Synopsis:
It was among the
fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on
electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology
to the forefront of the automotive industry. The lucky few who drove it
never wanted to give it up. So why did General Motors crush its fleet
of EV1 electric vehicles in the Arizona desert?
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? chronicles the life and mysterious death
of the GM EV1, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and
how they reverberated through the halls of government and big business.
The year is 1990. California is in a pollution crisis. Smog threatens
public health. Desperate for a solution, the California Air Resources
Board (CARB) targets the source of its problem: auto exhaust. Inspired
by a recent announcement from General Motors about an electric vehicle
prototype, the Zero Emissions Mandate (ZEV) is born. It required 2% of
new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 1998, 10% by
2003. It is the most radical smog-fighting mandate since the catalytic
converter.
With a jump on the competition thanks to its speed-record-breaking
electric concept car, GM launches its EV1 electric vehicle in 1996. It
was a revolutionary modern car, requiring no gas, no oil changes, no
mufflers, and rare brake maintenance (a billion-dollar industry unto
itself). A typical maintenance checkup for the EV1 consisted of
replenishing the windshield washer fluid and a tire rotation. But the
fanfare surrounding the EV1’s launch disappeared and the cars followed.
Was it lack of consumer demand as carmakers claimed, or were other
persuasive forces at work?
Fast forward to 6 years later… The fleet is gone. EV charging
stations dot the California landscape like tombstones, collecting dust
and spider webs. How could this happen? Did anyone bother to examine
the evidence? Yes, in fact, someone did. And it was murder.
The electric car threatened the status quo. The truth behind its demise
resembles the climactic outcome of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the
Orient Express: multiple suspects, each taking their turn with the
knife. WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? interviews and investigates
automakers, legislators, engineers, consumers and car enthusiasts from
Los Angeles to Detroit, to work through motives and alibis, and to
piece the complex puzzle together.
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? is not just about the EV1. It’s about how
this allegory for failure reflected in today’s oil prices and air
quality can also be a shining symbol of society’s potential to better
itself and the world around it. While there’s plenty of outrage for
lost time, there’s also time for renewal as technology is reborn in WHO
KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?
–© Sony Pictures Classics
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