Getting Electric Cars Back on the Roads

Few of us know about the EV1. The EV1 was one of the first mainstream electric cars that was developed by General Motors in 1996 in accordance with California's Zero-emissions vehicle mandate that was initiated in 1990.

In late 2003, GM cancelled the EV1 program. Despite unfulfilled waiting lists and positive feedback from the lessees, GM stated that it could not sell enough of the cars to make the EV1 profitable. GM also cited a lack of demand. However many of us didn't even know the cars even existed. Thats because GM barely promoted them.

We are not talking about an electric golf cart, the cars top speed could get up to 80 MPH, and was theoretically capable of 190 MPH with modified gearing. The EV1 was also extremely quiet and at lower speeds, and at stoplights, there was no noise at all, save for a slight whine from the single-speed gear reduction unit. The EV1 could accelerate from 0-60mph in the 8 second range. The driving range was 55-95 miles, perfect for city and local communiting.

Sadly though n 2001, the California Air Resources Board modified the ZEV Mandate to allow manufacturers to claim partial ZEV credit for hybrid vehicles. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler then sued the state of California and CARB, alleging that the new ZEV rules violated a federal law barring states from regulating fuel economy. In response, CARB removed the requirement for electric vehicles from the ZEV mandate in 2003, and GM cancelled the EV1 program soon thereafter.

Its now 2006 and our dependecy on oil is greater then ever. We have a few hybrids on the road thats a start but where are the subsidies for these vehicles wheres the support? You'd think by now we would have solar panels on the roofs of every house on the west coast and we'd be driving clean electric cars.

We don't mind hybrids but we want fully electric cars. We want oil independence!