Wow,I would've LOVED to have that thing. We're so focused on hybrids, but what about a ZERO emissions vehicle?? And did anyone spot Ellen Crawford and Mike Genovese from "ER" in the "World News" clip?? I met them recently,very nice couple,and they rock more for being GREEN!
@thecheesburgler - yeah, we've been through that before.After it is "stolen" - then what? You hide it in your garage and never register it for the rest of your life?
During the l970's, the government gave GM one billion dollars to build electric cars, but the public never saw any. GM wanted the money but not electric cars. They built the EV1 because some people were asking, "what did we get for the money?". But they always intended to destroy it. More recently, Ford got five billion from the government for "green technology". Of course they didn't get a bailout. Oh no. Just five billion for "green technology.
That makes no sense? After spending $1 billion, they drop it? Might as well continue..
IIRC, 120 miles of range is pretty decent compared to what we have now today with EV's. The Volt only has 35 miles of range on all electricity... stupid. stupid.
Thanks so much for sharing this! Great perspective. Fairly upset with the Volt's reinvention and now with a LG Chem, Korean batteries! What are you thoughts about the Fisker Karma? A good way to spend a $100K? At least some ROI on the Governments loan to Quantum Fuel Systems and A123 Systems batteries..
@RSGruppe - thanks and you are welcome! For my money, no the Karma just isn't doing for me what 100k of Tesla would do. Great concept. Drop-dead sexy... but no, I don't see the target being hit just yet.
@darelldd How good was the EV1 Compared to regular cars of the time lol? I'm 14 and really starting to find a interest in alternative fuels. So very very sad to see that this car had to be crushed by the greedy no good Government
@14omega28ok - Though the car didn't handle high-speed turns very well, it excelled in just about every other aspect. It would routinely beat muscle cars onto the freeway from a stand-still. THAT got some attention, certainly. Truly, it was a super fun car to drive.
@bordone - Duress? It means it was returned against my wishes and my will. We did not "give them back" they were taken back by GM. The lease was close-end. Many of us offered over residual value to purchase them at the end of the lease, and GM would not take the money. GM sold none of the cars. All lease, and all taken back - except a few to museums and schools that were first stripped of running gear.
@tambunansumlang - yes, truly one of the lucky ones. It was pretty much dumb luck that I managed to get one of the gen1 re-leases for the final two years. I never thought I'd be an "activist" for anything. The EV1 is what made me into one.
@Knightrider995 - Yes, yes and no. There are several thousand charging stations in CA, and they are currently being upgraded to the new J1772 standard. And new installations are going in as well.
Am I the only person who notices these EV-1's look strikingly like Saturns. The body style, interior, tailights...They must have switched the EV plants over to Saturn division at some point.
@ThePaulgregg - Though most of the important bits of the EV1 were specific to this car, in the end several items were taken off the GM shelf. This car was leased through Saturn dealerships... and they are both GM products. Nobody should be shocked that there are some similarities.
If I were you I'd report it 'stolen' and hide it somewhere for a long time and remove any serial numbers or identification. Then register it and claim you built a replica of the EV1 on your own. Fool proof plan.
I bet if you'd known it'd be crushed you'd have thrashed the absolute guts out of it, and rightly so! Either that or "had it stolen" ;-) I wonder how fast they'd have gone without the 80mph limiter. I guess we'll never know, unless some MIT kiddies get under the bonnet of one of the "deactivated" museum ones.
@AintBigAintClever, well we knew the cars would be going back, and not many of us treated them with kid gloves. Not once we figured out how to defeat the torque limiter. ;) The 80mph limit was to prevent the single reduction gearing to fly apart. 0-80mph in a single gear is a lot to ask of the motor and the gearing! I'm sure it would go faster... but I'm not sure for how long!
@dartro99 - why did I *let* it get crushed? I had no choice unless I wanted to lose my house and any future earnings. That has already been covered in these comments. If I were footloose and single there would be more options. But having a family and owning a house when the collectors come calling, things don't look so good. Trust me when I say the cars was turned in under duress.
@Bodeneffekt But then those poor oil CEOs would lose tons and tons of money and then they wouldn't be able to afford their luxury condos and fleets of Mercedes. And we can't have that kind of crisis, now can we?
"ugly" in your opinion... is just like what @darelldd said "The design of the EV1 was all about form following function " he prob means that GM intended the car to hold that form in the design is to perform excellent aerodynamic performance. what i mean by that the more aerodynamic the vehicle is the more better for the car so the car wont suck up as much battery life and it can be quick too,
@lglotus1 - There is no car on the road that is uglier than brown air. The design of the EV1 was all about form following function. And in that regard it is beautiful. Some people think that huge SUVs are attractive. Some like little sports cars. Some even like cars that don't pollute - no matter what they look like. If we all liked the same thing we'd all be driving the same car. In the same color. No thanks.
does any one think that GM will "re-introduce" and SELL the EV1???? i think they should. i mean since electric cars are starting to come back anyway....
@planetvicecity It wouldn't make any sense. The car wouldn't pass current safety regs, so would have to be severely redesigned anyway. We can make way better cars today. The tragedy is that they were ever taken away and destroyed in the first place. A MODERN EV1 would be the ticket for sure. The Volt isn't quite it!
@planetvicecity - no. It won't and can't happen. You can't just "bring back" a car. Safety regulations have changed so much that the car would need to be redesigned anyway. For better or worse, GM sees the Volt as their new EV1 ...
@raised2killu - Well, that's the problem with having a family, owning a house, etc. If I were younger with no roots, things could have been more exciting.
@darelldd I fully respect your decision i would've done the same if was in that position.
But how much money would it take to charge the car by?
I remember from that documentary mention it doesn't take a lot of electricity to fully to charge it. And how long is the length can you drive it till you run of energy then need to recharge it.
@raised2killu In general it cost about $1.50 to fill the car for 100 miles of driving. But that was before I installed my solar system. Now (that the system has been paid off for five years) my EV fuel is free for the rest of my life. In my lead acid car, I could go about 100 miles on a charge. The Gen2 with NiMh could do about 150 miles.
@raised2killu It would take less than $2 worth of electricity per 100km. At least that's the amount Nissan Leaf and other typical full sized electric cars take. And EV-1 was even more efficient so it should be less.
@5gretsch - it could if Toyota allowed it. The EV1 had traction control to prevent tire spin as well... some of us figured out how to temporarily defeat it for fun. The Prius (and honestly most modern cars) want to make darn sure that you can't think too much for yourself!
My dad had one of these vehicles, would have bought it at the time if allowed. Was sad to see it go since we were forced to give up the vehicle before I was old enough to drive it. :( We had our red EV1 from 1996 all the way until around 2002, or 2003, had been looking forward to driving it since I was 8 years old.. Still have the battery charger sitting outside of our house as a reminder..
@gab1971 - That is correct. GM took (almost) all the cars back at lease end and crushed them. A few remain at museums and universities - though per agreement, these few cars can never be run on public roads again.
I think the greatest sucess of the EV1 was it's power. 137bhp may not sound much but it was the first of its kind, made during the 90s and it still beats the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV etc. (it's also 100 kilos lighter than a leaf and can manage 60 more miles on a charge).
Why is it that an EV1 made in the 90s still beats a state of the art Nissan Leaf?
It reminds me of the new CR-Z hybrid thats less efficient than it's 80s predecessor the CR-X.
