Who Killed the Electric Car?
Who Killed the Electric Car?
2006, directed by Chris Paine
Ah, how time marches on. There's a lengthy passage in Who Killed the Electric Car? about how pie in the sky hydrogen fuel cell technology has been used by the Bush administration and the rest of the fuel cartel as a public distraction to already viable alternative fuel technologies such as the batteries in the electric cars. The movie then explains how in the 90's the government started taking steps to force car companies to develop electric cars. But then the car companies spent all of that decade whining and complaining and then Bush swept in and gave them incentives to make Hummers and SUVs (groan). But then comes the most interesting part. The laws of the 90's convinced the Japanese auto makers that electric cars were the future of the automobile industry, so they ended up putting all their resources into developing electric cars. So today, everyone and their grandma wants a Prius, GM's hybrids get half as many miles to the gallon as Toyotas, and the Hydrogen car is still limited to a few gas stations in California. Then the movie talks about how hybrids are the future and that within a few years hybrids that can be plugged in will be on the market.
Now, I don't want to seem like a capitalist apologist, but it seems like, in the market worked. The GM EV1 may have been shredded into a million pieces, but the electric vehicle technology found its way to the forefront of the auto industry anyway. A hybrid may be inferior to a pure electric car, but its a step in the right direction and according to the film, plug-in models will be in the showroom in just a few yeras. So all the strong arm tactics the auto industry pulls throughout Who Killed the Electric Car?, while sad in their shortsightedness, really just highlight the idiocy of the auto industry for not sensing a good thing when they had it. Sure the demand for clean air vehicles was substantially lower in the mid 90's than it is today (cue 9/11 reference), but simply, GM and Ford had the opportunity to be at the forefront of the market and today, they doubly lag behind the Japanese. And that means that Who Killed the Electric Car? works less as a propaganda piece and more as a ironic lament to American arrogance (There's no shortage of those).
There's also a bit near the beginning about solar powered cars. I hope GM and Ford don't drop the ball on that one. They probably will, though.
2006, directed by Chris Paine
Ah, how time marches on. There's a lengthy passage in Who Killed the Electric Car? about how pie in the sky hydrogen fuel cell technology has been used by the Bush administration and the rest of the fuel cartel as a public distraction to already viable alternative fuel technologies such as the batteries in the electric cars. The movie then explains how in the 90's the government started taking steps to force car companies to develop electric cars. But then the car companies spent all of that decade whining and complaining and then Bush swept in and gave them incentives to make Hummers and SUVs (groan). But then comes the most interesting part. The laws of the 90's convinced the Japanese auto makers that electric cars were the future of the automobile industry, so they ended up putting all their resources into developing electric cars. So today, everyone and their grandma wants a Prius, GM's hybrids get half as many miles to the gallon as Toyotas, and the Hydrogen car is still limited to a few gas stations in California. Then the movie talks about how hybrids are the future and that within a few years hybrids that can be plugged in will be on the market.
Now, I don't want to seem like a capitalist apologist, but it seems like, in the market worked. The GM EV1 may have been shredded into a million pieces, but the electric vehicle technology found its way to the forefront of the auto industry anyway. A hybrid may be inferior to a pure electric car, but its a step in the right direction and according to the film, plug-in models will be in the showroom in just a few yeras. So all the strong arm tactics the auto industry pulls throughout Who Killed the Electric Car?, while sad in their shortsightedness, really just highlight the idiocy of the auto industry for not sensing a good thing when they had it. Sure the demand for clean air vehicles was substantially lower in the mid 90's than it is today (cue 9/11 reference), but simply, GM and Ford had the opportunity to be at the forefront of the market and today, they doubly lag behind the Japanese. And that means that Who Killed the Electric Car? works less as a propaganda piece and more as a ironic lament to American arrogance (There's no shortage of those).
There's also a bit near the beginning about solar powered cars. I hope GM and Ford don't drop the ball on that one. They probably will, though.
posted by Jesse @ 1:02 AM
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