Has anybody seen the film "Who killed the electric car" ?

Question

I saw this film last night about the technology that is available that the car companies and oil companies don't want us to know about. It pi**ed me off so bad that I wonder why we Americans are not demanding something be done about this. Especially in light of the soaring gas prices. I understand there are conversion kits available to the public but would have no idea how to do this or where to find someone that can.

I'm just interested in hearing other people's thoughts on this. Thanks.

Answer 1

You have been practiced upon by people trying to advance an impossible political agenda.  They'd like you to think that by wishing really, really hard, someone will somehow market an electric car that'll save the world.  The EV-1 wasn't, and you'd agree if you'd ever seen one.  They carried several thousand pounds of batteries and teetered on very thin motorcycle-style tires inflated to 70 psi.  The suspension components were made of plastic and aluminum for light weight, and thus there was no way to tell how these would age.  So GM called the cars in before anyone got killed.  

Note that there are, in fact, no electric cars in production anywhere in the world.  There are promises--the Tesla you order today will be available in fifteen months, if the company lasts that long--but no real cars.  The problem?  The battery, of course.  They're all lousy, and probably won't improve much any time in the forseeable future.  Unlike computers and communications, battery technology evolves very, very slowly.

Answer 2

i watched it too but i dont think the car and oil companies are the only ones to blame. consumers, the american people got wrapped up into this big SUV craze opposed to smaller more efficient cars. i personally am ashame by people i know who are single household driving an tahoe just because it looks cool

on my way to work i see more SUVs and trucks on the road than regular cars, its a free country you can drive what you want but i think its a waste if you are driving a huge gas guzzler without purpose(such as a truck for business/towing or an SUV for a big family)

think about it gas is more expensive in europe, but you rarely see big cars in europe mainly subcompact to midsize cars. america has had a history of gas gluttony from muscle cars to SUVs. we really didnt see a change into economy cars until the last gas crisis we had. then gas went down and people starting buying SUVs

anyways hopefully the next president will push for better fuel economy and alternative fuels.

Answer 3

Don't belive everything you see in a movie, they are trying to make money and win awards. Half of Al Gores "documentary" has been disproven and it's now known lots of the movie included computer animation to sway your opinion.

Answer 4

i haven't heard of it, but it sounds interesting!

Answer 5

Yes, I saw the film, but I hate to tell you it was really the public who killed the electric car. There are many reasons why the public killed it, price, range, charging stations are chief among them. The electric car cost about $12,000 more then a comparable compact car so even at $5 a gallon and assuming you get your electricity for free you would need to drive the electric car 72,000 miles to break even (assuming 30 mpg average which isn’t that hard to find in a compact car). You could buy a much nicer car and have enough money left over to drive 72,000 miles or you could spend a lot more money for an electric car. The public has already decided.

There are many places that will sell you a kit to convert a gas powered car into an electric car expect to spend about $7,000.

Answer 6

Having had the dubious honor of being allowed to spin wrenches during the restoration of an EV-1, I can tell you that for all practical purposes it has the same complexity in parts.  People seem to think of these vehicles as simple for some reason, and that's flat out not the case.  I agree with the folks who argue that this was a propganda film.  I've worked on one...  And there is no way on earth I'd drive that thing everyday.

Answer 7

I have seen it, and it did p**s me off too...but not in the same sense for you.  I was irritated at the directors/producers.

The movie is about 75% propaganda/conspiracy theory with a few facts tossed in.

Answer 8

Although I will admit I have not seen the film, I do know that the cars in the movie cost about $500,000 each to make, but were leased for $50 or $600 per month to a few select consumers.  The proper lease rate to make them profitable should have been about $3,000 per month. They were an experiment, and GM spent millions of dollars for that research which will some day soon be part of the knowledge that is used to build the Chevy Volt.

Answer 9

I don't think I have, but we need the electric car because of oil prices.