Who Killed the Electric Car?

This type of documentary is what corporations AND consumers AND government need to see to make the changes necessary before we kill our planet. Have you seen the recent "green" GM commercials with the plug-in cars? Hopefully, we are all learning the hard lessons. The first time I saw it (rented), I was depressed at the end. I bought a few copies as Fathers' Day presents to show "what might have been". Watching it again, I noticed all the things people are doing to make zero emissions possible. Finally, I'm glad someone documented the grass-roots activism that took place which doesn't make it into mainstream media. That specific battle seemed lost, but the war might yet be won.

Perhaps now more than ever, there has become a renewed focus on finding more sustainable ways to live in terms of energy consumption. Though the soaring gas prices have indeed caused many of us to take note and become a bit more eco-conscious, when a similar movement began in the 1990's it was a myriad of competing factions that in fact pulled the emergency brake on such a movement.

Who Killed the Electric Car is an interesting documentary on the entire electric car life span for conception to production to dismantling in scrap yards just a few years later. The electric car phenomenon that swept the country amongst like minded individuals and in particular celebrity types in a way that perhaps predated the necessity of living a more sustainable life and rather focused on the desire to life in such a way.

Thanks to the EV movement that made driving an electric car fashionable and trendy, the demand for EVs began to peak and a push was on to increase production of electric cars to meet the demand that was creeping up ever so quickly.

But all of that came to a crashing halt. The film seeks to address some of the possible culprits guilty for killing the electric car. Though certainly no charges of murder could be brought, what certain individuals and organizations did to ensure the rapid demise of the electric car was comparable to stabbing the heart of the electric car movement and ensuring it would never breathe another breath.

The movie seeks to point the finger at the different individuals and organizations that killed the electric car movement. There is a spotlight shone upon the gasoline and oil companies just as brightly as there is one cast upon politicians who were more concerned about protecting the interests of Big Oil rather than the consumers' that were buying the EVs interests.

However, what is most interesting is the expose that highlights how the automobile manufacturers also had a hand in bringing down the electric car. It is amazing to think that even when a demand was so prevalent for EVs that the automobile industry would bend to outside pressures to ensure that oil dependent vehicles would live on past the EVs.

Imagine for a second the manufacturers of the EVs actually seizing back the EVs from the consumers and then shipping them off to be destroyed at a scrap yard. Sound a bit too totalitarian for your liking? Well, the truth is that happened right here in America.

The film does a fine job exploring as many different possible avenues for those that could be found guilty for killing the electric car. The documentary is done in such a way that certainly there is a bias shown toward the pro-EV movement and arguments but ample time is devoted to ensuring that both sides of the issue are in fact addressed.

Narrated by Martin Sheen, the documentary is well crafted in the sense that there are a lot of different interviews pieced together in a way that is methodical and cogent. Toward the end of the film when the players are identified as being either guilty or not guilty, a sort of mini-trial snapshot is translated to the film well.

Who Killed the Electric Car is a very good look at a decision made less than two decades ago that certainly now is having adverse ramifications on both the environment and economy. It would be interesting to learn whether or not had the EVs in fact been invested in and supported to the same level as petroleum dependent vehicles whether or not today we would be so dependent upon oil and so impacted by the fluctuations in the price of the oil we consume.

Though there are several parties outlined as being found guilty of killing the electric car, the one main thing to take away is that the parties involved in this senseless killing should to this day be held accountable. And when you are accountable for such an act, you too should be punished.

I don't know why, exactly, but this film made me very sad. Sad, to the point of actually tearing up. While politically motivated trash like "An Inconvenient Truth" either makes me want to vomit or possibly laugh at the arrogant idiocy that spawned the film, this film moved me. Just thinking about the senseless crushing of EV1s, just to keep them 'off the street', makes me sad. If you have any doubt that America is being sold by the gallon, just watch this film.

This is one of the best documentaries ever done. The footage, and the people in the footage on both sides
of this issue, make one of most entertaining and revealing cases for its cause I have ever seen. It presents both sides of the issue, but makes it very easy to see that one side is seriously flawed.

It answers the question "why are people frustrated with government and big business" with a clear evidence.
The scene of the solar panels on top of the White House(before they were removed) pretty much sums it up.

Is it any wonder why GM's stock is hitting a 50 year low today?

A very important film. Every one should see it.

A great film, though a bit heavy on the political side. Still, after watching this movie, there can be no doubt that electric cars are marketable and desireable.

This film documents the life of the EV1, a GM two seater electric car. The cars were leased to a select few customers in California and Arizona, then destroyed after a few years.

I live in Arizona close to several retirement communities, and I see people driving around in electric golf carts all the time, even in 100 degree plus heat. Electric vehicles work.

I am not a conspiracy freak, but this film nails the automobile industry, the government, and the oil companies for keeping electric cars out of the hands of the public. Once you watch this movie, their motivations will be very obvious.

I recommend this film highly. At this price, you can afford more than one copy. Watch it and pass it on, since you'll never see this movie aired on television. People need to know and think about this, especially while they pump $4 a gallon gas into their vehicle.