@RequiemVortex - there are actually some easy answers to your last two questions:
1. The Leaf could have easily beaten the EV1 in performance and range. But the goal is to sell the Leaf for a profit and actually make a business out of it. Cost of the EV1 was a small consideration. Making a business out of it was NOT the plan.
2. The CR-X may have been more efficient, but at what cost in safety and emissions?
I understand your point but a lot has happened in 14 years and for $32,000 you should get your moneys worth.
Also the CRX actually has quite good safety. The NHTSA gave it high scores for frontal crash safety and 5 stars for the 1997 NCAP. And at the end of the day a CR-Z is just an Insight with two less seats and dramatically poorer efficiency. If you want to get two people somewhere in a fast and fun way, buy a motorbike.
@darelldd There is absolutely no excuse for the CR-Z, CR-Z is a joke all around. Vehicle makes no sense and is a heavy pig. Safety improvements aren't the reason for an increase from 1800 to 2700lbs.. 2700lbs, think about it, it weighs as much as a 2006 4 door Honda Civic! The Fiesta weighs 2400lbs and gets nearly the same fuel economy as the CR-Z while not being a hybrid nor being a 2 seater! There are no redeeming qualities about the CR-Z.
@UberWagen and @darelldd i love everything about this car, and the sound it makes while accelerating is siiiikk, (tells you its alive and going) but still very quiet and calming. i'll be 16 in late may and hopfully driving and apart from the cars i normally like (im a huge car freak) it would be good to go electric for a bit, like when gas gets too high. im sad that the EV1 is no longer around cuz i actually want one, really bad. would have been perfect to use between home, school and friends
@chowders123456 - There are many ways to answer this question. GM says they had to be crushed to save us consumers from high repair bills, and for our own safety. The owners typically understand the reason to be that GM didn't want this fine car out there demonstrating that yes... EVs actually DO work for us.
@UberWagen - the sound that the EV1 makes wasn't by accident either. It was specifically tuned to sound lik e a space ship. Really! Most folks assume it is the gear noise we mostly hear, but mostly it is electronics.
It seems like they could have made these cars 50 years ago, but the oil companies are just too stubborn. Why don't those "geniuses" just start making batteries. I mean I don't know how they can't sleep at night knowing they're the cause of all that brown smog. As for the GM "Volt", it looks much better than the "Prius" or the "Leaf", but I'd only put fuel in it when it stopped on the side of the road. I think it world be cheaper to build an electric car out of an old one.
Dear GM, Never Will I buy A Gm Vehicle. NEVER. Dear Nissan, You know I love you and my 2000 Quest Going Strong. Dear Nissan Again, The Nissan Leaf, You stole my heart. Hopefully will see long ranged Main Car EV's in the future, so they will be practical for my lifestyle.
@TVperson1 - When form follows function you get cars that look like the EV1, the Prius, the Leaf. At this stage of the game aesthetics are irrelevant to me. Make it practical and make it affordable. People will learn to love whatever it ends up looking like.
@darelldd Aesthetics may not mean much to, but they too my and many other people out. I suppose I'll just have to want until they come up with an electric car that is much better looking.
Man why don't GM waste a few more $billion and crush the Volt-less VOLT and bring back the EV-1 with a new design and today's modern technologies. In about 2-3 years pure electric like the TESLA MODEL S will make the VOLT obsolete (hopefully). This EV-1 is a far better car than the VOLT, even the Nissan leaf is outdoing the Volt and GM had decades or research and development to be ahead of the game. Anyone know what would happen if you failed return the ev-1 back to GM?
@Tamayo1980 - yeah, if you fail to return your EV1, the collection agency comes after you. Own a home? Earn wages? Not gonna be pretty. Plenty of talk of hiding one away... but then what's the point? Could never use it in public.
@darelldd got you, just wanted to know. Sound like a fascists state of business in AMERICA where the elites and the monopolistic car/oil companies control our daily lives. A choice is all i want.
@Maserati7200 That's certainly what we all thought! As far as I know, this is the first time in history that a car company wouldn't let the drivers keep the cars for residual value. But if they let us keep them, we'd still be *gasp* driving them! And then they might look foolish for saying how undesirable and dangerous these cars were...
This was so sad! The ones not being saved for display are getting crushed. What a waste! I would have liked to have one. Perfect for work and back and around town errands. Just save my regular car for long distance trips. Thanks for sharing this video with us, I've never seen one in person even just in magazines and on TV. But your video gave a better perspective on what they were like. Pretty gutsy for a little car too!
@StrongEnough78 - All but a handful of these cars were crushed long ago. It all happened in the blink of an eye. A dedicated group of enthusiasts tried to block the transporters that took them to the crusher, but the end result was that they were all crushed. The good news is that the loss of those cars really galvanized the EV movement and we managed to save the Ranger EVs, the Rav4EVs and even the Thinks.
That looked like it was really fun to drive? Do you recommend getting an electric car. I know the EV1 is gone but there are future electric cars coming out soon and some are already out. Do you recommend one?
@DudeEco - Totally fun to drive, yes. Convenient and clean too. I've been driving an EV as our main motor vehicle for ten years now - and certainly recommend an EV for anybody who has a regular commute. The only cars that are *truly* coming out soon are the Leaf and the Volt. Coda right behind. I've driven the Volt, and I'll drive the Leaf this coming weekend. What works best for you depends entirely on your situation. Nice to have the choice!
@DudeEco - I was most impressed. Just like the Volt did last month, the Leaf actually exceeded my expectations. I have some video, some pictures and will eventually do a little write-up on the Leaf. Spunky little car that's a blast to drive.
@darelldd yeah right, i would love to have a choice in how i commute; I am in NC (eastern coast) and everyone drives a Truck or suv. I Drive a 4runner and a Maxima; but i am ready to sell my Maxima (Nissan) so i can buy the Tesla Model S. i have a dedicated commute of 20miles to work and 6miles to school, if i had an electric car to take me around town; i would be RICH. I love my gas vehicle as well, but i would only use it for long distance trips.
@abehammy - Well, I think lots about it. ;) I just got gone driving the production Volt (new video just up) and will drive the Leaf next month. So far I've only been able to climb all over it and take pictures. I haven't gotten to drive yet. The Leaf is relatively small (though lots more room than the EV1 had!) and I have great hope for it. The initial cost is right, certainly!
Hi. You currently have a Rav4. Tell me, what sort of storage system do you have with your home pv system, ie, batteries, and will they recharge the Rav4 in the same time as the grid?
@ianrkav - I have no storage EXCEPT for the Rav. My solar sytem is grid-tied. During the day, the meter spins backwards as my power is sold to my neighbors. In the evening when I return home and plug the car in, I take power back out of the grid. I feed the grid during peak times, and I take power back at off-peak times. Everybody wins. I mean except the oil companies and oil-producing nations.
@darelldd Ok thanks for that. It would be good though if a Pv system could charge up batteries in a house and the house could then be 'battery powered.' You could then be truly 'grid free'. I suppose it will be a while before batteries are developed which are robust and reliable enough to run household appliances. Something like those used in a Tesla car might work I suppose.
@ianrkav - The batteries to power a home have existed for a long, long time. Most common is to use lead acid golf-cart batteries. Many thousands of people live off the grid on solar and wind-charged battery banks. But going that route (when you have easy access to the grid) is almost prohibitively expensive. It about doubles the cost of the system. AND it is less efficient in that you have charge losses into and out of the storage batteries. When you have no other choice it is great!
