Right car at the wrong time?

Very often the difference between success and failure is timing, and this appears to be the case with General Motors, presently the world’s largest car maker, soon to lose this title to Toyota, if the projected production figures are maintained. For GM, the bad timing concerns the EV-1, arguably the world’s first and so far most impressive battery-powered electric car. General Motors spent US$1 billion to develop and produce this state-of-the-art electric car, but after a 6-year production run from 1996 to 2002, the leasing scheme for the car was scrapped and all the EV-1s were destroyed. With oil prices rising and the cost of petrol reaching ever higher levels, filmmaker and EV-1 fan Chris Paine has produced a film questioning GM’s decision to scrap the entire EV-1 programme. The trailer for the film can be viewed at: http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/ More than just promoting the film, the website also offers an informative comparison of the battery-powered electric car against all the other new “green” fuel solutions, including petrol-electric hybrids (like the Toyota Prius) and bio-diesel engines that the European car makers seem to be promoting. In truth though, although General Motors seems to be the focus of this film, Honda and Toyota also marketed and leased electric cars - the Honda EV and Toyota RAV4 EV. Neither however spent nearly as much money as General Motors in their respective Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) initiatives. Check the website out, and let us know what you think.