The documentary Who Killed the Electric Car is out on the web in its entirety so I thought I’d comment on it.
GM’s EV failed to reach the market. I’ll tell you why it failed:
It had a 90 mile range.
Who wants to buy a car that can’t drive cross-state?
All the conspiracy theories about Electric Cars being killed by GM’s relationship with ‘Big Oil’ ignore about a half dozen massively important points:
Toyota, Honda, BMW, Mercedes, Hyundai, Audi etc
GM may be the largest Automobile company but there are literally dozens of non US car manufacturers who would kill to break into the clean-burn market. They’re not in the pay of ‘Big Oil’, they’re just run by sensible people.
Electric Cars require a lot more research for their battery life and performance - at the moment Tesla Motors are going the right way about it, aiming their car at the top end of the market where ALL new tech products have to start. The first Macintosh cost thousands of dollars, the first Cars were the preserve of the massively wealthy - these people blaze the trail for innovation and investment into the technology that makes consumer products (read: compromise) possible.
I’d much rather this technology was released when it was capable of meeting the massive compromises required to make it consumer-ready. Too many good ideas died because they were released at the wrong time or before they were ready. In the meantime, I’ll take a Tesla Roadster and let the masses burn their petroleum.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at October 16, 2006 01:29 PM