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

Loud pipes save lives

[Mustang Matt]

Nuff said.

Re:Let the anti-bush and anti-oil love fest begin.

[riptide_dot]

The eviromentalists need to realize something: people like driving big gas guzzeling cars.

I'm not the classic definition of an "environmentalist", but I'm also not someone who says "oh well if I can't convince the majority of something then I'll just give up" either. I agree with you that a lot of environmentalists don't "get it" per se, as they tend to argue the finer points of their position with people who just don't care, but a lot of environmentalist-type people DO "get it". The problem isn't that they are approaching the argument all wrong (and they are a lot of times, so I'm not excusing anyone); the problem is that the desire of the majority of US people to consume, consume, consume for happiness is so driven into our collective minds that it's going to take more than a minority of people to change that philosophy on a national (and even global) level. I completely agree with you that we are a nation of people who (at least in terms of the masses) are "trained" to believe that more stuff=more happiness, but I disagree that we should just throw in the towel trying to convince people otherwise just because it isn't currently a popular idea.

Consider this: for the past 50+ years, society has taught people that more of everything is a good thing. That McDonalds isn't the problem; it's fat people that eat at McDonalds that are the problem (and the whole "it will never happen to me" attitude). Over that time, using the logic of society, we have become the most obese nation on earth. Now, however, we are starting to realize that unhealthy lifestyles are REALLY bad for US. Not bad for "other people" but bad for OURSELVES. That's why there's the newfound interest in the "low carb" diets (low card diets are nothing new BTW), fitness shows, and other things that are rewarding healthy lifestyles and making them more popular than unhealthy ones. Check back with America in 20 years - I'll bet we're not at the top of the obesity list anymore.

This same kind of realization and transformation needs to happen with regards to the cars we drive and the resources we use (not only gasoline, but energy as a whole). Environmentalists (and then everyone else) need to start promoting the "coolness" of conservation, not necessarily from the "we're gonna die if we don't" perspective, but rather from more of a "look - everyone's conserving because it's COOL" perspective. Of course, that's the real trick, but we can't give up because it's not currently popular. At one time it wasn't popular to be a geek either...:)