Review of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" by Jeremy O'Leary, of Portland Peak Oil:

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a 2006 documentary film that explores
the birth, limited commercialization, and subsequent death of the
battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the
General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. The film explores the roles of
automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, the
Californian government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in
limiting the development and adoption of this technology.

The film deals with the history of the electric car, its development
and commercialization, mostly focusing on the General Motors EV1,
which was made available for lease in Southern California, after the
California Air Resources Board passed the ZEV mandate in 1990, as well
as the implications of the events depicted for air pollution,
environmentalism, Middle East politics, and global warming.

The film details the California Air Resources Board's reversal of the
mandate after suits from automobile manufacturers, the oil industry,
and the George W. Bush administration. It points out that Bush's chief
influences, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and Andrew Card, are all
former executives and board members of oil and auto companies.

A large part of the film accounts for GM's efforts to demonstrate to
California that there was no demand for their product, and then to
take back every EV1 and dispose of them. A few were disabled and given
to museums and universities, but almost all were found to have been
crushed; GM never responded to the EV drivers' offer to pay the
residual lease value ($1.9 million was offered for the remaining 78
cars in Burbank before they were crushed). Several activists are shown
being arrested in the protest that attempted to block the GM car
carriers taking the remaining EV1s off to be crushed.

The film explores some of the reasons that the auto and oil industries
worked to kill off the electric car. Wally Rippel is shown explaining
that the oil companies were afraid of losing out on trillions in
potential profit from their transportation fuel monopoly over the
coming decades, while the auto companies were afraid of losses over
the next six months of EV production. Others explained the killing
differently. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss argued it was lack of
consumer interest due to the maximum range of 80–100 miles per charge,
and the relatively high price.

The film also explores the future of automobile technologies including
a deeply critical look at hydrogen vehicles and an upbeat discussion
of plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies.

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NOW transcript of interview by David Brancaccio of Chris Paine and others

http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/223.html

	INTRODUCTION: Transcript - June 9, 2006 BRANCACCIO: Welcome to NOW and welcome to the ozone layer. Carbon monoxide, too. I can feel the traffic right here, some of the many by- products of the internal combustion automobile engine. Smog, global warming -- many of us are already trying to help...living closer to work, taking public transit where possible, or perhaps buying a hybrid. Hybrids can be a cool, efficient alternative, but don't kid yourself: in with the electric motor is still a gasoline powered one, with a tailpipe. Whatever happened to the promise of the fully-electric car? The plug-in kind, producing no exhaust out the back, at all? About ten years ago, some big car companies started producing electric cars, quite a lot of them. They worked, owners loved them, they looked sharp and kicked butt coming out of a stop light. So where are they now? Dead, by and large. Killed by their own creators in a stunning display of power politics and spin...that's the view of a provocative new documentary. Chris Paine's film is called "Who Killed the Electric Car." ******** EXCERPT

PAINE: Well, you know, this is a -- this is really the heart of the movie. It's like why would car companies destroy the very car they created in the first place. It's -- One of the characters says it's like an act of cannibalism. And certainly it seems like it now when you look at General Motors with nothing to sell, except for their trucks and SUV's and a small number of compact cars.

Well, the thing is is that car companies since -- for 100 years have been selling the internal combustion engine, and that's an engine that needs to be fixed and re -- repairs. And there's lots to it. They know how to do it, and they have a big margin. If you say how about an electric car? You know, it's -- it's a totally different game.

BRANCACCIO: What? There's less maintenance on electric cars?

PAINE: Well, there's -- there's almost no maintenance, because there's no internal combustion engine. So there's no carburetor. There's no tune-ups. There's no air filters to change. There's not even a transmission. So the electric car really challenges the whole fundamental business structure for the car companies. And unfortunately the -- the electric car's another problem. It doesn't use any oil. So, the electric car instantly goes after two bedrock industries in the country, and that makes it a very difficult sell.

