Documentary: "Who Killed the Electric Car": Shocking! Depressing!

[johnnyrocket]

Outstanding documentary, well done, and elucidates the outrageous turn of events that LITERALLY crushed the electric car. With interesting revelations like:

-hydrogen is a pipe dream, advocated by the powers that be to keep the 'alternative fuel' hope out there, but not for 20 years

-there's still $100 trillion to make in oil alone, a daunting almost overpowering monopolistic force.

-battery inventor Stanford Ovshinsky's advanced battery technology was bought by GM and later sold to an oil company.

-the EV1 GM did develop, used substandard batteries, was barely marketed, and never sold, only leased. All EV1's were later demanded back by GM to be secretly crushed. Other car companies followed suit.

-Bush right away stopped ANY attempt to advance fuel standards or electric vehicle research.


It does portray hope at the end, but I was truly outraged by the precious time lost by the hubris, ignorance, stupidity, greed, and just plain criminal behavior by our government and corporations. I didn't find much hope it in, mostly a lot of rage, and motivation to go out and do something about this. Bottom line: electric vehicles should be everywhere in 2007, and they are no where, and we're all worse off because of it.

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar

[ClassWarrior]

1. Amazing, isn't it?...

Well, they can't keep us down forever.

Never Give Up.

[zeemike]

2. I just saw it a week ago

And it confirms my suspicions that corporate industry will never give us what we need to live in the 21st century.
They are surly the beast of revelations.

[Nutmegger]

3. Why have an electric car when there's mega-$$$ to be made via hydrogen?

It's disgusting the way all the major industries and Bush Inc worked together to kill a perfectly awesome electric car.

I was crushed when I seen this really neat looking, chic, efficient ELECTRIC car scooped up and destroyed and then CARB sealed the deal.

They don't want us to have an electric car. Money is money. When will the greed end?

[ORDagnabbit]

4. Then you probably dont want to know about this then....

In 1969 GM introduced to the world through its Opel division the Stirlec1, an experimental prototype conversion of its most popular European vehicle. It was equipped with a Stirling engine and an electric drive train, what we now call a series hybrid. It was said to be able to get 84 miles to the gallon and produce minimal emissions. You don’t have to believe me you can see it for yourself.

[orleans]

6. where did you get/find that? is that real? n/t

[ORDagnabbit]

9. heres a link

http://www.evworld.com/blogs/index.cfm?page=blogentry&authorid=46&blogid=113&archive=1

[orleans]

10. wow. thanks for the link. n/t

[Major Hogwash]

5. All the GM EV1's were leased? I didn't know that.

Is that why they didn't come out with an EV2?

The hybrid cars, by the way, don't get the fantastic mileage they first touted they get.

[HughBeaumont]

8. A classic example of corporate waste and greed.

Blow a ton of money on an intentionally-losing product (that is, market it negatively, force all buyers into leasing, make it so the average person couldn't buy it), all to flatten California's ZEV law and keep it from spreading to other states. Bewsh worked hand in hand with Big Auto to make this happen.

Never mind that oil is a wasteful, soon-to-be-endangered and non-sustainable economic resource, there's MONEY to be made. And no hippie commie pinko idea like the electric car is going to stand the hell in the way of that!

I cannot WAIT until this nightmarish "presidency" ends and the masses stand up to enslaving corporations.

And while I'm still dreaming, I'd like to win the lottery.

[orleans]

7. i remember watching a late night show--probably letterman

a number of years back and i think it was ed bagley jr. that was talking about this electric car. and i thought: wow, when my daughter is sixteen we'll have one--it will be affordable and that's what she'll be driving.

sadly, that never came to pass.

[Major Hogwash]

11. I think I'm going to have to buy this DVD now after watching that trailer.

This is totally weird that this passed under the radar.

I knew Ed Begley Jr. was an environemtalist to the max because I remember him talking about the electric car years ago. He has become famous in California for being known as one of the biggest environmentalists in the country and helping to make the rest of us environmentally aware.

[JackRiddler]

12. Thank you - I will see this

Related thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=389