@darelldd I think it will be a great option when battery technology improves. Lead acid is old tech. There will be better options soon I would think:-) So for now the 'grid connected' Pv systems seem to be the way to go.
I do see the sense in such a system. When you're at work of a day you're selling juice back into the grid and then using cheap rate electricity of a night when you're at home, as you say. Not a bad way to go:-)
@americanroute66 - The sound is something that almost everybody loved. And I've heard from reliable sources that the sound wasn't a byproduct. It was actually tuned on purpose.
@hellzone100 - Nobody could own these cars. They were lease only. If I didn't have a job, a house and a family, I may have been tempted to run off with it. But I have enough hassles without having collection agencies after me!
Oops. I'm afraid that ship has sailed! Honestly though... as much as I loved our EV1, I'd much rather have a modern, Gen2 or Gen3 of a similar car than to have the original EV1 back.
@darelldd Are you sure you want the the Gen2 EV1? it has only 40 miles to a charge and still uses gas and still not ready for market for another year.
@ibpointless2 - Yeah, yeah. While GM may claim that the Volt is the EV1 Gen2, I sure don't see it that way! But hey, at least they're back in the game. An by all accounts, the Volt does seem like a good (re)start for them.
@samorivideos6 - not sure I understand. The EV1 wasn't a Saturn either. It was the only GM car that was branded GM only. No sub brand. The Volt, as you note, is a Chevy.
What a beautiful car. Leave it to GM, conspiring with the world's money-hungry oil companies, to destroy one of the few truly popular and green cars that could ever exist. Never again will such a car, in functionality, environmental awareness or looks exist. If it does, our generations will never see it.
I give props to all of the enthusiasts rewiring the old EV1s to spite GM. They won't accept what a mistake they made just to save a few bucks.
Mmm! We all know the battery technology would become much more efficient and the price of replacement would tumble too, especially when more and more people bought them! A lame excuse for scrapping it!
Full power was offered through the full driving range. This is the same for all the production EVs of the late 90's. When you hit the bottom of the battery charge, the car is forced into reduced performance mode. In this way, you get a clear warning that you're at the end - but you can still safely get the car off the road - quite different from a gas car.... when you're done you're done!
That's what I thought it would be. Shame the oil companies bought the patent for the batteries! I like the idea of the electric car, cuts down all the pollution we're breathing in you know, moves the pollution to one place outside of the cities were it can be dealt with easily, ie, the power stations.
Or, in my case (and the case of most other EV drivers I know) it doesn't just move the pollution, it eliminates the pollution. My power is made on my roof through solar panels. I make more power than my car uses so there's zero power plant pollution from my EVs that needs to be dealt with easily or otherwise.
I still do charge from my roof PV system. I currently drive a Rav4EV that we've owned for almost eight years now. Bought it before the EV1 was returned and crushed.
Our biggest installed solar base in the US is in our foggiest city in CA - San Francisco. PV works in places that most people whould not guess. Look into it!
How long does it take to charge your car? I know there are new battery technologies just coming out that will enable a recharge in about 5mins from flat! Tesla are looking into these. They also need to be cheaper too, as does the car, as a Tesla battery pack costs about $6000 I've heard. These technologies though always come down in price/size/weight etc. Just a matter of time.
My normal answer: About three seconds. And you can see why in my other videos. That's how much time I invest in the task. I don't really care how long the car sits and charges while I'm sleeping. Since we plug it in every day, it almost never gets "empty" before recharging. Gas cars are only filled when they get near empty because of the hassle. An EV is charged every night because it is easy. But the answer to your question: If you are empty, it takes about 5 hours to recharge
While I produce more solar power than my car consumes (way more), I am grid-tied. This means that I can feed into the grid during peak daylight times, and charge the car at night when we have 'excess' power during off peak. The car was originally designed to charge three times faster than it does now. The fast charge goodies were removed before production. The new batch of cars will be totally different, and you'll have a choice of how fast you'd like to charge.
Will have to put down a deposit for a Tesla model S I think, they're investigating batteries that recharge from flat in 5mins! Will look at solar panels and home powerstations too!
Please note that the battery is not the limiting factor in charge time. The limiting factor is the size of the power pipe. It takes a HUGE amount of voltage to stuff that much power into a battery in short order. We have the batteries and the technology in place and proven. Most people won't need super-quick recharge time. I sure don't! But for those who do, it will eventually be available... at a price. And the cost mostly will come from the needed infrastructure to support it.
That is a very good point I had not considered! Fast charge times are not important to me right now but it's nice to know it is there if needed, and if it is needed can your system handle the flow! Will have to look into that.
Just seen another of your vid, 'We choose to drive electric,' what kind of range do you get from the Rav4?
Same range as the EV1... about 100 miles. My record is 135 miles. I regularly drive it 90 miles on the freeway with my whole family for weekend trips to see extended family.
Yeah, I wish I hadn't called it the "gas pedal" in the vide, but hey. So that airplane sound I recently learned (after all these years) was specifically tuned into the inverter just to sound that cool. All this time I thought it was gear noise from the one big reduction gear.
That's not quite how this all worked. GM did not recall the cars just because they couldn't get the battery license! They killed the program before all these odd patent issues came up.
4:03, So no regen on the EV1? I didn't know that. Way ahead of it's time, though. GM dropped the ball on that project. Those cars could still be on the road doing some good...
Oh the EV1 has regen. You just have the option of turning it on, or allowing it to coast. IMO, this is the way it should be. Sometimes coasting is key, and other times, you want to slow with regen. Regen was also blended into the brakes, of course.
That is nice! Wish I could do that on my Prius. There are times I'd just like to coast, but regen initiates as soon as I take my foot off of the pedal. I suppose it's different due to the small NiMH pack, but still would be nice. On a pure EV I can see how crucial coasting could be to maximize mileage. GM had it right with EV1... shame...
Yeah, every car should have a coast option! One thing to note - you can coast in the Prius with a bit of practice. Let all the way off the gas pedal until you are in regen, and then add just a tiny bit back to the pedal. On the energy screen it will show up as "no arrows" and you are now coasting as efficiently as the Prius will allow.
It saddens me to think that if GM would have stuck with the EV1 they would be way ahead of the curve today.
Television lost money for decades before finally hitting it big. Same with electric cars. What really floors me is GM losing out on a golden opportunity to expand their customer base and pissing off loyal customers.
I don't think they ever had any intention of making money on this at all. That's the strange part. Otherwise, they would've just sold the cars to the people and not made them do a lease. They also could have sold the vehicles to those who leased them. No, they didn't want electric vehicles to exist. Now, they are trying to develop their clunker the Volt when they could've just used the EV1. I don't believe a god dammed word that government motors puts out.
I have a question ,when they make these kind of cars to run off solar WHY THEY MAKE EM SO UGLY,Y they cant make it look like a lamborghini ,camera,lotus,hell even like a toyo
"He will have to learn the price of gas" We all learned the price of gas.a couple years later when it hit $ 4 freakin bucks a gallon and now its not much better at $2.60 where I live. Gas cars dont make financial sense for 95% of my driving which averages under 50 miles a day. Its far more practical and affordable to use an electric for commuting and city /town driving and the gas Camry for longer trips. Most people have 2 cars anyway so why not make one an electric.
Of course the way GM tells it, the Volt will be much more advanced because it also has a gasoline engine!
I have to point out that EV1 was ten years more advanced in 2006. And you'll notice that the volt still isn't available. So we're looking at 14 years at best. More likely 15 years before GM can managed to make an electric car with a gas engine.
