Film: "Who killed the electric car?"

[domwild]

Friends,

As there has been a mention on this forum of Dr Oshinsky, the developer of thin-film solar panels (stick-ons!) AND as he is the developer of the NiMH battery for the GM EV1 electric car, here is my rant again. There has been a suggestion I or others believe everything we see on TV; I had mentioned I saw a preview of this film.

Fact:

1.  The California Clean Air Board was sued by GM, Ford, Toyota and Honda and dealers to drop the mandate to have a certain percentage of zero-emission cars by a certain time; figures escape me.
   
2. GM bought the controlling share in Dr Oshinsky's company and demanded he stop advertising the fact that his company had developed a battery, which is making electric cars possible.
   
3. GM was offered US$1.9 mio. to buy the remaining 80 cars but GM refused and shredded this last lot too. The supporters of electric cars and owners had camped at the depot day and night to see where they would go in the end.
   
4. The Federal US government muddied the waters by supporting hydrogen with a big subsidy. Hydrogen has five disadvantages; not enought time to go into it.
   
5. The marketing department of GM found it hard to get funds to advertise the EV1. To this day not many Americans know that GM ever built the EV1.
   
6. Batteries have not been the problem with any electric car. The early EV1s had Delco batteries, which failed sometimes, but Oshinsky batteries worked.
   
7. Politicians threatened any activist who wanted to mandate zero-emission vehicles in their state!
   
   

The electric car has one disadvantage: It only suits 90% of the population!

I would have liked to hear after how many years the batteries have to be exchanged and what the cost would have been.

The film does not blame BIG OIL for the demise but points out that the Bush admin. is stacked with oil people, perhaps that is the reason for the hydrogen muddying.

[domwild]

Hi,

Forgot to mention that the California Clean Air Board was forced to scrap the requirements for a percentage of zero emission vehicles to be on the road by a certain year. The chairman of the board was more of a "hydrogen" person. I do not think it ever came to a court battle as the film only showed hearings where the electric car people made their submissions and were only given three minutes, while the car companies were given all the time.  

The electric cars by GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota disappeared as quickly and quietly as they had appeared.

Some GM dealers did not even know that the EV1 was for sale and needed a lot of convincing. Customers had a hard time getting the vehicles and even stars like Gibson had to fill in pages of personal details to get the car. Customers, who had bought cars before found the reluctance of GM to sell the EV1 simply mind boggling.

GM then sold its share of the Ovshinsky NiMH car battery to another oil company! Dr Ovshinsky now makes stick-on solar film in his factory, the man has 200 patents under his belt. Let us hope BIG OIL does not buy him out and dictates the price or shuts the factory down.