished watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" I'm quite puzzled that this hasn't hit prime time television, like 60 minutes, Prime Time or 20 20. I have always heard that Big oil would buy out companies or individuals that came up with an idea that would create ultra-efficiency and would just shelf these ideas forever. I've even heard that if you wouldn't sell you might find yourself dead! I thought of these stories as just urban legends but after watching the movie I'm convinced that the stories are true.
Were does the FTC come off on this deal? It would seem to me that there should be some sort of anti-trust or monopoly laws broken here with so many interests working (conspiring) together.
The worst part of this story is not discontinuing and ultimately crushing the EV1s. The worst part is the battery technology being shelved by a company that would surely never use it.
by Tim 12/31/2006 20:27
Where should I start. I just finished watching "Who killed the Electric Car", and I am stunned. As a child I was very willing to "go out of my way" to help the enviroment, but as I grew that feeling left. Now after seeing this film it has brought back that sense of urgency, not only for electric cars but other enviromentally safe products. I know that there is so much that can be done for our world and I'm willing to stand up against the money hording corporations. And as a side note, YES as a consumer I would buy an electric car.
by Candice 12/31/2006 6:01
After reading this article it is quite clear why GM purchased the rights to deceased Smoky Yunnich for his abbiatic engine that he designed in Florida. He designed this car for maximum mileage after he first took a GM X car V-6, cut the block in half and reintroduced the exhaust gases back into the carb. and realized extremely high gas mileages figures. He even started the manual transmission in 3rd or 4th gear. It was amazing to see that several years after GM shelved Smokey's car they came out with a three cylinder without the added feature of a greater mileage. I actually had no idea that GM had so much holdings in the Oil Industry. It almosts seems illegal if not immoral to keep producing vehicles just to keep your holdings from loosing money.
by Walter 12/28/2006 5:55
Just got done watching who killed the electric car. I must say, it's VERY sad to say the least. I got to thinking about the whole issue and was wondering if anyone had gone and toyed with the idea of starting another "ev1" production plant and producing the cars again? I mean, of course we couldn't use GM "specs" on the vehicles but, I know we could get dam close and, we wouldn't have to rely on government funding and the like as we would ask for donations from the general public to get the company started up. I mean, why the hell are we just sitting on our butts when there is a planet to save?! Honestly?? I know all about big oil and politics as I served in the gulf war and just got back form Iraq as a military contractor and got injured. I believe truly in my heart of hearts, it's time for us to step up to the plate and take the reigns back form the big 3 (GM, Chrysler, and Ford) and start healing our planet. If we don't do it now, WHO WILL? It's time, lets do this, lets get it started and do what needs to be done. Email me and let me know what your thinking about this. All excuses aside, it's time for us to step up. Period! No politics, no big oil, no GM, ... no BS.. just DO IT! Please someone get back to me...
Regards,
D.
by Daniel 12/24/2006 9:26
I am ashamed. I have been a racing fan since I was a child and after educating myself about hybrid technology and plug in and go electric cars, I am now convinced! I want an electric car! If they sold one, I'll buy one. I'd even want to form a racing club just for electric cars!
by Timothy 12/21/2006 6:05
Stay tuned . . .
by Mark Yannone 12/20/2006 17:45
I remember hearing the ongoing skepticism that our involvement with the war in the Middle East may not have been as justified as simply to save Kuwait from Iraqi invasion. In 1991 there was no electric car so I feel compelled to believe our intentions (to save Kuwait)were right.
When I watched "Who Killed the Electric Car?", it made me wonder. Have we continued our vigilance in Iraq for the Iraqi people? Has our vigilance been as great around the oil resources there or the people?
If the electric car would have continued I think no one would have had to wonder this because then the U.S. would have made it obvious that oil would not be a necessity for us.