I am hardly a "tree hugger" and actually drive a truck. But damn, this is a nice little car and FAST too! I would actually consider driving one. Why use a SUV or F-150 for a daily commute?
I would drive something like this to work and keep my F-150 for weekend runs to Home Depot or camping trips.
The great news here, is that it turns out that you do NOT need to be a "tree hugger" to drive a non-polluting, fun, convenient car. How cool is that? For the record, our EV is our main vehicle, and the big, bad Prius is reserved for the Home Depot and camping trips. :) Seriously.
It saddens me to watch this. It must have been sad for you and your family. Look like this car was ahead of it's time, even though really, it wasn't...
Did I notice a Rav4 EV as well? I bet the WKTEC DVD would have been a trip down memory lane. Oh well just think, now you can buy a Tesla Roadster for 800billion dollars! Jokes :-)
It is sad, because GM could have been ahead of the game, but they threw it all away. Now we are supposed to take them seriously regarding the Volt. Puhleeez
Smoking the tires is something you can do even with severely under-powered EV. Just 50hp electric motor is capable of smoking the tires. The Tesla Roadster does 0-60 in about four seconds. The Wrightspeed X1 does 0-60 in under three seconds. Quick enough? ;)
Currently i am working on my own 3phase ac drive lipo conversion, however a vehicle designed from the ground up for electric use would save soo much in weight reduction, and enhance runtime dramaticaly..
I would do almost anything to drive an ev1, i would love to do burnouts with it!
To smoke the tires there was a little trick to defeat the traction control (that in theory was always on to prevent this very thing). You had to lightly feather the brake pedal with one foot while stomping on the throttle with the other. Without traction control, all these cars would have burned through the drive tires in a month or two. It was THAT fun. :)
Btw, thanks a bunch for the video upload, its always interesting to see how ev1 vehicles functioned and performed. Being in canada we never ever got a wif of the ev1, i do recall about 6-7 years ago seeing an ev1 commercial on direct-tv. ;)
It pisses the hell out of me that they dont have the ev1 or similar type of electric vehcile for consumers to use. As a automotive mechanical engineer, i would love to drive something like this; both for the costs savings, and the perk of driving a powerful electric car.
I agree with you fully. I mean yes, in the short term, there is some high expenditure compared to your almost cheap-as-free internal-combustion vehicle, but if you look at the price of gas steadily climbing, the pollutants being belched, and the inevitable END of petroleum drilling, electric vehicles definitely have the upper hand. There is a whole other side to be argued, though, about the energy required to generate the electricity, but the earth is rife with renewable sources of power.
Zammit, in canada all our power is nuclear, or hydroelectirc.. You knew that you silly goose! lol.
Plus the energy to effecency ratio is much greater when using coal power to create electricity then the same ammount of fuel energy being used to run individual gasoline engines. for our american friends.
Coal power is still terrable the least, but its more effecent then indiviual gasoline engines running independently for every vehicle.
The energy you would save by "filling" up with electricity as opposed to fuel would more than cover the cost of the car. I know this because of a video I saw from a woman that owns an electric Toyota Rav 4
If only it were that simple, we could more easily remedy the situation, I think. But alas there is not just one reason that GM did what it did to their EV program. The reasons were many, and most of them made business sense - at least to the shareholders at the time - and in the short term.
Your information is incorrect. There were about 800 of these leased at one time, and there are maybe 12 in museums, and some at universities. Only a small percentage of the original cars have NOT been crushed, regardless of generation.
aw man! i forgot all about this car because i was ten when they started taking them away but i showed this to my dad and he told me that i said when i can drive i want one of these and i wouldnt drive anything else.
me 2 i get my license in december ( 4 days before christmas =) hint hint ) but i really want an electric car. I just dont have the money to convert or lease one. I wish i had seen an EV1 in person though.
Wow,I would've LOVED to have that thing. We're so focused on hybrids, but what about a ZERO emissions vehicle?? And did anyone spot Ellen Crawford and Mike Genovese from "ER" in the "World News" clip?? I met them recently,very nice couple,and they rock more for being GREEN!
stupid8911 1 week ago
You should have had the car "stolen" ;)
thecheesburgler 1 week ago
@thecheesburgler - yeah, we've been through that before.After it is "stolen" - then what? You hide it in your garage and never register it for the rest of your life?
darelldd 1 week ago
@darelldd No of course not> I was JK. That would be a really bad idea.... lol
thecheesburgler 1 week ago
wow, that thing is pretty fast :)
winboilos 1 week ago
During the l970's, the government gave GM one billion dollars to build electric cars, but the public never saw any. GM wanted the money but not electric cars. They built the EV1 because some people were asking, "what did we get for the money?". But they always intended to destroy it. More recently, Ford got five billion from the government for "green technology". Of course they didn't get a bailout. Oh no. Just five billion for "green technology.
safetychoice 2 weeks ago
best car from usa
hejdiklump 4 weeks ago
That makes no sense? After spending $1 billion, they drop it? Might as well continue..
IIRC, 120 miles of range is pretty decent compared to what we have now today with EV's. The Volt only has 35 miles of range on all electricity... stupid. stupid.
upiluften 1 month ago
Thanks so much for sharing this! Great perspective. Fairly upset with the Volt's reinvention and now with a LG Chem, Korean batteries! What are you thoughts about the Fisker Karma? A good way to spend a $100K? At least some ROI on the Governments loan to Quantum Fuel Systems and A123 Systems batteries..
RSGruppe 1 month ago
@RSGruppe - thanks and you are welcome! For my money, no the Karma just isn't doing for me what 100k of Tesla would do. Great concept. Drop-dead sexy... but no, I don't see the target being hit just yet.
darelldd 1 month ago
@darelldd How good was the EV1 Compared to regular cars of the time lol? I'm 14 and really starting to find a interest in alternative fuels. So very very sad to see that this car had to be crushed by the greedy no good Government
14omega28ok 1 month ago
@14omega28ok - Though the car didn't handle high-speed turns very well, it excelled in just about every other aspect. It would routinely beat muscle cars onto the freeway from a stand-still. THAT got some attention, certainly. Truly, it was a super fun car to drive.
darelldd 1 month ago
what did you mean by duress? i never understood why people gave there EV1's back to the dealers?
bordone 1 month ago
@bordone - Duress? It means it was returned against my wishes and my will. We did not "give them back" they were taken back by GM. The lease was close-end. Many of us offered over residual value to purchase them at the end of the lease, and GM would not take the money. GM sold none of the cars. All lease, and all taken back - except a few to museums and schools that were first stripped of running gear.
darelldd 1 month ago
sure kept in in good shape...
kiiiro 2 months ago
how many evs were in your garage? and do you own any still today? And finally, what do your opinions of the leaf. the i miev and the volt
brian9827 2 months ago
You are driving a jet plane is what it sounds like. You my freind are lucky to have had the experience of driving one. I feel for you.
tambunansumlang 2 months ago
@tambunansumlang - yes, truly one of the lucky ones. It was pretty much dumb luck that I managed to get one of the gen1 re-leases for the final two years. I never thought I'd be an "activist" for anything. The EV1 is what made me into one.
darelldd 2 months ago
@darelldd damn you General Motors.
tambunansumlang 2 months ago
Do these "EV Only" parking spaces with the charging stations still exist in USA? If they do, have they added more every year or frozen the project?
