3 really good reasons why the car companies killed the electric car in the movie who killed the electric car?

Question

Please help me with this, i watched the movie but dont get it

i have to write a speech on it

Answer 1

The EV-1 had a lot of interesting engineering in it--aluminum suspension components, plastic springs, and a heat pump--but it was not a particularly safe car with its hundreds of pounds of batteries and its motorcycle type tires inflated to 75 psi.  GM recalled them for liability reasons, and only leased them in southern California in the first place because there's no ice or snow there.

Nobody is making a practical electric car anywhere in the world at present, and it'll be a long time until they do.  Battery technology is very slow to evolve: it's just the way things are.  Note that you haven't seen a Tesla Roadster anywhere yet.  

In any case, there's no conspiracy.  Sorry.  Car companies could make lots of money with electrics if anyone wanted to buy one.

Answer 2

1. Electric cars are simpler to make so they would cost less.

2. Electric cars are less complicated.  They don't have belts or radiators or exhaust pipes or transmissions so repair part sales would go down.

3. Electric cars don't use oil or radiator fluids or transmission fluids so maintenance costs sales would go down.

4. They last longer so resales would be less often.

Extra:

That's just the car companies the oil companies hate it because they don't use oil or gas and would get the equivalent of 150 mpg for mileage.

Timothy is right about the batteries but they also did not use the most up to date battery technology at the time even though GM had a 60% percent share in a company with the latest battery tech.  which it later sold to one of the oil companies.

Answer 3

I haven't actually seen the movie yet, but I'll take a shot at answering your question. I did some papers at the University 15 years ago and I think the research still applies.

Electric Vehicles won't be widely accepted/demanded/sold until such time as they become as affordably convenient as gasoline/diesel powered vehicles. The typical range of an electric vehicle is not acceptable to the vast majority of ordinary consumers - at least in perception. Until that perception is eliminated and until the public has actually driven useful, affordable and convenient electric cars there won't be a market for electric vehicles on a scale that can compete with the existing internal combustion vehicles. So the reasons are:

- Convenience

- Acceptance

- Affordability

I have to admit though that GM mismanaged the de-commissioning of the electric cars that they test marketed. I've got to believe that they leased them instead of sold them to retain the right to pull them back - which they exercised. I then also have to believe that they pulled them back for their short-comings which would have been short range and short-comings such as a high rate of failed battery packs triggered by the drivers deep-discharging the batteries to exhaustion. Note that the drivers of these cars would have been enticed into running the batteries to empty just to travel reasonable distances in a single charge. The problem with the current (and then) battery technology is that deep-discharging of batteries significantly shortens their lives. This is still an outstanding problem for electric vehicles. Until better batteries come along the electric vehicles will remain a niche market for those die-hard fans of electric vehicles that get enjoyment out of the technology. (And I want to be one of them, btw). Note that there is a great deal of discussion in the internet about plug-in hybrid cars, but as such none have actually been marketed by a major car company. One of the biggest reasons is the problem of battery life if the car is going to deep-discharge the battery. Current hybrids protect the small battery packs such that they are never deep-discharged, but plug-in hybrid would need to use a greater portion of the stored energy and would then stress the batteries - pushing them towards early failure.

Just my two cents in my own words....

Timothy D.

West Melbourne, FL

Answer 4

Car companies did not kill the electric car. It killed itself. Many electric cars have been tried and all have failed to interest very many people. Don't believe that silly propaganda.

Answer 5

I have not seen the movie but electric cars have not been killed. The public is extremely fickle regarding what they desire and the car companies have placed their advertising on large powerful cars that make strong impressions on other people. I think they advertise these because (1) the public wants to impress the rest of the public, (2) they make their profits by selling those automobiles and also parts for those vehicles and repairing those vehicles, (3) their factories are tooled to make those vehicles, (4) the public is to fickle and unorganized to demand change, (5) oil companies and car companies and politicians may be in the same bed together. That is far to powerful for a wimpish public to ever influence and until the public get off their duff and demands better cars and stops buying monster cars, nobody will make good economical cars or trucks. I suspect small companies will beat most of the large companies to the punch and once again we''ll pity those poor car companies.

My own wish is for a plug in hybrid car or truck. It can be plugged into your home outlets and charged at night when rates are the cheapest. Then you could drive to work 20-40 miles on all electric and use no gas. If you wanted to drive further, it switches to gas or whatever fuel is used. If the car is not driven the next day, you could even sell the electricity back to the power company. It works just like a regular vehicle but for a person like me who drives 13 miles to work and 13 miles back home, I'd not visit a gas station for weeks. It offers all the regular benefits of a normal car plus several bonuses.

So, organize your friends and tell the car companies you are not buying their cars until they make one that is affordable and plug in. If we the people started making demands and stuck to our word, I suspect the car companies would find that miracle formula and start pumping them out as fast as we'd buy them.

Car companies cannot kill a good concept but they can kill the public's interest in it by putting absolutely no effort into advertizing the benefits. It may be the public that was converted into zombies who do not care one way or another. How does that saying go "If you come, they will build it?" We came, they built them and we bought them and we keep right on buying them. It's really not the just car companies ... it's us.

Answer 6

California was on the right track with the zero emissions mandate. the oil industry along with the car companies and blessings from the Bush administration is what primarily shot that down. oh yes, the consumer lack of interest too. but seems to me that very little advertising and promotion ever took place.  so, in reality, the public was very much un-informed about these vehicles. if you take a tour thru the web site below, you will certainly see that battery powered cars are getting acceptable ranges. also, check out plasma boy's site if you want to see a performance electric.

Answer 7

One thing no one seems to have mentinoed:

THe car companies are not well positioned to capture the market, it will probably go to electric companies like Siemens etc

Answer 8

The Electric cars were intentionally killed, some of the other posters are wrong on that.

Reasons :

1. They require less maintenance

2. Have better mileage.

3. No smog test, oil change ... so no money from those things.

4. Can be charged for free if powered thru solar PV, not good for oil companies.

5. Car companies have already invested huge money in new engine designs etc which will be lost.

People were unaware of those cars and many may have not bought them. But that still does not explain companies taking away cars from those who already leased them and wanted to buy them after lease.

Companies just crushed those cars even when the existing owners were ready to keep and accept all responsibility for maintenance.

Answer 9

1) The batteries were okay, but the lifetime probably would not have been very long. It's hard to say how long they would have lasted, because GM destroyed the cars before we could find out. Batteries were not a big obstacle, but a minor one.

2) Oil companies did whatever they could to fight the EV1, from advertising to lobbyists.

3) Electric vehicles were less profitable than gas cars, so the auto companies fought against them.

4) The Bush Admin joined the automakers in fighting against California's Zero Emission Vehicles mandate, which is what helped make the EVs possible in the first place.

5) The promise of hydrogen fuel cells took money and attention away from the far more realistic EVs.

6) Few consumers were willing to buy the new technology.

It's all summarized in the link below.