[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Rob10CamaroSS

Love the Icon and agree with what your saying but make no mistake America was well aware Electric was the future decades ago. Problem was Corp America and Big Oil wouldn't allow it back then.

Probably about 15 years ago I saw a show called WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR. If anyone DOESNT think Corp America runs the country and calls the shots you should watch it, you will blown away when you see what they did and the cover ups involved...

They had a fleet of electric cars out there in the 90's for over 5 years, no one could buy them and they would only lease them to the rich and famous. After pressure from Big Oil and Corp America 6 Years later Chevy bought the Battery Mfg's and closed all the plants, recalled every single car (outright went to the peoples house and took them). Put them on Car Carriers, and undercover camera crews filmed them destroying each and everyone (even BRAND NEW vehicles with 0 miles).

The Big 3 were all involved, over 5,000 vehicles were destroyed, and Ca Laws changed so they could kill the laws that were passed prior that would force The Big 3 to go electric. Although Big Oil may not have the power they use to have it's only a matter of time before Corp America figures out how they make all the money by overcharging us for charging. Then it'll happen. And there will be Hot Rod Electic Cars so life will go on, there's already Electric Dragsters, Drag Bikes, Formula One Cars, etc....

Personally I think I'll be driving 500 to 1000 HP V8's for decades to come and then I'll die so I'm good

First of all, I am a HUGE proponent of electric cars, despite the fact that for most of my time at GM, especially my last 20 years, I was heavily involved in internal combustion engine development and technology planning. We’ve owned Chevrolet Volts since 2011 and have a 240V charger in our garage. Now....about this movie.

Imagine if Hillary Clinton were hired to write Donald Trump’s biography. That’s just about how “objective” that piece was. Let’s start with the basic premise of the movie. Hundreds of people who leased GM’s EV1 electric car were pissed off that at the end of their lease GM would not allow them to buy the cars and, when GM snatched the cars from their desperate little hands, GM crushed most of those cars. Oh, the horror. And the leases were not available only to the rich and famous. People wanting to lease one simply had to qualify, based on among other things, having other vehicles in their household because the EV1 had very limited range and cargo capacity. Go try to lease a Toyota Mirai. You will go through the same screening that EV1 lessees had to go through. What was NOT well explained in the movie was that

• From the very beginning GM stated that the cars would only be made available on a Closed End Lease, meaning that at the end of the lease, the cars HAD TO be returned to GM. BTW - Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai are doing that right now with their Fuel Cell Vehicles [Toyota Mirai, Honda Clarity FCEV, and Hyundai Tucson FCEV]. I guess I’ll have to wait for the “Who Killed the Fuel Cell EV” movie.
• The only reason GM put the EV1 into commerce in the first place was because CARB had just passed the first Zero Emissions Mandate that would have required any car company selling vehicles in California to ensure that 10% of the vehicles they sold were Zero Emissions vehicles by I think 2010. After arguing unsuccessfully with CARB that requiring automakers to sell high volumes of a technology that was not ready yet was a fool’s mission, GM grudgingly agreed to offer the EV1. This was done partially as a means of demonstrating to CARB how unmanageable that law would be. CARB eventually recognized this and changed the ZEV Mandate several times, creating categories for Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles, Low Emissions Vehicles, Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles, Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles...there’s a longer list.
• At the point that GM was trying to explain the reasons for only offering Closed End Leases it was pointed out that from the time the vehicles were developed to the time that the leases were to end, GM’s development of battery technology had made the lead acid batteries in the EV1 obsolete. The technologies that GM was working on (Nickel Metal Hydride followed by Lithium Ion) were incompatible with the systems in the EV1 and could not be retrofit. Even so, the last batch of EV1s were built with early formulations of NiMH batteries. The car’s electrical system was basically reworked to accommodate the NiMH batteries. So basically, owners would never be able to replace the batteries in their cars. Unless they wanted to pay prototype part prices for replacement batteries. Money would be better invested in a new Bentley.

EV’s have come a long way for sure. Look at Tesla, and Rivian ( which will be built in Indiana, not Detroit, btw). But even so, 10 years or more beyond the date when CARB was trying to force all automakers to sell 10% Zero Emissions Vehicles, electric vehicles accounted for 1.22% of new vehicles sold in the US last year.