Knightrider995 3 months ago
@Knightrider995 - Yes, yes and no. There are several thousand charging stations in CA, and they are currently being upgraded to the new J1772 standard. And new installations are going in as well.
darelldd 3 months ago
Am I the only person who notices these EV-1's look strikingly like Saturns. The body style, interior, tailights...They must have switched the EV plants over to Saturn division at some point.
ThePaulgregg 3 months ago
@ThePaulgregg - Though most of the important bits of the EV1 were specific to this car, in the end several items were taken off the GM shelf. This car was leased through Saturn dealerships... and they are both GM products. Nobody should be shocked that there are some similarities.
darelldd 3 months ago
If I were you I'd report it 'stolen' and hide it somewhere for a long time and remove any serial numbers or identification. Then register it and claim you built a replica of the EV1 on your own. Fool proof plan.
Maserati7200 3 months ago
@Maserati7200 - Foolproof! I could show them my fabrication shop where I formed that awesome aluminum body. Why didn't I think of that sooner!? :)
darelldd 3 months ago
I bet if you'd known it'd be crushed you'd have thrashed the absolute guts out of it, and rightly so! Either that or "had it stolen" ;-) I wonder how fast they'd have gone without the 80mph limiter. I guess we'll never know, unless some MIT kiddies get under the bonnet of one of the "deactivated" museum ones.
AintBigAintClever 3 months ago
@AintBigAintClever, well we knew the cars would be going back, and not many of us treated them with kid gloves. Not once we figured out how to defeat the torque limiter. ;) The 80mph limit was to prevent the single reduction gearing to fly apart. 0-80mph in a single gear is a lot to ask of the motor and the gearing! I'm sure it would go faster... but I'm not sure for how long!
darelldd 3 months ago
It seems that the regulator got sued by the people they regulated. How backwards is that?!
leerman22 4 months ago
did u like it
dartro99 4 months ago
@dartro99 - Did you not watch the video? I enjoyed the hell out of it - as did all the other drivers I've ever heard from... which is most of them.
darelldd 4 months ago
and y did u let it get crushed
dartro99 4 months ago
@dartro99 - why did I *let* it get crushed? I had no choice unless I wanted to lose my house and any future earnings. That has already been covered in these comments. If I were footloose and single there would be more options. But having a family and owning a house when the collectors come calling, things don't look so good. Trust me when I say the cars was turned in under duress.
darelldd 4 months ago
8:40 its called the leaf or volt
dartro99 4 months ago
@dartro99 - *what* is called the Leaf or Volt?
darelldd 4 months ago
@darelldd the nev ev1
dartro99 4 months ago
GM = General Morons
thatoneshadykid 4 months ago
I think GM and America would be rich if they weren`t that stupid to crush the EV`s.
Bodeneffekt 5 months ago
@Bodeneffekt But then those poor oil CEOs would lose tons and tons of money and then they wouldn't be able to afford their luxury condos and fleets of Mercedes. And we can't have that kind of crisis, now can we?
thatoneshadykid 4 months ago
I love seeing old futuristic cars. Even got to ride in a Delorian once. But that sounded like a beat up lawnmower lol.
dick117 6 months ago
@lglotus1 ok man, the only reason it seems
"ugly" in your opinion... is just like what @darelldd said "The design of the EV1 was all about form following function " he prob means that GM intended the car to hold that form in the design is to perform excellent aerodynamic performance. what i mean by that the more aerodynamic the vehicle is the more better for the car so the car wont suck up as much battery life and it can be quick too,
planetvicecity 7 months ago
Why would GM make it so ugly. They would have had more people on it if it looked decent
lglotus1 7 months ago
@lglotus1 - There is no car on the road that is uglier than brown air. The design of the EV1 was all about form following function. And in that regard it is beautiful. Some people think that huge SUVs are attractive. Some like little sports cars. Some even like cars that don't pollute - no matter what they look like. If we all liked the same thing we'd all be driving the same car. In the same color. No thanks.
darelldd 7 months ago
@lglotus1 aerodynamics, it had the lowest drag coefficent of its time
tony12345pl 5 months ago
@tony12345pl - and the lowest of THIS time. There isn't a production car today that has better aero, is there?
darelldd 5 months ago
does any one think that GM will "re-introduce" and SELL the EV1???? i think they should. i mean since electric cars are starting to come back anyway....
planetvicecity 8 months ago
@planetvicecity It wouldn't make any sense. The car wouldn't pass current safety regs, so would have to be severely redesigned anyway. We can make way better cars today. The tragedy is that they were ever taken away and destroyed in the first place. A MODERN EV1 would be the ticket for sure. The Volt isn't quite it!
darelldd 8 months ago
@darelldd Like, an EV2 :)
DvvdJD 7 months ago
@planetvicecity - no. It won't and can't happen. You can't just "bring back" a car. Safety regulations have changed so much that the car would need to be redesigned anyway. For better or worse, GM sees the Volt as their new EV1 ...
darelldd 7 months ago
@darelldd If i was you. i would've just drove off with that car, and cross either the Canadian or Mexican border with that historical car.
raised2killu 5 months ago
@raised2killu - Well, that's the problem with having a family, owning a house, etc. If I were younger with no roots, things could have been more exciting.
darelldd 5 months ago
@darelldd I fully respect your decision i would've done the same if was in that position.
But how much money would it take to charge the car by?
I remember from that documentary mention it doesn't take a lot of electricity to fully to charge it. And how long is the length can you drive it till you run of energy then need to recharge it.
raised2killu 5 months ago
@raised2killu In general it cost about $1.50 to fill the car for 100 miles of driving. But that was before I installed my solar system. Now (that the system has been paid off for five years) my EV fuel is free for the rest of my life. In my lead acid car, I could go about 100 miles on a charge. The Gen2 with NiMh could do about 150 miles.
darelldd 5 months ago
@raised2killu It would take less than $2 worth of electricity per 100km. At least that's the amount Nissan Leaf and other typical full sized electric cars take. And EV-1 was even more efficient so it should be less.
lupzter78 4 months ago
@5gretsch - it could if Toyota allowed it. The EV1 had traction control to prevent tire spin as well... some of us figured out how to temporarily defeat it for fun. The Prius (and honestly most modern cars) want to make darn sure that you can't think too much for yourself!
darelldd 9 months ago
God that really was one sweet car, stupid GM!
Bielafurlana 9 months ago
Very nice video.. Stupid GM.. =/
RCidrifter 9 months ago
My dad had one of these vehicles, would have bought it at the time if allowed. Was sad to see it go since we were forced to give up the vehicle before I was old enough to drive it. :( We had our red EV1 from 1996 all the way until around 2002, or 2003, had been looking forward to driving it since I was 8 years old.. Still have the battery charger sitting outside of our house as a reminder..
imzjustplayin 10 months ago
@imzjustplayin wait, GM forced you to crush it? you couldn't keep it?
gab1971 9 months ago
@gab1971 - That is correct. GM took (almost) all the cars back at lease end and crushed them. A few remain at museums and universities - though per agreement, these few cars can never be run on public roads again.
darelldd 9 months ago
@darelldd Wow! I wanted one. I hope GM brings back the EV1 As the EV1 and not the Volt. But It has a lot of advancements.
gab1971 9 months ago
I think the greatest sucess of the EV1 was it's power. 137bhp may not sound much but it was the first of its kind, made during the 90s and it still beats the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV etc. (it's also 100 kilos lighter than a leaf and can manage 60 more miles on a charge).
Why is it that an EV1 made in the 90s still beats a state of the art Nissan Leaf?
