Who Killed the Electric Car?
Directed by Chris Paine
[Sony Pictures, 2006, 92 minutes]
Who Killed the Electric Car? is a documentary made by American director Chris Paine that focuses on the journey of the electric car and its sudden absence after 2003.
Hype around the electric car started in 1990 with California’s Zero Emissions Mandate, requiring automotive companies to produce and sell a set amount of electric vehicles per year. A great deal of consumer interest was sparked by GM’s EV1, a sleek two-seater that ran only on electric charge. The car made little sound, could get up to speeds of a gas-powered car, and did not generate any toxic emissions that contributed to global warming. Environmentalists were overjoyed with the advancements that the automotive industry was making towards a cleaner Earth. GM made the EV1 available for lease-only in 1996, but to many drivers’ dismay, all of the cars were repossessed and taken off the road in 2003. Even worse, these cars were being secretly compacted by the same company that produced them, General Motors. But why? Who would want to take perfectly working, environmentally-friendly cars and remove them from the road and from devoted drivers? This film takes an in-depth look at this conundrum and the suspects at hand.
There are several possibilities when it comes to what caused the “death” of the electric car in 2003. The film discusses the roles of the automobile industry, the government, oil companies, batteries and even the consumers themselves. The answers will definitely surprise you.
This documentary was amazing to watch, considering the excellent behind-the-scenes interviews of drivers and ex-employees. Even celebrities who were affected by the recall of the EV1 made appearances, including Phyllis Diller, Mel Gibson, and Tom Hanks. The film is narrated by Martin Sheen.
Not only does this film make you want to drive an electric car, it also gets to the bottom of one of the most superficial environmental conspiracies to date. Now, as sales of electric cars (or electric vehicle/EV as they’re now more commonly called) are on the rise, it will also be interesting to watch Paine’s “Revenge of the Electric Car” (2011), a follow-up film on the reintroduction of the electric car and the problems that still exist.