Oh yeah; Why in the hell is California the only state in our country that was portrayed in any way in this movie? Doesn't any other state in the country care to be involved? Are the rest of them asleep just because they weren't invited? It's upsetting the more I go on & think of all the deaths of our service men and women that may have been at least reduced should this technology been given the chance to prosper. I really wish I knew if my U.S. vote would count and not as just a popular vote. We only have one world, what can I do?
by Chris 12/18/2006 22:14
It's a irresponsible thing to say, but GM and any other car manufacturer SHOULD be relagated to the Bankruptcy fish barrel, replaced with entrepenours that will risk (a lot) to bring the world into a cleaner, more peaceful place. IF GM and the others aren't willing, enthusiastic even, about getting rid of ALL cars that run on petroleum, an educated populace should act with their ballots and wallets. It would mean a lot of people would be temporarilly out of work... just like the Smiths that used to re-shoe and take care of horses at livery stables for all those centuries. Any body here like to go back to THOSE transportation days? Probably not. But the PTB (Powers That Be) are saying to the world just that. They really don't care that the Mid East will soon be toastier than it already is. THEIR kids probably won't HAVE to serve in the military to keep things "barrelling" along. We need some polititians with guts. Know any? I don't.
by Jim Gault 12/18/2006 8:33
I just saw "who killed the electric car?" Another example of big-business corrupting our government and throwing us into regress. You can say what you want about costs, demand, etc. but at the end of the day as soon as California repealed it's clean air initiative the automakers killed the EV, clear evidence that they only did it because they had to. The advantages of an electric car are so huge that I think sooner or later they will take over the market. Hopefully sooner than later, some government will mandate it and work with a socially conscious company to develop an economically viable EV. It seems that in sunny California if we install enough solar panels we would be able to power all of our vehicles without requiring any other energy sources.
by Jose 12/16/2006 18:12
As much as I dig electric, the alt fuel I think has the most immediate promise is veggie oil! Go diesel and go veggie! Goldenfuels.com and Greasecars.com sell kits for about 2000-3000 to make any diesel run on filtered oil from friers, and diesel engines go hundreds of thousands of miles. It is a reality that you can actually realize tomorrow, at least as a patch until electric is more viable!
by Jason 12/15/2006 21:37
Folks.
EV (car) tech is all about replicating the 20th century auto sans tailpipe.
In our 21st century urban landscape, EVen without the tailpipe, these (20th century cars) are still massive vehicles weighing a ton or two or more, designed to travel at 2 or three times the max.(urban) speed limits, and three quarters empty, as a driver plus 3+ empty seats. Gas or electric, the 20th century auto will still easily crush your dog or your child or someone you love. The *truth* is, you can get around at urban speeds and cover urban distances with a vehicle powered by less than one horse power that weighs less than 100lbs...
EVen without a tailpipe, the 20th century auto requires vast expanses of paved roadways and parking lots. EVen without a tailpipe, EV cars may have fluids and coolants that drip onto our pavements, to EVaporate up our noses or be washed into our drinking water.
You may lament the crushing of the EV1, and conspiracy theories both real and imagined, but you overlook a larger view, regarding a wave of restrictive legislations that have swept North America in recent years, where tiny electric vehicles (power-assisted bicycles and scooters generally rated as less than one horse power) have been banned, largely due to the antics of youth that play with similar but gas-powered tech. Far noisier, smellier and much more powerful than the "personal electric vehicles" powered by batteries, but some citizens and legislators make no distinction.
So, yah, I clicked "Pro" to label this message, but this story about GM and the EV1 is just part of a larger EV picture. There *is* EV tech out there that is extremely cheap to buy and to operate, manufactured in the millions EVery year (in other parts of the world), and banned by State and local laws that curry to ignorance and irrational fear.
Thanks
by Lock 12/11/2006 20:37
I agree with everything the last guy posted lucas hunt more would buy if it had a more appealing body, and more options.
by brad Hayden 12/11/2006 9:15
EV1 needed a better, more appealing body so more people would have bought them before they were trashed and if lots of people bought them they wouldent be able to track down that many people and the car wwould have lived!!! and a sports option for the car would have attracted a lot of people to!
by lucas hunt 12/11/2006 9:12
We must bring back Electric cars that are completley run on just Battery before it is to late. But if you don't care about your children growing up in a clean air enviorment and you want to keep feeling like crap and not at a optimum heath which you could be if there was no oil veichles then go ahead keep buying those V8's people.
by Ryan Decamillis 12/07/2006 20:32
I just watch the movie "who killed the electric car". So I did some reaserch today and was surprised at this whole story. I for one never really heard the story behind this car because up here in canada the car wasn't offered. Long story short, I am mistified by all of this. WOW. Anyways you guys have my full suport in this! If there is anything I can do to help up in Canada, just give me the word!! I am ALL for vehicules that would be all electric!! I hope that one day we can all enjoy this wonderfull technology!!
by martin boucher 12/04/2006 21:06
Way to stay accurate Doug. I applaud Doug’s work, and the discussion here. In a free economy, market forces are supposed to prevent this kind of conflict of interest, but our market has failed us, and its deeply insulting to my sense of patriotism, especially with the obvious consequences being loss of market share to foreign companies and contribution to global warming. Is there a law against it or something? I know a board of trustees has a fiduciary duty to increase profits. If there’s no law against this, I hope we can publicize this board more, and keep spreading the word. Public outcry can affect the law if its loud enough.
by John 11/29/2006 16:14
EV1 wasn't the only casualty.
