Oh, Relax, Electric Cars Coming

Sheesh. We're no apologists for GM, but we're pretty sure there was no conspiracy about killing the EV1. The Detroit News reports: Automaker denies claim of plot to pull the plug. We think there were a lot of reasons the electric car didn't do well the first time around:

1. Early adoption is painful
2. Cost of producing vehicle
3. Reliability of batteries in all environments

We have trouble believing this, however:

"The movie illustrates the emotion, the passion and the loyalty generated by the EV1 owners," [GM spokesman Dave] Barthmuss said. "The problem was there weren't enough of them. We had only 800 people willing to lease the vehicles over a four-year period."

Only 800 in all of the U.S.? Really? We're pretty sure that's a falsity with intentioness.

We do believe this, however:

(Still Mr. Barthmuss)"...This wasn't a commercially viable business. We lost well over $1 billion on the project. There is no conspiracy. If we could make a vehicle that could run on cow manure, we would do it if we could make money on it."

How about now? It's been 10 years since the EV1 came around—has anything changed? Hell, yes! Consumers are gobbling up hybrids as fast as they can be made (well, OK, not the Accord hybrid and not the Ford Escape SUV), so we bet people are getting more and more comfortable with the gas-electric combo. The next logical step is to add more electric capacity to the hybrids so that drivers can choose to do run purely on electric. And we bet Toyota and Honda will do that before anyone else. And we bet we'll see some of those by 2010. Yes, 14 years after the EV1 and that's sort of a shame, but we bet by 2010 a potentially all-electric vehicle will be available and be profitable. Then Ed Begley, Jr. can STFU.

We kid Mr. Begley, Jr. Please, please, please don't send in the dirty hippie chicks to kill us by snu-snu!

Comments

[Eveline Souza]

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