Video: Who Killed The Electric Car?

[David Spencer at PASNorth]

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Fashioned like a tongue-in-cheek murder mystery, Who Killed the
Electric Car?sets out to uncover who was responsible for the demise of
the EV-1, an electric car considered to be one of the fastest and most
efficient production cars ever built.

The car used no fuel, produced no emissions and when it was introduced
in the mid-nineties, catapulted American technology to the forefront
of the automotive industry, creating an opportunity to capture the
'green' market. The lucky few who drove it including filmmaker Chris
Paine, never wanted to give it up.

So why did General Motors crush its fleet of electric vehicles in the
Arizona desert? As a new crop of hybrid electric cars make their
"green debut" at auto shows across North America, Who Killed the
Electric Car? investigates what happened the last time the electric
car was introduced to consumers.

The mystery begins in California in the 1990s when legislators
desperate to clean up the state's smoggy skies, took a dramatic step
and launched a zero-emission vehicle program after seeing the
prototype for a GM electric car. Under the program, two per cent of
all new cars had to be emission free by 1998 and 10 per cent by 2003.
With enormous hype, GM launched the EV-1 in California in 1997. In the
end, only 1,000 cars were produced and the plug was pulled on the
project in 2002. Other major car companies also ceased production of
electric cars. As leases expired remaining cars were rounded up and
literally crushed in the desert.

Was this one of the biggest blunders in the history of the U.S. car
industry, or were consumers just not ready to go green? Who Killed the
Electric Car? runs through the prime suspects and causes including car
companies, oil giants, poorly executed ad campaigns, consumer wariness
and an overall lack of government commitment Automakers, legislators,
engineers, consumers and car enthusiasts from Detroit to Los Angeles
work through the motives, alibis, and fallout to piece this complex
puzzle together, one of those stories that in today's "green' market
seems difficult to comprehend. Who Killed the Electric Car? is
narrated by Martin Sheen.

The writer/director and former EV 1 owner Chris Paine (based in Los
Angeles) is currently working on a sequel with the working title
"Revenge of the Electric Car", ( http://revengeoftheelectriccar.com/
)

-------
Related Video "Who Killed The Electric Car?"
Watch the entire film online.
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/docplayer2.html?playlistId=6249e7e7d04102f5094dc964bff06d6f76007bac&id=1047022456
83:52 min