Review: Who killed the Electric Car? January 1, 2007
Posted by Graham in : General , trackbackOn Christmas Day I was guest at the lovely house of Claire Watson and Quentin Gargan, near Bantry, where much feasting and merriment was followed by two episodes of “Father Ted” (the first time I had ever seen it!) and then this recent documentary on the fate of the EV1 Electric car . http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html
As it happens, our hosts had themselves just recently bought an electric car, so the topic was of some interest.
The film- directed by Chris Paine- charts the development of an electric car by General Motors, the EV1, and its mysterious withdrawal from the market and eventual destruction. Following the format of The Corporation, the film poses itself as a murder inquiry, interviewing some of the original design and marketing teams, who battle to find out why the budget is being cut and they are being laid off, and activist consumer groups who find they are unable even to buy some of the cars , in an attempt to find out who the culprit is: the Government? The Auto-industry? Surely not the Oil Industry?
Well you don’t get any prizes for guessing who it might have been, but the official line was that there was no demand, and the batteries were not good enough. This really could not explain the extraordinary lengths the manufacturers went to, as documented by the film-makers, to make sure no one at all would ever be able to drive them. As the cars are withdrawn from all those who had them on a lease, they disappear, with the EV1 supporters finally tracking them down in a huge compound in the desert somewhere from where they are eventually completely destroyed by shredding.
Many of the earliest motor vehicles were in fact electric, and the technology was developing rapidly until being abandoned in 1930 with the introduction of Ford’s first mass-produced internal combustion engined vehicles. Interest in electric cars had increased in America after the 1970s oil shocks, with Carter vowing in 1979 that America would never again be as dependent on foreign oil as it had been in ‘77. By 1988 GM had were funding the development of its first prototype that would be for the mass-market. A big incentive to developing the technology was the 1995 directive passed by the California Air Resources Board requiring auto manufacturers to supply 2% “zero-emissions” vehicles by 1998, rising to 10% by 2003.
However, this requirement was rescinded, just three years later, apparently after lobbying from the auto-manufacturers. Just as the EV1 was being withdrawn and destroyed, GM was in the process of buying and marketing the Hummer. So it seems like an open-and-shut case: scared of losing revenue to a vehicle that not only used electricity rather than oil, but needs hardly any servicing- no oil and filters to change- the oil and auto-companies simply killed it, and they didn’t shy away from using their political influence to do so.
The Electric Car is not, of course “Zero Emissions” and I would have liked to see some more information about life-time analysis of the respective carbon foot-prints are of electric vs petrol/diesel vehicles. This is not a straight-forward comparison however, because it depends on the knowing efficiency of the power stations that provide electricity for the grid. One of the advantages of electric vehicles is that by charging them at night, when there is a lot of spare capacity in the system, they would make the grid more efficient, possibly utilizing energy that would otherwise simply be wasted.
This is a really engaging and entertaining film, raising a lot of issues about political corruption and the stranglehold the car manufacturers and the oil industry really have over our lives, not just in America, and tells the lie of how really manipulated these industries are, as are the airline industry and many others, and the powerful vested interests of industry can ride roughshod over “consumer choice”.
This would be a good film to do public screenings of if you want to generate some discussion in issues around transport and energy. The danger is of course that it might be seen as a way in which society would be able to continue with its love-affair with the private motor car. A move to electric vehicles equipped with the latest developments in battery technology could possibly represent a significant overall increase in energy efficiency, as well as reducing local particle pollution from exhausts, but like all such efficiency gains, could actually lead to an increase the overall amount of energy used: the more affordable and convenient travel is, the more people will want to travel. This process is subject to the laws of diminishing returns. Stuck in gridlock at the mad Cow Roundabout (or anywhere else) in an electric car will not be any preferable than being stuck in a petrol car, apart from the cleaner air of course.
As with everything else to do with measurements of sustainability, it is the overall footprint that needs to be reduced. It was reported last week that Irish drivers are expected to buy 200,000 new cars in 2007. This is the sort of statistic that makes me gasp. Presumably, that wont mean 200,000 MORE cars on Irish roads (where would they go? Not to West Cork I hope…) but does suggest that the overwhelming trend is for more car (and oil) dependency, not less. Whether these are electric or not, their manufacture alone represents an enormous consumption of resources, and where from would we generate enough electricity to run them?
Nevertheless, it is perhaps surprising just how unusual it is to see an electric vehicle at all, given the promise of the technology. As part of an integrated, sustainable transport policy- which would require a scaling-down of private transport in favour of more trains and buses- electric vehicles could play an important role.
So it is great that Quentin is giving one a trial, despite its limitations of a range of only about 40 miles. It will certainly get people talking and show a different perspective on what a car might be. By all accounts the car is going well and has already played a crucial role: the delivery of the Christmas Turkey!
Comments»
Decent review! When I watched the DVD, I was astonished at how the information fell into place, and many of my suspicions of past years were validated. Over the decades, I have done much of the proverbial “screaming in the wilderness” about virtually every issue addressed in the DVD, but my rantings have usually fallen on deaf ears. It is good to know I am not alone in my passion. The diminishing returns argument is one that we must ask ourselves, about any major change that might impact a large segment of our populace. I respect that, but keep a determined eye on the big picture.
The American lust for independence and individualism…and thus the need for individual vehicles… needs to change. I’m afraid that the dream of Western capitalist society has led to an addiction to acquire and amass vast amounts of STUFF; we stuff our calendars with stuff to get done; stuff our homes with throw-away single-use convenience stuff or stuff that stuffs the wallets of conscienceless marketers with cash by pedaling planned obsalescence; the media stuffs our brains with slick psychologically loaded noise; the garbage dumps are stuffed and heaped to the stars with stuff that is as useless and polluted as the stuff we cram into our heads; and we must never slow down because the pain of “coming to the quiet” is more than many of us can bear. So, we stuff!
We need to simplify, ponder, examine our own habits, sacrifice, admit our own parts of the problem, take our own inventories, organize, go against the flow, make the “powers-that-be” very uncomfortable, and think positively and creatively. We need to unite and not become frozen by the enormity of the faceless puppeteers that thrive on manipulating mass mentality out of individual minds, as if people are sheep. Personally, I’d like to see so many people get behind the independent companies that produce reasonably priced EVs, that Ford and GM and Toyota can take the major dive they deserve and power will come to those who have the best interests of our environment and values and dignity in mind.