Why was general Motors allowed to collect and destroy working electric cars?

Question

Why was general Motors allowed to collect and destroy working electric cars?

Answer 1

They were only on lease.  GM built the electric cars because the state of California basically forced them to produce a 0 emissions car.  People loved them, exxon and the like hated them.  The car co. and the oil co. are in bed together and forced them out of production.

Answer 2

GM claimed the cars were experimental and that they could not be insured for more than the duration of the experiment, I also suggest you try and find the movie "Who killed the electric car" It explains in detail what happened, and why.

Answer 3

See the movie "Who killed the electric car?".  The people did lease them, they were not allowed to purchase the cars at the end of their leases.  Once the companies got the legistation crushed they got all the cars back and destroyed them.

As for those who denbate the oil/auto connection.  All you have to do is look at the cross over on the board of directors and share holders.  The Presidents and VP's might not be in cahoots but the fat cats who owns millions of shares in both sets of companies are and they are the people with the final say on what the company does.

Answer 4

Let's rephrase the question.  Why was General Motors allowed to collect and destroy their own property?

Even a working model doesn't mean that this particular car could be economically produced.  These were never production cars because replacement parts were never going to be produced.

Answer 5

If GM profits so much from maintenance how come it offers 5yr/100,000mile warranties on all of its new cars/trucks?  

The electric cars were leased.  And this notion that the automakers and oil companies are in bed together, get real!!!  

Anyone been paying attention to earnings reports!!!  Ford and GM are and have been relying on full size truck and suv sales for profit.  Now that gas prices have skyrocketed, look what is happened to Ford and GM's profits!!!

Answer 6

Much of the blame for ending the electric car mandate on the west coast can be pinned on the Bush administration, who worked with the oil and auto companies to get California to change its laws.

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But let's face it - the big auto companies do not want to make these things, because electric vehicles are much less profitable products than gas vehicles. This is why the cars were only leased, not sold - so that the auto companies could seize them as soon as the law changed.

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We will never get EVs from major US auto companies, unless foreign competition forces their hands. This is the only reason US automakers are now grudgingly making some hybrids -  because Japanese car companies are stealing market share. Japan will lead again with plug-in hybrids and pure electrics as well - several such cars are in the works over the next several years.

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Detroit will pretend, as usual, that nobody wants these cars - and will be caught pants-less again.

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Don't believe it? Take a look at this car, coming out soon - the ZAP-X gets 350 miles per charge - charges batteries in just 10 minutes - batteries are good for 250,000 miles. This electric car has 644 horsepower, and a top speed of 155mph:

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http://zapworld.com/ZAPWorld.aspx?id=456...

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A demonstrator has been built. It works. This is the car Detroit tells us is impossible, What do you think?

Answer 7

Because they were GM's cars. It was an experiment. They have actually learned some things, and that knowledge will be applied to their next generation of hybrid electric and plug in hybrid electric vehicles.

Answer 8

When was this? 1910? Because before 1910 electric cars were quite popular, but after the electric starter was invented, gasoline cars outsold electric cars, so electric cars were discontinued. Are you trying to say there is some conspiracy? Are you trying to say that they had electric cars that people wanted to buy and they refused to sell them? Are you saying that they took cars from people who were using them, even though those people wanted to keep using them? Because if you are saying all that then I do not believe you. I would need some proof that such a silly thing would have really happened. More likely they had a bunch of electric cars that nobody wanted to buy and they got tired of them taking up room in the warehouse, so they scrapped them and cut their losses.

Answer 9

Two reasons:

1.- first and most powerful, because they can. No only the auto-industry is powerful itself, but they have as allies the oil companies and many other industries that have high connections (lobbies) in our government.

2.- no profitable enough.  Currently the automakers have a huge profitable industry that is no only based on selling vehicle, but a greater part of it is the maintenance of those vehicles.  Electric vehicles kills around 3/4 of that auto-maintenance market.