American Automotive Creativity - I was wrong!

It seems that at least one American automobile company was pursuing the dream of an alternate energy vehicle with great creativity - General Motors!

As reported in the Washington Post, the General developed and launched a fleet of silent, aerodynamic electric vehicles to meet California's zero-emissions mandate. The shapely two-seater, called the EV1 was driven in California and Arizona from 1996 until 2003. The Washington Post story calls it “a classic 1990s tale of government regulation, corporate innovation, brilliant engineering and consumer lust for the Next New Thing.”

What exactly was it? A dynamic little car powered by nickel-hydride batteries that had a range of 125 miles between charges, more than enough for a days worth of driving in California. In fact it was developed by GM specifically to meet California’s tough new zero emissions standards.

“The engine whirred, rather than roared, but spewed no emissions; there was no gear-shifting; and drivers talk of the car's torque with awe.”

GM leased the car to drivers who, by all accounts loved it and are fiercely loyal to its memory. One has even produced a movie about it, "Who Killed the Electric Car?" which will premiere 30 June. So, GM had an innovative new electric car, one that seemed to function in the real world, and had been willing to spend $1 billion on research and development. Obviously I was wrong in my previous post about the lack of creativity and innovation among American car manufacturers. So why aren’t we seeing a new generation of such cars zipping around now that gasoline is $3 a barrel? Why is our only alternative Japanese hybrids that still you gasaline?

Well, because GM decided that not only would you never drive one, you would never see one either. It confiscated all of the cars from their drivers and destroyed them for scrap, except for one donated to the Smithsonian. Why? I am tempted to say “just because GM wanted to” but that would be wrong. GM says that it only had 800 paying customers for it and therefore it wasn’t worth keeping the program going. This overlooks the 5,000 people who had already signed a waiting list to get them. And this was only in California. And the fact that most of that money had been R & D money already spent, not production costs to produce more vehicles. Why did GM destroy the EV1s already on the road?

Perhaps GM wanted the car to fail. The GM spokesman hints at that when he says "The EV1 experience demonstrated to California regulators that battery technology was not going to advance further.”

That'll show those pesky government regulators.