Look for Harold and Ben Rosen superior technology!
by Shawn Murphy 11/29/2006 15:13
Watch out! Electric is back!! Search for phoenix motors, they're going to sell an electric truck for 45,000! Plugs into a 220volt outlet and takes 6-7 hours to charge. I dont remember if they said it's 100 mile or 150 mile range, I think the latter though. Check it out!
by Joe 11/27/2006 19:09
I remember the Arrow deal, seemed that someone wanted to save face because the best american jet was far worse than the Canadian's jet! I dont know about this EV1 being a conspiracy, I think it's probably more of the liability side as to why when they cut the project the cars were crushed. Imagine if an EV1 killed 2 passengers 10 years after it was made because the batteries exploded? Heck of a lawsuit and avoidable by just removing them from the market.
by Joe 11/27/2006 13:47
I haven't seen the documentary "Who killed the electric car" but I think that somewhere there must be a "conspiracy theory". I mean, I can't belive that we don't have the technology to make something work - not talking about UFO's here - but why would you design an electric car, put it in production, make a few thousands of them and then....crush them? That just reminds me of the first Canadian jet plane: The Arrow. Same thing: very well performing plane at high speeds and high altitude, and the project was shut down without explanation. All the jet planes made til that point ended up being taken to pieces and - apparantly - trown somewhere in Lake Ontario. Why do you have to crush something you stop manufacturing? Is there some sort of evidence trying to be destroid? But why? GM - just like any other car manufacturer - has made cars that "didn't make it" and they stopped the production. But they didn't destroy nor crush any of them. I think that everybody who's involved in the oil business - that includes the guvernment(s) to some extend - they have something to say about wich way the car technology is headed. We all heard about the natural gas powered cars, we even read about the hydrogen powered car developed by BMW. The gas engine has come a long way and I don't think that there is a lot more improvement that can be done anymore and even if you are paying more for the same car every year, you are rather paying for all the gadgets, all the features, all the electronics. The truth is that there IS a bigger power then the "Big 3" and that is the power of the big oil corporations.
by Les 11/26/2006 13:03
At least you got to see one! I've never seen an electric car of any kind yet. Lets pray the corporations dont find a way to stop the tesla car from coming, soon they'll have a sedan ready. I have yet to hear any price range on it though.
by Joe 11/26/2006 0:37
I saw the first EV1 in Hayward ,CA, I remember I have read an article about it. I followed the the car and I rolled down the window to hear what kind of noise and impression could give me.I flew gliders and the feeling was related at that sensation. I started plying with the idea to buy one at that time since I used to see this gentleman driving, the EV1, on the road on regular basis. The color of his car was kind of champagne. I never seen on the road again. I never seen a commercial on TV about this car I could not find a dealer. It came to my knowledge, all the machination behind the scene only when I saw the DVD "Who Killed the Electric Car?",.
I am ready to fight.
by Sandro, Renzi 11/25/2006 20:15
that 1 3 thing should have read one third. The slashes dont come across too well here
by Joe 11/24/2006 14:09
Replying to John on the red:
Even if your right, lets say oil has 39.07% that's still a controlling stake as a great number of share holders will not participate in meetings or votes of any kind. I think on average it's around 1 3 of the shares is considered a controlling amount because of the lack of participation. Most share holders just want to invest to get the dividends, or earn a profit by reselling the stock later not be involved in the company in any way.
by Joe 11/24/2006 14:08
I saw the movie and here's one they missed. Suspect: The man who invented the NiMH batteries! He sold out. He could have kept it free and given it or lent it to a car manufacturer not owned by the oil mafias. But I guess he did not want to die. So who can blame him.
by Alejandro Quinteiro 11/21/2006 22:25
Amazing that it can happen before our eyes,
and nothing happens to stop it.