It reminds me of the new CR-Z hybrid thats less efficient than it's 80s predecessor the CR-X.
RequiemVortex 10 months ago
@RequiemVortex - there are actually some easy answers to your last two questions:
1. The Leaf could have easily beaten the EV1 in performance and range. But the goal is to sell the Leaf for a profit and actually make a business out of it. Cost of the EV1 was a small consideration. Making a business out of it was NOT the plan.
2. The CR-X may have been more efficient, but at what cost in safety and emissions?
darelldd 10 months ago
@darelldd
I understand your point but a lot has happened in 14 years and for $32,000 you should get your moneys worth.
Also the CRX actually has quite good safety. The NHTSA gave it high scores for frontal crash safety and 5 stars for the 1997 NCAP. And at the end of the day a CR-Z is just an Insight with two less seats and dramatically poorer efficiency. If you want to get two people somewhere in a fast and fun way, buy a motorbike.
RequiemVortex 10 months ago
@darelldd There is absolutely no excuse for the CR-Z, CR-Z is a joke all around. Vehicle makes no sense and is a heavy pig. Safety improvements aren't the reason for an increase from 1800 to 2700lbs.. 2700lbs, think about it, it weighs as much as a 2006 4 door Honda Civic! The Fiesta weighs 2400lbs and gets nearly the same fuel economy as the CR-Z while not being a hybrid nor being a 2 seater! There are no redeeming qualities about the CR-Z.
imzjustplayin 10 months ago
@imzjustplayin Fair enough. I won't debate the point... at least not in my EV1 thread. ;)
darelldd 10 months ago
did the age of the car affect the battery life at all?
Artyfil 11 months ago
@Artyfil - The cars rarely lived long enough lives to be battery constrained. Most were crushed after just a few years on the road
darelldd 10 months ago
@UberWagen and @darelldd i love everything about this car, and the sound it makes while accelerating is siiiikk, (tells you its alive and going) but still very quiet and calming. i'll be 16 in late may and hopfully driving and apart from the cars i normally like (im a huge car freak) it would be good to go electric for a bit, like when gas gets too high. im sad that the EV1 is no longer around cuz i actually want one, really bad. would have been perfect to use between home, school and friends
planetvicecity 11 months ago
Good bye to the start of something very beautiful!
I got to drive one in Phoenix, Az.! ;) .... Very Cool!!
thecrism1 11 months ago
How come it had to be crushed?
chowders123456 11 months ago
@chowders123456 - There are many ways to answer this question. GM says they had to be crushed to save us consumers from high repair bills, and for our own safety. The owners typically understand the reason to be that GM didn't want this fine car out there demonstrating that yes... EVs actually DO work for us.
darelldd 11 months ago
I personally like that sound of an electric motor spooling up than an ICE.
UberWagen 11 months ago
@UberWagen - the sound that the EV1 makes wasn't by accident either. It was specifically tuned to sound lik e a space ship. Really! Most folks assume it is the gear noise we mostly hear, but mostly it is electronics.
darelldd 11 months ago
It seems like they could have made these cars 50 years ago, but the oil companies are just too stubborn. Why don't those "geniuses" just start making batteries. I mean I don't know how they can't sleep at night knowing they're the cause of all that brown smog. As for the GM "Volt", it looks much better than the "Prius" or the "Leaf", but I'd only put fuel in it when it stopped on the side of the road. I think it world be cheaper to build an electric car out of an old one.
TVperson1 1 year ago
Dear GM, Never Will I buy A Gm Vehicle. NEVER. Dear Nissan, You know I love you and my 2000 Quest Going Strong. Dear Nissan Again, The Nissan Leaf, You stole my heart. Hopefully will see long ranged Main Car EV's in the future, so they will be practical for my lifestyle.
deedundone 1 year ago
@deedundone While I agree with the concept of the leaf, I hate the design, the EV1 doesn't look too bad though.
TVperson1 1 year ago
@TVperson1 - When form follows function you get cars that look like the EV1, the Prius, the Leaf. At this stage of the game aesthetics are irrelevant to me. Make it practical and make it affordable. People will learn to love whatever it ends up looking like.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd Aesthetics may not mean much to, but they too my and many other people out. I suppose I'll just have to want until they come up with an electric car that is much better looking.
TVperson1 1 year ago
its a damm shame! 2011 and what do we have a VOLT with "noisemaker" ( stuppid ) that it stil not on the market
i would prever the lieghter and cheaper more efficient ev1 or in 2011 maybe the ev 3
LGSolutions 1 year ago
Man why don't GM waste a few more $billion and crush the Volt-less VOLT and bring back the EV-1 with a new design and today's modern technologies. In about 2-3 years pure electric like the TESLA MODEL S will make the VOLT obsolete (hopefully). This EV-1 is a far better car than the VOLT, even the Nissan leaf is outdoing the Volt and GM had decades or research and development to be ahead of the game. Anyone know what would happen if you failed return the ev-1 back to GM?
Tamayo1980 1 year ago
@Tamayo1980 - yeah, if you fail to return your EV1, the collection agency comes after you. Own a home? Earn wages? Not gonna be pretty. Plenty of talk of hiding one away... but then what's the point? Could never use it in public.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd got you, just wanted to know. Sound like a fascists state of business in AMERICA where the elites and the monopolistic car/oil companies control our daily lives. A choice is all i want.
Tamayo1980 1 year ago
They should have at least let you keep the cars but they won't have a warranty on them
Maserati7200 1 year ago
@Maserati7200 That's certainly what we all thought! As far as I know, this is the first time in history that a car company wouldn't let the drivers keep the cars for residual value. But if they let us keep them, we'd still be *gasp* driving them! And then they might look foolish for saying how undesirable and dangerous these cars were...
darelldd 1 year ago
This was so sad! The ones not being saved for display are getting crushed. What a waste! I would have liked to have one. Perfect for work and back and around town errands. Just save my regular car for long distance trips. Thanks for sharing this video with us, I've never seen one in person even just in magazines and on TV. But your video gave a better perspective on what they were like. Pretty gutsy for a little car too!
StrongEnough78 1 year ago
@StrongEnough78 - All but a handful of these cars were crushed long ago. It all happened in the blink of an eye. A dedicated group of enthusiasts tried to block the transporters that took them to the crusher, but the end result was that they were all crushed. The good news is that the loss of those cars really galvanized the EV movement and we managed to save the Ranger EVs, the Rav4EVs and even the Thinks.
darelldd 1 year ago
Thats good to hear! I can't wait to go electric!
DudeEco 1 year ago
That looked like it was really fun to drive? Do you recommend getting an electric car. I know the EV1 is gone but there are future electric cars coming out soon and some are already out. Do you recommend one?
DudeEco 1 year ago
@DudeEco - Totally fun to drive, yes. Convenient and clean too. I've been driving an EV as our main motor vehicle for ten years now - and certainly recommend an EV for anybody who has a regular commute. The only cars that are *truly* coming out soon are the Leaf and the Volt. Coda right behind. I've driven the Volt, and I'll drive the Leaf this coming weekend. What works best for you depends entirely on your situation. Nice to have the choice!
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd - Did you like the Nissan Leaf?
DudeEco 1 year ago
@DudeEco - I was most impressed. Just like the Volt did last month, the Leaf actually exceeded my expectations. I have some video, some pictures and will eventually do a little write-up on the Leaf. Spunky little car that's a blast to drive.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd - Really? It was fun to drive?
