THE BATTERY POWERED CAR

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?

In 2006, Chris Paine released the documentary, “Who killed the electric car?”. It is the third highest theatrical grossing documentary in 2006. Who killed the Electric Car? chronicles the creation, limited commercialization and subsequent destruction of battery electric vehicles specifically the General Motors, EV1.

General Motors (GM) responded in a 2006 blog post entitled Who ignored the facts about the Electric Car? It was stated that, “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. In March 2009, however, the 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 and hybrids after such an early lead in this technology. GM has since championed its electric car expertise as a key factor in development of its 2010, Chevrolet Volt, a gasoline/electric hybrid.

( Source: Wiki).

This film fortunately was screened with “Inconvenient Truth” and received tremendous publicity through grass root level campaigns and info sharing via the Web.

According to Chris Paine, “It’s a rare privilege to be able to tell the story of how sometimes change has too much momentum to be stopped. You can’t kill an idea whose time has come”. “Revenge of the Electric Car” is that story.

In “Who killed the electric Car?” they followed a group of activists. “REvenge of the Electric Car” sets out to follow Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, GM’s vice chair – Bob Lutz, Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn and DIY expert Greg “Gadget” Abbott . Each one allowed access to their journey over three years on condition that the film will not be released until 2011.

This is one rare occasion when we want all of them to win, their cumulative success is success for the earth, for us and for a life without dependence on fossil fuel. This remarkable film is on its festival circuit. DC folks can see it at SilverDocs on June 25th. For future screenings visit their website.