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OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR "WHO KILLED THE ELECRIC CAR?"

http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/

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THE BIOVOLT TRUCK - customer promo
BY Jim Miller

1. OVERVIEW
Do you want a light pickup truck which gets 60 to 100 miles per gallon of fuel? So do we. Do you want that pickup powerful enough to pull a loaded trailer up a steep grade? Do you want a pickup which, while a bit older than the show-room model, is much lest costly to buy and run? So do we. That's why we have invented the BIOVOLT pickup.

First, take a five to ten year old Chevy S10, Ford Ranger or Dodge Dakota, rip out the engine and replace it with a motor-generator. Add a biodiesel-fueled generator and a 50 gallon fuel tank, then add some deep cycle batteries bolted to the pickup bed. Then wire these units together, and we offer you the BIOVOLT PICKUP from Montana Synergy.

How? Save a large bundle of cash by buying a nice, older light pickup with the engine blown. Get the model you want. We recommend a 4x4 with automatic transmission and an extra cab. Bring your candidate to us for conversion. We will install all of the parts, test them and return the finished unit, complete with a new paint job and all the body damaged fixed. In fact, we can go beyond the basics and produce a totally cool, custom job of which you will be proud. It will be the only one of its kind on the face of the earth.


2. FUEL ECONOMY
The BIOVOLT pickup can be plugged into any 120 volt outlet when you need to charge the batteries. (That's the trick to getting 60 – 100 MPG.) Alternately, you can run the on-board biodiesel generator using biodiesel. When you go down-hill the motor-generator not only acts as a brake, but also charges the batteries. A 50 gallon tank keeps the generator running for many hours. When you don't need to charge the batteries, the generator shuts off automatically. Depending on the amount of the load is on the truck and how fast you go, you can get from 600 to 1000 miles on a tank of biodiesel.

3. ENVIRONMENTALLY CORRECT
The idea of “synergy” is to bring us “greenies” the benefits of renewable, green fuels --biodiesel -- to power our transportation needs. Now don't go gettin' on us about the coal-fired power plants which produce the 120 volt used to charge our batteries. The balance is met by recycling an older pickup with a blown engine which generally means it is going into the crusher and shipped overseas and recycled as raw steel. So, we figure that the savings in fossil fuel from not having to make a new pickup, is a net savings to the environment – so there.


4. COST
A BIOVOLT truck costs $25,000 when we supply the core pickup. You can have us pick out your choice of a core light pickup or go find it yourself. The cost of maintenance includes replacing the batteries every 5 years or so, depending on use; probably longer. The biodiesel generator will last according to usage. Generally figure on 10 years with quarterly crankcase oil changes; probably longer.

5. SPECIFICATIONS
We will fully specify the conversions we will complete in our contract of sale, specifically for your BIOVOLT pickup. You get not only our specifications, but then a copy of the factory repair manual and our version of the truck's operation manual. Please be advised, that in order to keep the price down, we use some recycled parts where appropriate. We are not purists greenies, because do use many new parts.

6. WARRANTY
Montana Synergy, LLP, unconditionally warrants the integrity of all work performed by and parts supplied by Montana Synergy, LLP, for normal use of the BIOVOLT pickup. No warranty is given on the core pickup. Our warranty is good for ten years from the date of acceptance of delivery by the buyer. We offer an annual, free, checkup of our components. The sales contract has the complete terms and conditions of sale, which supersedes this paragraph and all other representations.

7. HOW TO BUY Montana Synergy, LLP, typically performs a great deal of custom work for its customers. Consequently, we produce a completed unit which satisfies our buyer, but may not be what a different customer wants. We require a fifty-percent deposit at the time the sales contract is signed. This deposit covers the direct, out-of-pocket costs for that customer's pickup. The balance is due in good funds at the time the pickup is accepted by the customer. Our customers are welcome to visit our manufacturing shop anytime and ask questions about their BIOVOLT.

8. CONTACT
Montana Synergy, LLP
A Montana Limited Liability Partnership
P. O. Box 1172, Belgrade, MT 59714
Phone: 406-600-2411Email: jimmiller5417@yahoo.comJim Miller, Managing Partner