Who killed the Electric Car? (1 Viewer)

[Not-That-Bright]

Who Killed the Electric Car? is a 2006 documentary film which investigates, murder mystery style, the birth, limited commercialization and subsequent death of the electric vehicle in the United States. The film explores the roles of automobile makers, oil industry, the US government, batteries, hydrogen vehicles and consumers, in relation to the number of battery electric vehicles available to consumers.

General topics addressed include electric vehicles, air pollution, environmentalism and global warming. The film deals with the history of the electric car, its development and commercialization, largely focused on the General Motors EV1, which was made available for lease in Los Angeles in the late 1990's, after the California Air Resources Board passed the ZEV Mandate in 1990. The California Air Resources Board reversed the mandate after suits from Automobile makers, the Oil industry and the George W. Bush Administration. The film also explores the future of automobile technologies including a frank look at Hydrogen vehicles and discussion of Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle technologies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car

Just saw the movie. Quite an eye opening movie about this topic, even while I know of the problems with electric based cars etc...
edit: Here is GM's response to the movie. http://www.gm.com/company/onlygm/fastlane_Blog.html#EV1

More useful links.

General:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EV1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle
http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/ArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=8754

For:

http://www.cem.msu.edu/~cem181h/projects/97/fuelsub/EVs.html
http://www.herelectricvehicle.com/advantages.html

Against:

http://www.manicore.com/anglais/documentation_a/electric_car.html

Link about capacitors for battery nerds.

http://www.gizmag.com.au/go/5192/

 

[wheredanton]

I havn't seen the movie, but it is interesting to see the notion of an 'electric car' coming back on the agenda. Hybrid cars will be common within 10 years. Especially since the current Toyota Camry will be avalible in hybrid form and you know, when technoloy finds its way into a mainstream 'world car' that solds in the hundres of thousands, that it wont be long until its mainstream.

 

[AntiHyper]

Electric cars for the good cause. That link about against the electric car is for the fully electric ones, not the hybrids. So thats why they're talking about pollution not being generated in the cities but a lot in the places around power plants.

Just yesterday I was about to cross a road and a car just appeared suddenly and you can't hear it, which was sorta freaky. The noise they make is as much as a push-bike makes.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Just yesterday I was about to cross a road and a car just appeared suddenly and you can't hear it, which was sorta freaky. The noise they make is as much as a push-bike makes.

Err, not to claim I don't believe your story... but you are aware that for ALL cars around 80% of the noise they make on the road is caused by the friction between the tyres and the road?

Hybrid cars will be common within 10 years. Especially since the current Toyota Camry will be avalible in hybrid form and you know, when technoloy finds its way into a mainstream 'world car' that solds in the hundres of thousands, that it wont be long until its mainstream.

Yea but we could already have electric cars, and imagine if they really started getting into them... what price they would be by now? Far better value for money in the long run with our current fuel costs, and probably at least slightly better for the environment (if you have a country run mainly off nuclear power or alternative fuels, you could be causing radically reduced emitions).

Car manufacturers are more happy with the hybrids, because they still wear out as quickly as the current combustion-engines and the oil companies don't mind them as much

Just trying to enunciate the pro-electric car cause

 

[wheredanton]

Car manufacturers are more happy with the hybrids, because they still wear out as quickly as the current combustion-engines and the oil companies don't mind them as much

Just trying to enunciate the pro-electric car cause

Well no one is really sure about the current crop of hybrids and their duribility. The current generation offer comparable performance, use significantly less fuel and emit less pollutants into the atmosphere. It is only a matter of time when the price difference between a hybrid car and a petrol car starts to become more favourable for the consumer. The price of a hybrid Camry isnt signficantly more than the normal petrol version in the USA, it doesnt look weird (like previous hybrids) and is a 'world car' not a marginal niche model that doesnt sell in high numbers - all leading to hybrid power becoming more mainstream.

Currently the only makers that offer serious hybrid cars are Honda and Toyota. This has nothing to do with saving the environment. Toyota produces it's fair share of petrol guzzling massive super sized SUV's.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

I think the prius is now being sold with a 'switch' so you can switch it to all electric. Some of the owners are doing so, and some crafty devils are even comming up with ways to recharge it as if it were a fully electric car.

The current generation offer comparable performance, use significantly less fuel and emit less pollutants into the atmosphere.

As for performance... imo with further development, we will find you can get better performance out of an electric vehicle. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliica for the extreme of this.

IMO tho I do think hybrid cars may just be a cop out.

 

[wheredanton]

I think the prius is now being sold with a 'switch' so you can switch it to all electric. Some of the owners are doing so, and some crafty devils are even comming up with ways to recharge it as if it were a fully electric car.

Most hybrid cars are run totally off the electric engine when coasting in traffic, for example. Hybrid cars never need charging? Regenerative braking, modern hybrid cars make their own electricity.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

Ah I mean there's a switch that allows them to become fully electric, in which case they do need charging

BTW Regenerative breaking does not give all the energy back (friction, 2nd law), but I imagine the rest of the energy can be produced when the electricity is not being used.

 

[neo o]

It was Colonel Mustard, with the lead pipe, in the dining room.

 

[Not-That-Bright]

It's always colonel mustard... and never in the conservatorium