But electric cars are coming, whether Bush, big Oil,
GM and the other horsemen of the apocalyse want it or no.
Commonsense wins out once all the stupid options have
been totally exhausted. You can trust humans to eventually
try every ridiculous extreme.
We'll go electric because:
- we don't want to stop driving
- we don't want to stop breathing.
by PartovTheHighIraqi 11/17/2006 4:08
I have also seen the movie "Who killed the electric car?"... to think they had the ideal solution to curbing global warming and global dimming. However it was more important to make money for the short term but kill the planet in the process. What they didn't think of was that their children and grand children will suffer when they are long gone... that is their legacy left behind. Now I understand the quote from the Bible; "The love of money is the root of evil", the product; selfishness. GM could've been in a much different boat at this stage, one that wasn't sinking I suppose. Never the less, I am in full support of the electric vehicle concept, and will be one of the first to buy one and never look back - Bertie, South Africa
by Bertie 11/14/2006 1:45
Hi everyone,.... i work in a Toyota dealership in Jerusalem.
I just saw the movie, "who killed the electric car".... first of all, I loved it. the car is cute,... and i was amazed when the mechanic interviewed said that all he needed to do is rotate the wheels and add washer bottle fluid!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and keep his hands clean!!!!!!
It's really a shame,.... it seemed like it was really simple to fuel.
and it looked fast too!
Anyway,...why did I talk abaout Toyota,... we are currently selling the Prius in Israel...(3rd year) and it's going really well!!!!!!
I read in an article that the prius would soon be free of gas,... and would run on electricity only that would be great,... everyone would charge at home, perhaps using solar panels,....solar panels on every roof is how we get our hot water in Israel.
Gas prices are double that in the USA. So we are really happy to have the prius!
The government has shown support too,... thev'e lowered the taxes almost completeley.... to encourage buyers,..... we do it too,... by offering additional equipment as gift.
Lets hope that governments stop being manipulated by large companies!
Fact: Toyota is only second in the world to build vehicles that have the least problems (second after Lexus,... who also belongs to Toyota! :-)
I don't have anything against jeeps or SUV's,.... but seriously: don't buy a car that you will never manage to reverse park with!
All the best!
Reuben
by Reuben ZARA 11/13/2006 13:42
Toyota submitted to Chevron's lawsuit, paying $30,000,000 in damages, and stopped production of the "large-format" NiMH batteries needed for plug-in hybrids or Electric cars. The small-format Prius batteries are not large enough to store the energy needed for much all-electric EV-mode driving.
Also, the Prius' engine starts up automatically at 43 mph, or if the catalytic converter is cold, so it's not really suited for making it into a full-function plug-in EV.
The Toyota RAV4-EV, for example, would be easy to convert to serial hybrid plug-in EV, because it has the (5-year-old) NiMH large-format EV-95 batteries, and just needs a small gas engine to generate power if the batteries were ever low.
This simple marriage -- a genset added to a RAV4-EV -- is being ignored by Toyota, which has lied about the batteries not being ready. The batteries are here, ready and work; but the truth is, neither Toyota nor GM is allowed to use them until Chevron's patents run out in 2014, apparently.
So Toyota lies, and GM has to fool around with more expensive, failure-prone lithium batteries, ignoring the working NiMH batteries they made themselves. But can't use.
by doug 11/13/2006 11:07
Why on earth doesn't Toyota make the Prius a plug in? This conversion is being done anyway by firms in the States.
50% of all journeys even in the States are 2 miles or under.
By adding a few extra batteries and therefore extending the range and using off peak electricity to top up the batteries during the night, great improvements in the overall mileage of the car can be had.Toyota says "It is considering the matter." Why? What is there to consider?
by Francis Goodall 11/13/2006 3:03
What a great site. I had not idea. I can see both sides of the argument. I would buy one in a heartbeat at $25-35K. Very seldom do I travel 75 miles in a day and if I needed to there is lots of alternative rides. I am 56 years old and drive an 86 toyota cressida that I have had since new. I am now up to 100K miles and it runs fine. My plan is not to purchase a new vehicle until something like this or a better hybrid is available. If I have to wait another 5 years I don't care. Hopefully by then a car like this could be recharged with DC power from a solar panel. I seems to me It would be a whole lot cheaper for government and tax payers to invest in these types of technolog than to invest in Iraq. I think we could build a pretty good car for half a trillion bucks and to heck with GM Big oil and these fund managers. Personaly I don't own any funds simply becouse I cant afford the way they help me lose money anyway. I had no idea they were so concentrated.
