15 years ago, General Motors debuted the first fully electric vehicle
for lease in the United States. The EV1 was silent, fast, and as
aerodynamic as an F-16 fighter jet; but most importantly, it could run
between 70 and 150 miles on a single charge. (Toyota’s Prius Plug-in
Hybrid, for comparison, has an all-electric range of 13 miles.) Between
1996 and 1999, more than 1000 EV1s were manufactured. 800 were leased
out in Arizona and California, and, according to the brand manager at
GM, inspired “maniacal loyalty” in their drivers.
Four years
later, despite pleas from drivers, and a waiting list of interested
customers, GM declared the electric-car program a money loser, and
ordered the car’s destruction. Existing EV1s were taken from their
drivers, transported to the desert (in some cases, under police
protection), and crushed. (Today, a few can be found in museums, but
they’ve been disabled so as to never drive again.)
by Meghan Rosen.
(THE WHOLE STORY DOCUMENTED)
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