General Motor's EV1 Electric Cars Scrapped

jangobongo writes "Yesterday, the last of General Motors EV1 electric cars were transported to their final resting place, the GM Desert Proving Grounds in Arizona, for "final disposition," which for most of them means crushing and recycling. The experimental GM cars were originally leased (starting in 1996) to owners in California and Arizona for three years while GM developed electric battery technology, but the expected breakthrough in battery technology failed to materialize. GM spent more than $1 billion developing and marketing the EV1, but concluded that the electric cars would not be profitable. The EV1 program was ended in 2003. Some of the cars were donated to engineering departments of colleges and universities, while others went to museums, including the Smithsonian Institution. Despite protests and petitions, GM would not sell the last available cars to the public due to the lack of replacement parts for repairs, and because of potential liability claims. It's sad to see this chapter on electric cars close."

Comments

Another problem

[huge colin]

There are a lot of people, myself included, that wouldn't really ever be interested in driving an electric car because of their very un-sexy sound (or lack of sound.)

Re:That old wive's tale AGAIN?

[ltning]

Too bad you don't consider the cost of getting RID of a solar panel. Disposing of one without harming the environment further is expensive (processing) and a waste of energy (transport - you can coordinate deliveries but not as easily collection). If you add that to the equation, solar panels aren't efficient at all.

Oh and another thing - producing them isn't enough, they need to be transported and installed as well. Which, again, costs energy (and money).