by larry p 11/12/2006 4:06
I'm sitting at LAX reading all this, and have watched the movie 'Who killed the electric car' a number of times. Electric vehicles are certainly a component of a solution to our reliance on oil. I visited Newport beach a couple of weeks ago and was blown away by the sight of the brown haze on the horizon. The USA especially needs these vehicles, along with a lot of other energy saving measures. I don't think it will happen unless the government steps in, let's hope at least one developed nation will produce these cars, setting an example for the rest of the world.
by Michael P 11/11/2006 15:18
I would definately drive and electric car, if one were ever to become available here. But I won't be holding my breath. Here in Australia we were never even allowed the opportunity to lease the EV1. Besides, our Liberal government would never allow it, (not that they support Australian manufacturing usually, most of our stuff's imported from Asia) as the only cars built in this country are heavy, gas guzzling, 6's and 8's. They're shoddily built, so that you frequently have to take them back to the dealer for attention and the build quality is so bad that they are ready for the scrap heap after 10 years. They most popular such vehicle (Holden Commodore) is made by, suprise suprise, GM. GM proudly boast that they spent a billion dollars developing the latest Commodore, which was released this year. Why could they not have spent the same money producing an economical, environmentally sound, reliable electric vehicle? The answer has to be their ties to oil companies. I read with horror that we are about to in this country, for the first time, import the Hummer. Why do we need another ridiculously sized SUV? They will rarely go off road and spend most of their time in the metro area where they will obscure the view of smaller vehicles, pose a threat to pedestrians and cyclists and destroy our currently (relatively) clean air. As for big 6's and 8's, how often do we get to realise the full potential of our high performance vehicles? Most days of the week we greedily drive to work, one person per car, and the traffic is so heavy we never get to reach 50 km hr! Why do we need a car capable of 250? Yes, for every day use, for the majority of us city folk, lightweight electric vehicles are the way forward. I don't believe we can wait for the major auto manufacturers to market one to us though, all that motivates them is money. I believe change is in the hands of us peasants. Hmm.. perhaps I need to go down to the drive way and work out a way to retro-fit an electric motor to my clapped out old '91 Corrola.
James McIntosh,
Adelaide,
South Australia
by James McIntosh 11/02/2006 4:15
i thought it was illegal to hold back technology
by kingla 11/01/2006 15:53
I was fortunate enough to have a 48 hour test drive of the EV1. I loved the car. $535.00 per month and my wife said no. Our house payment at the time was $735.00 "You won't rent a house, you aren't going to rent a car." Too bad they couldn't be bought. I have an '05 Prius and Solor Panels covering half of my roof. Want a plug in.
by Jack Parks 10/26/2006 18:03
I agree 100%.
Hopefully, electric vehicles shall be a reality in my lifetime.
I saw the movie "Who killed the electric car?" and it was such a shame to see the EV1 disappear.
by David B 10/26/2006 5:54
Would like to find other oil holdings by those funds controlling GM.
by Doug 10/25/2006 19:17
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y is this so irrelevent?
by simons 12/02/2007 8:21
I remember when the EV1 came out - nobody bought them, because gas cost less than a dollar at the pump at the time. In one of my classes we did a comparison of the two and it was actually cheaper to buy and operate a gasoline-powered civic. Because of that, I would chalk the EV1's failure up to bad timing.... although, if I had known the petroleum situation would have gotten as out-of-hand as it has gotten recently, I would have leased one myself.
by 96RT10 08/16/2007 16:36
I would think that the funds could get rid of their oil holdings very quickly if they felt the need and would not suffer significantly by investing that money in other companies. Also, I doubt that the funds control the board of directors.
I would guess that GM didn't feel they could sell enough electric cars for a high enough price to justify the cannibalization that would take place of their existing lines. They also probably thought that the investment was too much for the volume they would do.
