Who Killed the Electric Car?

A very good coverage of the history of the car companies activities against the electric car and of recent electric car developments.

I've watched the movie several times trying to cath the little things. Dr. Ovshinsky wasn't happy about GM selling his battery to Texaco. The car went 120 miles on a charge with that battery. The first cars came with defective GM Delco batteries and were only replaced with Ovshinki's battery when he made an unathorized press appearance highlighting his metal hydride batter for the car. GM scolded him for it. But really folks, the car today would get 250-300 miles on a set of lithium batteries, those nice new ones that don't burn or explode when crushed or pierced, lithium polymers I believe they are called. Exxon has been very engaged in trying to corner the market on Lithium batteries, for at least a decade.

The award winning author who, in the movie, claims that GM would sell you a car that runs on pig manure if they can make a dollar, misses the elephant in the room. The elephant is that with no engine and transmission, only an electric motor with 3 moving parts, GM and its dealers would be hard pressed to charge so much money for the car. A regular engine has thousands of parts in its engine and transmission, thousands of operations more to make those parts, and a tearful amount of maint. costs for consumers. The electric car got around all of that. That's why they killed it, thats also why the "award winning author" is completely wrong about what GM would or would not sell you.

Keep in mind that the hydrogen car Bush has in mind will keep us going to his friends gas stations to fill up on hydrogen which they want to make from nuclear or natural gas. The cost? More than gasoline.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that if the nations car fleet were converted to electric overnight, our current power plants could supply 75% of the electricity demand if the cars charged at night.

This movie is important for you to see. Its perfect evidence for the case against corporations running America. Treason for them is often, just good business.

Very funny but sad look at how the invisible hand of Mr.Smith works in the market place--NOT!!!! Please give us the car I begged for 20 years ago that you could make 30 years ago! Inc. America blows. India is buying Jag and maybe the Hummer. GM is BILLIONS in the hole. Ford sold it's winning car to a Norwegian worker owned car company that will start selling it in 2010 to unemployed factory workers in America that now have jobs at Starbucks...maybe.While Toy moves from killing fords truck line into hybrids on a mass scale.Inc.America needs government regs before it chokes itself with Smith's invisible hand.Who killed The Electric Car? The Free Market and people that do not see this movie!

Since Nikola Tesla's days have we had the technology to run cars on electricity but the reason we have yet to see this now is because it will make no money to the elite members of the Govt. and Corporations, all greedy and corrupt. This film shows that tha technology was released and when "they" realized their blunder, they pulled the cars away against the will of the American people. Wake up folks and get involved!

I recently watched the Who Killed the Electric Car? DVD and must say, it is an eye opener. I was in California when the state mandated that car manufacturers produce vehicles with zero emissions. While it was in place, I saw all kinds of electric cars here in the Palm Springs desert - the EV1, Honda and others. That was a decade ago.

Apparently, the auto companies, with help from the oil companies and politicians, convinced California to drop the mandate, and the electric cars were immediately pulled from consumers who loved them! The EV1 electric car that is followed in this documentary is one hot little car, but GM killed it, recalled all of them (they could only be leased) and destroyed them rather than sell to consumers who were begging to buy the vehicles.

So, we've had the technology for a quiet, practical around town electric car for years. The Japanese got the message and started producing hybrids, while the USA car companies came out with gas guzzlers like the Hummer.

Now, we are paying for big business greed and politics.

This should be required viewing for every American citizen. I highly encourage everyone to watch this.