DudeEco 1 year ago
@DudeEco - Oh, I'm totally serious.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd yeah right, i would love to have a choice in how i commute; I am in NC (eastern coast) and everyone drives a Truck or suv. I Drive a 4runner and a Maxima; but i am ready to sell my Maxima (Nissan) so i can buy the Tesla Model S. i have a dedicated commute of 20miles to work and 6miles to school, if i had an electric car to take me around town; i would be RICH. I love my gas vehicle as well, but i would only use it for long distance trips.
Tamayo1980 1 year ago
R.I.P
Rarrin9378 1 year ago
Why do you need to enter a code before driving?
abehammy 1 year ago
@abehammy - because that's the ignition. There is no key. You set and use a code to enter the car and to start the car.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd Pretty cool. What do you think of the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle?
abehammy 1 year ago
@abehammy - Well, I think lots about it. ;) I just got gone driving the production Volt (new video just up) and will drive the Leaf next month. So far I've only been able to climb all over it and take pictures. I haven't gotten to drive yet. The Leaf is relatively small (though lots more room than the EV1 had!) and I have great hope for it. The initial cost is right, certainly!
darelldd 1 year ago
Hi. You currently have a Rav4. Tell me, what sort of storage system do you have with your home pv system, ie, batteries, and will they recharge the Rav4 in the same time as the grid?
Thanks
ianrkav 1 year ago
@ianrkav - I have no storage EXCEPT for the Rav. My solar sytem is grid-tied. During the day, the meter spins backwards as my power is sold to my neighbors. In the evening when I return home and plug the car in, I take power back out of the grid. I feed the grid during peak times, and I take power back at off-peak times. Everybody wins. I mean except the oil companies and oil-producing nations.
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd Ok thanks for that. It would be good though if a Pv system could charge up batteries in a house and the house could then be 'battery powered.' You could then be truly 'grid free'. I suppose it will be a while before batteries are developed which are robust and reliable enough to run household appliances. Something like those used in a Tesla car might work I suppose.
ianrkav 1 year ago
@ianrkav - The batteries to power a home have existed for a long, long time. Most common is to use lead acid golf-cart batteries. Many thousands of people live off the grid on solar and wind-charged battery banks. But going that route (when you have easy access to the grid) is almost prohibitively expensive. It about doubles the cost of the system. AND it is less efficient in that you have charge losses into and out of the storage batteries. When you have no other choice it is great!
darelldd 1 year ago
@darelldd I think it will be a great option when battery technology improves. Lead acid is old tech. There will be better options soon I would think:-) So for now the 'grid connected' Pv systems seem to be the way to go.
I do see the sense in such a system. When you're at work of a day you're selling juice back into the grid and then using cheap rate electricity of a night when you're at home, as you say. Not a bad way to go:-)
ianrkav 1 year ago
great sound
americanroute66 1 year ago
@americanroute66 - The sound is something that almost everybody loved. And I've heard from reliable sources that the sound wasn't a byproduct. It was actually tuned on purpose.
darelldd 1 year ago
WHY WAS IT RETURNED ???
If i owned it... i would have said nope..!!!!!!!
I own it, ill keep it!
hellzone100 1 year ago
@hellzone100 - Nobody could own these cars. They were lease only. If I didn't have a job, a house and a family, I may have been tempted to run off with it. But I have enough hassles without having collection agencies after me!
darelldd 1 year ago
is this a drag car?
kenonjoey 1 year ago
@kenonjoey - joking right? :) It was definitely fun to beat muscle cars off the line though!
darelldd 1 year ago
dude...you should get the Tesla Model S when it comes out in 2012.
haggman7 1 year ago
@haggman7 - would love to. My boatload of cash is due in port any day now!
darelldd 1 year ago
NO EV1....NO BAILOUT...
southsiderom 2 years ago
Oops. I'm afraid that ship has sailed! Honestly though... as much as I loved our EV1, I'd much rather have a modern, Gen2 or Gen3 of a similar car than to have the original EV1 back.
darelldd 2 years ago
@darelldd Are you sure you want the the Gen2 EV1? it has only 40 miles to a charge and still uses gas and still not ready for market for another year.
ibpointless2 1 year ago
@ibpointless2 - Yeah, yeah. While GM may claim that the Volt is the EV1 Gen2, I sure don't see it that way! But hey, at least they're back in the game. An by all accounts, the Volt does seem like a good (re)start for them.
darelldd 1 year ago
@ibpointless2 the gen 2 is not even a saturn its a chevy
samorivideos6 1 year ago
@samorivideos6 - not sure I understand. The EV1 wasn't a Saturn either. It was the only GM car that was branded GM only. No sub brand. The Volt, as you note, is a Chevy.
darelldd 1 year ago
What a beautiful car. Leave it to GM, conspiring with the world's money-hungry oil companies, to destroy one of the few truly popular and green cars that could ever exist. Never again will such a car, in functionality, environmental awareness or looks exist. If it does, our generations will never see it.
I give props to all of the enthusiasts rewiring the old EV1s to spite GM. They won't accept what a mistake they made just to save a few bucks.
randomness1845 2 years ago
Mmm! We all know the battery technology would become much more efficient and the price of replacement would tumble too, especially when more and more people bought them! A lame excuse for scrapping it!
ianrkav 2 years ago
Did the car gradually get slower as the battery charge diminished or did you get 'full power' miles up to the maximum range?
Whatever that may have been depending on driving conditions that is!
ianrkav 2 years ago
Full power was offered through the full driving range. This is the same for all the production EVs of the late 90's. When you hit the bottom of the battery charge, the car is forced into reduced performance mode. In this way, you get a clear warning that you're at the end - but you can still safely get the car off the road - quite different from a gas car.... when you're done you're done!
darelldd 2 years ago
That's what I thought it would be. Shame the oil companies bought the patent for the batteries! I like the idea of the electric car, cuts down all the pollution we're breathing in you know, moves the pollution to one place outside of the cities were it can be dealt with easily, ie, the power stations.
ianrkav 2 years ago
Or, in my case (and the case of most other EV drivers I know) it doesn't just move the pollution, it eliminates the pollution. My power is made on my roof through solar panels. I make more power than my car uses so there's zero power plant pollution from my EVs that needs to be dealt with easily or otherwise.
darelldd 2 years ago
You charged your car from solar panels on the roof of your house? I'm impressed!
May not work for me though, being in the UK it just rains all the time!
ianrkav 2 years ago
I still do charge from my roof PV system. I currently drive a Rav4EV that we've owned for almost eight years now. Bought it before the EV1 was returned and crushed.
