Avis sur le produitWho Killed The Electric Car (DVD, 2006)

Have Fun and Make the World a Better and Quieter Place

In 1992 General Motors built a great little electric car called the EV1. They built 1000 of them, and put them out on lease. Nearly everybody who got one loved it, and begged GM to sell it to them when the lease was up. Instead GM took them all back and crushed them. Their claim was that people were not happy with the range of about 100 miles per charge, with the batteries of the time. In fact, GM nearly doubled the range just within the course of the year or 2 that they made them.

In 2006 Chris Paine made a documentary film about this car, and the circumstances surrounding it. It is an epose type of film that GM and the oil companies hated, of course. If you are a member of the vast right–wing conspiracy, you will probably think that this movie was made by hippies and commies to cause trouble for the US carmakers, but in fact it was filmed well before oil prices started spiking and was really intended to show that the car was just the right thing at the right time.

In the film, a wide variety of people are interviewed: drivers, battery inventors, salespeople, etc. The film makes a good case for the car as a strong prototype that was quickly ramping up to be a real contender. As with any new technology, rapid evolution of components and economies of scale would have reached a tipping point relatively quickly, if GM produced the cars fast enough, and particularly if the government kicked in with technological help and financial subsidies.

This film is well worth watching, and joins the ranks of interesting evidence of how and what people can do to make life better. Personally, I would love to own an electric car, I have wanted one since the first Arab oil embargo occurred when I was in college. I assumed at the time that it was 5–10 years away, and that has stretched to 10–20 and stayed there ever since ever since. Hey guys, JUST DO IT !Lire l'avis complet...

If you are interested in EVs, this is a must see for you and your kids.

So after many years, I wanted to see "Who Killed The Electric Car" again, so I bought a copy. I watched it again tonight and it is really an eye opener. In 2003 most of the EV1s had already been crushed in secrecy out in the AZ desert but the last 78 units were in a lot locked behind a chain link fence at the GM facility in Burbank, CA. The coalition of protesters, known as the EV1 vigilers, spent weeks staked outside the gate 24-7, some days in the pouring rain, making sure that GM couldn't sneak the cars out in the night to be crushed. GM contended that no one wanted these cars which of course, was baloney. On day 15, the coalition set out to call them on it. In 48 hours time they signed up 80 people willing to put up $24,358 each to buy the remaining 78 cars for the residual price of the lease. In this last ditch effort, they publicly made GM an offer to buy the cars. They got a check together for 1.9 million dollars and announced the offer. GM wouldn't even acknowledge them. The vigil lasted for 27 days until finally GM sent a bunch of cops and a convoy of empty auto transporters to scoop up all of the remaining EV1s and quickly take them away to be destroyed.

What they didn't realize at the time was that all other manufacturers of electric vehicles were crushing their cars too. Ford was crushing their Think City and Ranger EVs. Honda was quietly crushing perfectly good EV Plus cars and Toyota their RAV4 EVs. Soon all EVs were gone, just like that.

Chelsea Sexton makes a great point in the documentary about legacy automakers and the problems posed for them in trying to sell EVs as part of their lineup: "In order to market a clean car, you have to suggest that your core product cars [that use oil and gas] are dirty." In March 2009, however, outgoing CEO of GM Rick Wagoner said the biggest mistake he ever made as chief executive was killing the EV1 car and failing to direct more resources to electrics.Lire l'avis complet...

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Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : decluttr_store

Quite Intriguing

A friend recommended this movie.

The movie was entertaining in a smart, engaging way. For political or persuasive films like this, watching with a devil's advocate mindset left one yet unanswered question-- why were the existing cars were taken away from the lessees (and why did they never had the opportunity to buy the cars in the first place)? Outside research (after seeing the movie) indicates this had to do with safety, but one wonders why, if this is the case, GM didn't present the public or the lessees with the safety facts that influenced their decision to not only stop offering these vehicles, but to take them from the drivers who apparently love(d) their cars.

A very interesting, thought-provoking film. Doesn't seem overly biased-- exploring many reasons and many possible "guilty" parties or "killers"-- although it is true that the filmmaker is one of those biased EV1 lovers.

I recommend watching the film, then deciding for yourself if the people who created, and the people who are featured in the film arrived at their "biased" electric car-loving justifiably. It's a good way to spend an entertainment dollar and an hour or two of your couch-time, at the very least.Lire l'avis complet...

