Back to main menu?Back to Index of Entries?
NiMH works, but Chevron owns control of the batteries, GM and Chevron killed RAV4-EV
NIMH WORKS, and CHEVRON owns control of the patents

That's the simple truth. GM bought control of NiMH in 1994 (yes, GM once owned the batteries needed for the Prius, so GM is not too swift). But GM tried to suppress them, saying they could not work.

Toyota's production of the EV-95 battery (95 amp-hours) showed that it was indeed possible to use NiMH to run an EV more than 100 miles on a charge, taking GM apparently by surprise.

In 1999, the Auto Alliance (AAMA) was dissolved, and Toyota was admitted to the new Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM). GM perhaps was determined never to suffer such a surprise again. But how to give Toyota an excuse to cease production of the pesky, successful RAV4-EV, and the EV-95 batteries it used?

GM sold the patent rights to Texao on Oct. 10, 2000. Six days later, on Oct. 16, 2000, Texaco merged into Chevron. Now a merger of this size doesn't happen overnight! But why would GM sell to an intermediary, not Chevron?

Well, Chevron is the successor to Standard Oil of California, and apparently, they could say that it wasn't GM and Standard Oil, this time!

After the merger, Chevron funded a lawsuit against Toyota, who paid Chevron's unit "cobasys" $30M in a still-secret settlement agreement, and ceased prodution of the EV-95 battery. NO MORE CAN BE SOLD, and Toyota has failed to supply replacement batteries for RAV4-EV, which are all operating on batteries last made in 2002.

Now if you don't believe, you don't look at the facts. Was this lawsuit just a cover for Toyota to fulfill its part of the agreement, letting them into the AAM? The predecessor AAMA had studiously excluded Asians, now they were admitted. Was the quid pro quo for being allowed to join, just the termination of the RAV4-EV program?

The RAV4-EV goes more than 100 miles on a charge, still, 6 years after the last one was sold, on NIMH batteries that are no longer sold, which once were in production, but which Chevron (Standard Oil) now controls.

Those are simple, verifiable FACTS.
Back to main menu?Back to Index of Entries?