Toyota abruptly cancelled the RAV4-EV sale, stopped taking deposits, and spent months finding the parts and car bodies to fullfill unexpectedly heavy orders. All orders were filled, but it took a while.[2] Toyota has no plans to bring hydrogen-powered cars to market in the near future. But its next-generation Prius, with established technology, will likely have the biggest impact on lowering emissions.[3] Toyota is switching its 1999 RAV4-EV to inductive charging, from conductive. [4]
Toyota sold the RAV4-EV, on the right, to the public, while GM took back and destroyed perfectly fine EV1 cars. If not for GM, both these oil-free cars would still be running.[5] Toyota surely lost money on its first-generation Prius hybrid, and look what that's gotten the company - a technological head-start and a marketing fig leaf large enough to excuse the grossest pickups. [6] Batteries are just not good enough yet. As a result its very important to have enough feedback from the car to be able to change your driving habits to get the most out of the battery pack.[7] Batteries are already practical. The Panasonic NiMH batteries in my Toyota-made RAV4 EV have a range of 120 miles and are lasting over 100,000 miles in others’ cars.[8]
CARB recognized this in a 2000 position paper resulting from the Battery Technology Assessment Workshop that put an upper cap on NiMH costs at $350/kWh, or at most $12,000 for a typical 30 kWh 770 lb. This amortizes out to no more than 6 cents per mile, less if the 90 lbs.[9] CARB had seen GM's first prototype of the EV1, the fatefully misnamed Impact. In 1990, CARB passed the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, requiring a rising percentage of California's cars to be free of emissions.[10] Car dealerships won’t take them back, and paying triple digits at the gas station is never fun. Consumer behaviors are starting to change.[11]
Cars built these days put out only about four percent of the exhaust of cars produced in 1970. That's why the air above every American city has gotten so much cleaner since then.[12]
General Motors, of course, that’s what the movie said. Most of them were returned to General Motors and destroyed, since they were leased (not owned) and at the end of the lease, they were still GM’s property.[17] General Motors donated the charger; the city of Campbell waived most of the fees required for placing it in a public place, and Sutton paid for its installation. [18] General Motors position on this was very clear - they spent $500 million trying to produce a workable electric vehicle that could compete and win "heads up" in the marketplace. If the company could have recouped their investment by selling the vehicles commercially, they said, they certainly would have done so.[19]
General Motors reluctantly built the car to comply with California zero-emission regulations which required auto makers to sell a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles in that state. When the regulations were dropped due to pressure from the car makers and oil companies, GM abruptly pulled the plug on the EV1.[20]
Drivers of the EV1 have a 220-volt MagneCharge" inductive charging system installed in their homes. Charging the EV1 is as simple as inserting the charge paddle in the charge port at the front of the car before turning in for the night.[23] Drivers' response to the cars was overwhelmingly favorable, as were reports in car magazines. Motor Trend reported: "The Impact is precisely one of those occasions where GM proves beyond any doubt that it knows how to build fantastic automobiles.[24]
Fast forward to 6 years later . The fleet is gone.[25] Fast forward to 6 years later . The fleet is gone.[26]
Gasoline powered engines where just beginning to appear and Henry Ford began to mass produce the internal combustion gasoline engine. By 1930 the electric vehicle was killed for the first time, because of the advances in gasoline powered engines.[27] Garages across the world are full of abandoned projects or ideas. Few come to fruition or they just remain ideas in the head.[28]
General Motors, in particular, summarily revoked all the leases on the EV1, and crushed the cars, as memorably chronicled in the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?". [29] General Motors launched the EV1 in the mid-1990s on a lease-only basis to motorists in California. Many drivers who tried it out loved the vehicle.[30]
California is in a pollution crisis. Smog threatens public health.[32] California created a requirement for automakers to sell 10% of cars in the state by the year 2003 with zero emissions. Ford purchased the Th!nk electric car manufacturing company and began turning out NEV's (Low speed Neighborhood electric vehicles) and planning for a freeway capable car, the City, Chrysler did the same with their purchase of GEM (Global Electric Motorcars).[33]
Low maintenance electric vehicles (no spark plugs, mufflers, oil changes, tune ups, minimal brake pad wear, etc.) means existing business lines and profits are threatened all over GM. Once Roger Smith retired, the vast momentum of GM direction began to assert itself leading eventually to the intentional destruction of the EV1; even so far as to the crushing of all of the existing vehicles.[35] Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nunc semper, ante sit amet dictum molestie, eros risus aliquam risus, a lacinia ante arcu ac felis.[36] Look at Toyota and the Prius, a high tech state of the art vehicle that can be sold at $20,000.00. I am currently developing my own low-tech electric town vehicle with off the shelf components to show that it can be done.[37]
Lock your keys in your car? It'll never happen with this car.[38]
GM lost the affection of thousands of former fans, and became the ugly, dirty SUV company that lost money. [39] GM employs 244,500 people around the world, and sold and serviced vehicles in some 140 countries. [40] GM was not alone. Each auto manufacturer ultimately ceased production and marketing of its electric vehicles after meeting the numbers and terms required by the agreements signed with CARB for the test marketing of electric cars.[41]
GM was and is proud to have brought the electric vehicle concept as far as it did and further than any other electric vehicle project attempted by any other automaker around the globe. Sadly, despite the substantial investment of money and the enthusiastic fervor of a relatively small number of EV1 drivers - including the filmmaker - the EV1 proved far from a viable commercial success.[42] GM's series hybrid integrates a turbine engine-powered electric generator and Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries into a four-passenger version of the EV1. This results in a highly fuel-efficient, low-emission, highway range measured in the hundreds of miles, as well as excellent all-around vehicle performance.[43] GM owned 51% of a great American battery company. Then the second batteries for the EV-1 were from Ovonics.[44]
GM donated a small number of the returned EV1s to colleges and universities for engineering students, and to several museums including the Smithsonian Institution. The EV1s sent to this site were stripped of their recyclables and crushed.[45] GM needs an electric urban / commuter car in it’s portfolio. The Hollywood type who condemned GM for killing the original EV1 program would now be singing GM’s praises.[46] GM had best be building this and quick, with the advent of fuel prices rising to the 4 dollar a gallon range soon. They need to build something like the German-made Loremo which weighs in the thousand pound range and will get around 150 MPG with a 1.0 liter turbo diesel.[47]
GM pulled the plug on it in 2000. [48] GM never offered the EV1 for public sale. It was only available to consumers under a lease program that had a "no purchase" clause disallowing the vehicle's re-purchase at the conclusion of the lease.[49] GM never wanted the EV1 to succeed. [50]
GM officially viewed the program as a failure. All repossessed EV1s were crushed , save for a select few examples which were delivered to universities and engineering schools, with their electric powertrains deactivated, and under the agreement that the cars were not to be reactivated and driven on the road.[51] GM should give drivers the choice of driving these cars, on the free market and as they wish. No other discontinued model was ever destroyed and crushed this way; GM let the Corvair owners continue in Corvair clubs, there are Packard drivers.[52] GM ended the consumer test project in 2004. [53]
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