Who Killed the Electric Car was the perfect title for this great DVD

Saw this movie years ago. So glad I could find it in a reasonably priced DVD. The subject matter is as relevant today as it was it the 1990's. Many people are not aware that this country had great electric cars made in California back then and the technology to make them-- all electric, not just hybrid! Main problem, for all the reasons the movie stated, the car manufacturer decided to literally destroy all the cars after several years, not even letting those who leased them buy one, and many loved the car and wanted to buy one. All thinking people need to see this movie. The DVD was brand new, unopened in shrink wrap. I just wish media mail was faster-- but the shipping was free.Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : neuf | Vendu par : amvetsnsf

General Motors BLEW IT

Who killed the Electric Car is one of the best if not the best documentaries on environmental issues and on why they murdered this wonderful product. Chris Pine's film paints a picture on an industrial culture whose aversion to change and reliance on oil may be deeper than its ability to embrace ready solutions. This film WILL frustrate you greatly. It's that simple. All of this talk about cars of the future with hydrogen fuel cells in 15 or 20 years from now is ridiculous. It's here NOW__and they KILLED it. The first cars weren't perfect. But we're talking 1996___! My GOD__by now they would be perfect and then some. This film which has been described in the New York Times as a murder mystery and a call to arms is the best documentary on Electric Cars I have ever seen. Mr. Paine presents a surprisingly balanced film that time and again exhibits man's greed, stupidity, short-sightedness and another excellent example of American corporate stupidity. I firmly believe General Motors BLEW IT___! I think BIG Middle East Oil Told them the STOP IT____!
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Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : briansblowoutba...

An interesting examination of the early electric cars.

This documentary is certainly relevant to the current time when electric vehicles are making a needed comeback. The collapse of the electric car and the destruction of these vehicles by their manufacturers, in spite of consumers and customers wishes, is puzzling at best. Whichever of the suggested culprits is guilty, it proved to be a mistake: they had to start over again!Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : occasion | Vendu par : goodwillexpress

Who Killed The Electric Car?

I considered it a good to very good explanation of what happened to the Electric Car. I found it fair because it did investigate both sides of the argument. It was well done and keep moving along. It was not boring as some I have seen and it did not get to technical. I would definitely recommend it for personal or classroom use. It would nice if They would do a follow-up on Hybrid and Fuel-cell vehicles that were mentioned. I decided to buy it for use in one of my Science classes about use of electricity. I also found it useful in my Economics/Government classes.Lire l'avis complet...

Excellent Documentary--Must See!!

My husband brought in the mail on Friday night, excited about what movie might be in the Netflix envelope. He seemed little disappointed that I had added yet another documentary to our rental list! I had read good reviews and figured he’d be interested since he’s an automotive technician.

After we got the kids in bed, we sat down to watch Who Killed the Electric Car? and found it to be extremely engaging and informative! It really opened our eyes because we had never really spent much time researching alternative forms of transportation. Since my husband is a mechanic for Chrysler, I had gone online and found they had a hybrid in production, but my quest for information had stopped there.

This movie really brought home the fact that the technology for the car we need–a car with zero emissions–is available today and has been for more than 100 years. Seeing this DVD actually left me in tears, something I didn’t expect to happen with this type of documentary. The sight of the electric cars that General Motors had taken from the consumers and crushed made me want to take action. The documentary features footage of a vigil held by EV1 activists before the last 78 were destroyed by General Motors as well as multiple interviews with experts, consumer advocates, and celebrities.

We were especially interested in the fact that just about any car can be converted from gas to electric! It’s not cheap, but it’s doable! It’s something my husband could do for us if we had the extra money. I mentioned that he should learn how to do gas to electric conversions because there might be a demand here in the Orlando area. I found various books and websites dedicated to the topic, so concerned citizends certainly don’t have to sit around and wait for the automotive companies to bring back electric cars. They can convert cars themselves, buy them online, or have them converted!

The film also addresses the fact that the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle is an inferior alternative to the electric car, proving that lots of tax dollars are, in my opinion, being wasted on research and production. See the Hype about Hydrogen for more information.

Who Killed the Electric Car? is available on DVD and has been shown on PBS. Segments are available on You Tube as well. The writer and director, Chris Payne, is currently working on a sequel.Lire l'avis complet...

A sad vision of the sissyfication of our country. Nerdfest, total crap.

Too much whining and sissy enviro-sniveling for me. WWaaahhh,they took my goofy electric car away. Hey, it was a lease,wasn't your car anyway. I'll drive an electric car when Al Gore flies around the warming-globe in an electric jet and takes an electric limo to his big-buck speeches.
ever wonder where that electricity comes from that charges up your
e-car? It comes from "polluting electricty-producing plants" !! so you are just shifting the blame to someone else to make yourself feel good. Progress has a price,the future will hold the answers,but the ev1 ain't it. Narrated by Martin Sheen,so you know the view is slanted. The crying and hugging do add a good comedy angle to an otherwise wimpy view of modern day America-not for anyone with a normal testosterone level. And based on the current sales of government subsidized goofy electric vehicles, this dopey rig met an appropriate demise. Only for the most feeble, unwashed, tree hugging, herd-minded fools who are too high on patchouli incense and their own body odor to think for themselves.Lire l'avis complet...

The great American experiment !

This documentary captures a time capsule of the events leading to the development and production of EV-1. My fascination comes as a former owner of several cars made by the Saturn division at GM responsible for the electric car.Lire l'avis complet...

Achat vérifié :  Oui | État : neuf | Vendu par : smashtheglamllc