But my question is, why were they so anxious to get them all back and then just crush them. According to the movie, they were offered $1,900,000 for 78 used cars ($24,000 per car). Why didn't they take it? That leads me to wonder if something funny is going on.
by ManipulationNation 04/06/2007 9:47
I haven't seen the movie, however as a family person that HATES to be cramped up in a car I wouldn't buy an EV1 if it was the last remaining form of transportation available. I travel a lot in my business profession and also need to carry a huge amount of equipment wherever I go. I want to be comfortable when I drive not feel like I'm being SQUASHED in a sardine can on wheels. I've looked at the Prius and the Honda Hybrid and I just don't like the feel or the room alloted to the passengers.
by tom 02/24/2007 19:38
GM never offered the EV1 for sale, so the claim that "no one would buy them" is vacuous, not to say naive.
by 12/30/2006 10:50
The Ev1 was a terible car that had bad milage and in acutuality couldn't go very fast. The reason GM took them off the roads was because not enough people would buy them. Already many car companies have leared from GM's mistakes and have electric cars coming out soon. Hybrid cars are now being produced and they are much more efficent than the electric car right now. The gas milage in regular cars has improoved greatly over the years also. It may not look like it in graphs, but the cars have gotten heavier because of extra safty equiptment such as seat belts and air bags. GM shouldn't be blamed for taking the EV1 off the road because it was losing them money every day. The cars cost about $300,000 to build and would have cost just as much if not more to buy. It was a very expensive car that had very limited functions.
by Kelly 12/17/2006 8:02
NOTE the corrections. This is an investigation in process, more info and updates are needed. Granted, it's rare to find any fund that declines to invest in oil companies, so much of this correlation COULD BE just "coincidence"; but it looks as if there is a vested interest in keeping General Motors running on oil.
That's a good explanation for what actually happened, as soon as the real powers found out that CEO Smith had, in a matter of just two years, "rediscovered" that an EV could be made, they squashed it, got rid of him, and spent all their time in damage control, killing the batteries and then killing the mandate and then crushing the cars.
More info please!
by doug 11/23/2006 15:33
Those funds are private, and don't readily disclose the amount of GM stock they hold. We're still investigating, trying to find out how much and what they manage.
by doug 11/22/2006 6:19
I actually agree with the article, but have a question. Brandes, SEastern Asset Mgmt, and Credit Suisse dont have investments in those oil companies. If you take them out of the equation, then the 'Controlling pct owned by 10 funds' is only 39.07%, not a controlling percentage. Why are those funds included?
by John 11/21/2006 9:31
Also, an addendum to my above comment, GM crushed the EV1's for tax purposes, not to 'hide the evidence.' Getting rid of something doesn't erase it from history. Uncle Sam was just going to extract money out of GM's coffers for having the cars around, so GM did the cost effective thing and crushed them. This wasn't the first time a monumental and innovative car had been crushed to save a bit in taxes. In 1963, Chrysler ended its Turbine car program and cursh all but a half a dozen of the 50 turbine cars it had built. It wasn't a consipracy to hide the fact that a turbine powered car was a real world possibility, it was just a money saving move.
by Eric 11/04/2006 21:32
I have trouble swallowing the 'oil conspiracy' for the failure of electric cars. Oil companies sell billions of gallons of oil to electric power plants
NOTE here: only 3% of our electric power comes from oil, mostly in places like Puerto Rico and Catalina Island. Even if oil companies sold diesel to power plants, they would still make far more money selling to individual drivers
and mass usage of electric cars would only increase this need for oil in that regard. Plus, electric cars have been consistent market failures. They failed in the early Teens after Charles Kettering invented the first electric starter and slapped it on a Cadillac in 1911. Gasoline is just easier to use, and really cheap, people aren't willing to sacrifice this in exchange for an electric car with a limited range and a long charging time.
Market forces killed the electric car. Even if 10,000 people clamoured and shouted for an electric car, that would still represent a miniscule amount of the market. Triple, quadruple, or quintuple that number, and you still haven't reached enough consumers to cover the cost of tooling up. GM spent $1-1.5 billion on the EV1 project and produced 1000 cars. That is $1-1.5 million per car, any one want to pony up that much money for a car like the EV1? I am not against the electric car, I think the recent release of the Tesla is great and there have been a good number of innovations in the field that have helped promote fully or semi electric cars. But at the same time, I am a market realist and a heartless capitalist and as far as I can see, the electric car is a market loser. Maybe someday it will be realistically competitive, but today isn't that day.
by Eric 11/04/2006 21:28
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