Movie who killed the electric car?

Question

why did the car companies not produce anymore electric cars?

Answer 1

Why did you put this question on again?  I thought my answer was pretty good.  Is it because I don't own a car company or what?

Answer 2

I like this question... Why is it that people believe this film heart and soul?  It is a political film, and was made to push a political agenda.  The facts are skewed, the information is skewed.  Yes GM destroyed these cars... maybe there was a good reason?  Could it be an EV equivilent to the pinto?  Whatever it was, GM didn't want people to know about it.  And frankly, that's their perogative.

I've had a chance to work on the EV1, in the process of restoring one.  It's a nice machine, but I can see how it could have some problems.  Namely... it's a real bear to work on, and the training costs for their mechanics would have been huge!

Answer 3

Big companies don't really want to make electric cars. They have too much invested in the oil companies to go electric. In the movie, the car companies leased those cars to try and prove that nobody actually wanted or like electric cars. Their plan backfired, but they cooked the books to make it look like they proved their point.

Answer 4

Many different reasons.

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.

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

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

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.

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

Few consumers were willing to buy the new technology.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledthe...

However, EVs are currently making a comeback.

Available in California in October 2008, the Aptera typ-1e will cost about $27,000 with a top speed of 95 mph and range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Soon thereafter Aptera will introduce the typ-1h, a plug-in hybrid version of the typ-1e with a 40-60 mile range on purely electrical energy, and a range of over 600 miles total when in electric/gas hybrid mode, for around $30,000.  On a 120 mile trip, the typ-1h will get 300 miles per gallon.  The shorter the trip, the higher the efficiency.

http://www.aptera.com/details.php

Available in late 2009, the ZAP Alias will cost $30,000, have a top speed of 100 mph, and a range of 100 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Soon thereafter the ZAP-X will be available at a cost of $60,000 with a top speed of 155 mph and a range of 350 miles per charge.

http://zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/el...

Available in 2009, the Miles Javlon will cost $30,000 with a top speed of 80 mph and a range of 120 miles per charge.

http://www.milesev.com/

Phoenix Motorcars will start selling their SUT to individuals in late 2008 or early 2009.  It will cost $45,000 and have a top speed of 100 mph with a range of 100+ miles per charge.

http://phoenixmotorcars.com/

Answer 5

didnt you watch the movie? thought they made it clear..

they didnt wanna lose out on the money they were making already.

Answer 6

great post DANA1981!  Cheers for the links!