The EV-1 Electric Car (part I)

In the maze of new technology being developed to address an impending energy crisis, many people are unaware that in 1990 there was a concept car that ran entirely on electricity with zero emissions that was developed by General Motors. The car was a two-seater commuter that would travel approximately 80 miles on a single charge, the electric car was commonly known at the EV-1.

Beginning in 1998 the State of California began to mandate that car makers manufacture a certain percentage of zero emissions vehicles, the plan would be that eventually all cars would be non-combustion engines and that California (and the rest of the nation to follow suit) would be able to enjoy the subsequent impact of having clean air.

Then between 1996 and 1998, GM produced, sold and leased 1,117 of this very popular car due to being mandate by the California Air Resources Board. Eight hundred of them were made available through three-year leases, which were purchased by eager drivers. Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan and Toyota all followed suit, producing electric vehicles in limited numbers of for sale in California.

The EV1 and other models of electric vehicles performed well and were extremely popular among those who purchased or leased them. Then unfortunately, in 2003 when the leases expired on their EV1s, the California Board of Clean Air retracted their mandate after the car manufacturers pursued a law suit against the clean act and then GM as well as all of the other manufacturers of the electric cars quickly “snatched” the cars from customers. In a storm of controversy, the company destroyed most of the cars by crushing them.

This tragic event that interfered with the evolution of the early production of green cars was attributed to the car manufacturers pushing back against government regulations that were attempting to force GM to make electric cars and extra parts for those cars which were viewed as not producing enough profit for the big auto corporations, and a lack of numbers of consumers who were willing to go to bat for the electric car production due to the limited size and ability of the electric cars to drive long enough distances-consumers wanted to pay less for a product they viewed would offer them fewer options.

If you are looking for a more fuel efficient automobile, see your local GMT Auto Sales Dealer in St. Louis and ask about our auto financing programs.