Considering how much major automakers are struggling to develop their own commercially viable EVs and catch up with Tesla, it’s ironic that several of these brands did produce EVs back in the 1990s, but cancelled those models, leaving the field wide open for the California upstart.
Chris Paine, director of the movie Who Killed The Electric Car, shared some thoughts on the EV revolution with Forbes recently. Many of our readers will agree with his views.
Pop quiz: What American automaker brought a pure electric car to market in the 1990s? Even a fresh-faced neophyte to the world of EVs probably knows the answer. But wait. Here’s another one: What automaker attempted to make a pure electric car in the 1960s, and again in the 1970s? Fewer may know the answer to that one. Final question: What automaker triggered a series of events in 1990 that led to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passing a mandate requiring all major automakers to have no-emissions cars be a percentage of their sales by 1998?
gasoline is still more expensive than electricity for transportation, but is electricity produced from coal and natural gas cheaper than that from renewables? Price of fossil fuels (oil (2) and natural gas(3)) in the U.S. are at 14 year lows. The amount of electricity generated using coal in the U.S. is at its lowest level since 1970 (4) and last year, natural
gas surpassed coal as the top U.S. fuel used to produce electricity.
Originally published on Sustainnovate. Following up on my articles on the history of solar power science, history of solar power policy, history of solar power manufacturing, history of wind turbines, and history of trains, here’s a piece on the history of electric cars. Most people mean “electric car” when they … [continued]
If you think of a sustainably managed forest as one immense field of renewable oil, that goes a long way toward explaining why a global oil corporation like Chevron would team with the forest products giant Weyerhaeuser, in a venture to develop a cost-effective, sustainable biofuel from woody biomass. The … [continued]
Ford, GM, Chrysler and five top German car makers are on board with a new standard connecting system that can fast-charge an electric vehicle in as little as 15 minutes. It’s a killer combination of standardization and convenience that could break the U.S. electric car market wide open. Standardization is … [continued]
Environmental filmmaker Chris Paine has documented much of the modern history of electric vehicles in America. Five years ago, his film “Who Killed the Electric Car” accused U.S. automakers of killing EV development in the 1990’s by declaring them unprofitable and stifling battery development.
But now EVs are showing up on roads across the country, and Paine is out with a new movie declaring them back from the dead. Anchor Thalia Assuras interviewed Paine at his home to hear about “Revenge of the Electric Car” and the future of EVs in America.
If Chris Paine’s earlier movie, “Who Killed the Electric Car” was about people being deprived of their vehicles and used as pawns in a struggle between Government regulations and established business, then his latest film, “Revenge of the Electric Car” is about the Kings.
Nissan has announced its support for National Plug in Day to take place on October 16th and the theatrical release of Chris Paine’s new film Revenge of the Electric Car to be shown in NYC and LA on October 21. Other showings will follow.
