This documentary will leave you speechless, wondering how a brilliant invention like the electric car was cruelly killed. The 2006 film that explores the hopeful birth and untimely death of the electric car, an environmentally-friendly, cost-saving salvation to some, but a profit barrier to others, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the 1990s. It looks at the roles of automobile manufacturers, the oil industry, the US government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles, and consumers in limiting the development and adoption of this technology.
In a film that has all the elements of a murder mystery, director Chris Paine points the finger at car companies, the oil industry, bad ad campaigns, consumer wariness, and a lack of commitment from the U.S. government for the 'death' of these eco-friendly, cost-saving vehicles.
This fascinating 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 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. An engaging and thought-provoking documentary that delves into the who, what and why of the electric car's short life and death.
The film is narrated by Martin Sheen and runs for 89 minutes.