Our biggest installed solar base in the US is in our foggiest city in CA - San Francisco. PV works in places that most people whould not guess. Look into it!
darelldd 2 years ago
How long does it take to charge your car? I know there are new battery technologies just coming out that will enable a recharge in about 5mins from flat! Tesla are looking into these. They also need to be cheaper too, as does the car, as a Tesla battery pack costs about $6000 I've heard. These technologies though always come down in price/size/weight etc. Just a matter of time.
ianrkav 2 years ago
My normal answer: About three seconds. And you can see why in my other videos. That's how much time I invest in the task. I don't really care how long the car sits and charges while I'm sleeping. Since we plug it in every day, it almost never gets "empty" before recharging. Gas cars are only filled when they get near empty because of the hassle. An EV is charged every night because it is easy. But the answer to your question: If you are empty, it takes about 5 hours to recharge
darelldd 2 years ago
5hrs recharge time from solar panels, that is impressive! Tell me, are you completely independent from the grid?
ianrkav 2 years ago
While I produce more solar power than my car consumes (way more), I am grid-tied. This means that I can feed into the grid during peak daylight times, and charge the car at night when we have 'excess' power during off peak. The car was originally designed to charge three times faster than it does now. The fast charge goodies were removed before production. The new batch of cars will be totally different, and you'll have a choice of how fast you'd like to charge.
darelldd 2 years ago
Will have to put down a deposit for a Tesla model S I think, they're investigating batteries that recharge from flat in 5mins! Will look at solar panels and home powerstations too!
ianrkav 2 years ago
Please note that the battery is not the limiting factor in charge time. The limiting factor is the size of the power pipe. It takes a HUGE amount of voltage to stuff that much power into a battery in short order. We have the batteries and the technology in place and proven. Most people won't need super-quick recharge time. I sure don't! But for those who do, it will eventually be available... at a price. And the cost mostly will come from the needed infrastructure to support it.
darelldd 2 years ago
That is a very good point I had not considered! Fast charge times are not important to me right now but it's nice to know it is there if needed, and if it is needed can your system handle the flow! Will have to look into that.
Just seen another of your vid, 'We choose to drive electric,' what kind of range do you get from the Rav4?
ianrkav 2 years ago
Same range as the EV1... about 100 miles. My record is 135 miles. I regularly drive it 90 miles on the freeway with my whole family for weekend trips to see extended family.
darelldd 2 years ago
sounded kinda like an aiprlane jet when he got on the gas lol
Kodiak40oz 2 years ago
Yeah, I wish I hadn't called it the "gas pedal" in the vide, but hey. So that airplane sound I recently learned (after all these years) was specifically tuned into the inverter just to sound that cool. All this time I thought it was gear noise from the one big reduction gear.
darelldd 2 years ago
That's not quite how this all worked. GM did not recall the cars just because they couldn't get the battery license! They killed the program before all these odd patent issues came up.
darelldd 2 years ago
4:03, So no regen on the EV1? I didn't know that. Way ahead of it's time, though. GM dropped the ball on that project. Those cars could still be on the road doing some good...
nephil1977 2 years ago
Oh the EV1 has regen. You just have the option of turning it on, or allowing it to coast. IMO, this is the way it should be. Sometimes coasting is key, and other times, you want to slow with regen. Regen was also blended into the brakes, of course.
darelldd 2 years ago
That is nice! Wish I could do that on my Prius. There are times I'd just like to coast, but regen initiates as soon as I take my foot off of the pedal. I suppose it's different due to the small NiMH pack, but still would be nice. On a pure EV I can see how crucial coasting could be to maximize mileage. GM had it right with EV1... shame...
nephil1977 2 years ago
Yeah, every car should have a coast option! One thing to note - you can coast in the Prius with a bit of practice. Let all the way off the gas pedal until you are in regen, and then add just a tiny bit back to the pedal. On the energy screen it will show up as "no arrows" and you are now coasting as efficiently as the Prius will allow.
darelldd 2 years ago
I am helping a 8th grade teacher rebuild one that the postal service used to used.
dmdflyer 2 years ago
It saddens me to think that if GM would have stuck with the EV1 they would be way ahead of the curve today.
Television lost money for decades before finally hitting it big. Same with electric cars. What really floors me is GM losing out on a golden opportunity to expand their customer base and pissing off loyal customers.
AnalMart 2 years ago
I don't think they ever had any intention of making money on this at all. That's the strange part. Otherwise, they would've just sold the cars to the people and not made them do a lease. They also could have sold the vehicles to those who leased them. No, they didn't want electric vehicles to exist. Now, they are trying to develop their clunker the Volt when they could've just used the EV1. I don't believe a god dammed word that government motors puts out.
jmelkis 2 years ago
I have a question ,when they make these kind of cars to run off solar WHY THEY MAKE EM SO UGLY,Y they cant make it look like a lamborghini ,camera,lotus,hell even like a toyo
nighttrain334 2 years ago
"He will have to learn the price of gas" We all learned the price of gas.a couple years later when it hit $ 4 freakin bucks a gallon and now its not much better at $2.60 where I live. Gas cars dont make financial sense for 95% of my driving which averages under 50 miles a day. Its far more practical and affordable to use an electric for commuting and city /town driving and the gas Camry for longer trips. Most people have 2 cars anyway so why not make one an electric.
gandy74 2 years ago
Of course the way GM tells it, the Volt will be much more advanced because it also has a gasoline engine!
I have to point out that EV1 was ten years more advanced in 2006. And you'll notice that the volt still isn't available. So we're looking at 14 years at best. More likely 15 years before GM can managed to make an electric car with a gas engine.
darelldd 2 years ago
I watched the documentary 'Who Killed The Electric Car?' yesterday. I would honestly own one of these.
Interesting to see that this is fully electric but the Volt is a hybrid - the EV1 is more advanced and is 10 years older.
BBQjust4u 2 years ago
I am hardly a "tree hugger" and actually drive a truck. But damn, this is a nice little car and FAST too! I would actually consider driving one. Why use a SUV or F-150 for a daily commute?
I would drive something like this to work and keep my F-150 for weekend runs to Home Depot or camping trips.
AnalMart 2 years ago
The great news here, is that it turns out that you do NOT need to be a "tree hugger" to drive a non-polluting, fun, convenient car. How cool is that? For the record, our EV is our main vehicle, and the big, bad Prius is reserved for the Home Depot and camping trips. :) Seriously.
darelldd 2 years ago
It saddens me to watch this. It must have been sad for you and your family. Look like this car was ahead of it's time, even though really, it wasn't...
Did I notice a Rav4 EV as well? I bet the WKTEC DVD would have been a trip down memory lane. Oh well just think, now you can buy a Tesla Roadster for 800billion dollars! Jokes :-)
turboshagna 2 years ago
It is sad, because GM could have been ahead of the game, but they threw it all away. Now we are supposed to take them seriously regarding the Volt. Puhleeez
LoveTheSupremes 2 years ago
i want an electric rwd camaro that will smoke the tires, that would be cool. seems like the ev1 actually was pretty quick.
ad356 2 years ago
Smoking the tires is something you can do even with severely under-powered EV. Just 50hp electric motor is capable of smoking the tires. The Tesla Roadster does 0-60 in about four seconds. The Wrightspeed X1 does 0-60 in under three seconds. Quick enough? ;)
darelldd 2 years ago
Currently i am working on my own 3phase ac drive lipo conversion, however a vehicle designed from the ground up for electric use would save soo much in weight reduction, and enhance runtime dramaticaly..
I would do almost anything to drive an ev1, i would love to do burnouts with it!
abcdefghiklmnop12345 2 years ago
To smoke the tires there was a little trick to defeat the traction control (that in theory was always on to prevent this very thing). You had to lightly feather the brake pedal with one foot while stomping on the throttle with the other. Without traction control, all these cars would have burned through the drive tires in a month or two. It was THAT fun. :)
darelldd 2 years ago
Btw, thanks a bunch for the video upload, its always interesting to see how ev1 vehicles functioned and performed. Being in canada we never ever got a wif of the ev1, i do recall about 6-7 years ago seeing an ev1 commercial on direct-tv. ;)
abcdefghiklmnop12345 2 years ago
It pisses the hell out of me that they dont have the ev1 or similar type of electric vehcile for consumers to use. As a automotive mechanical engineer, i would love to drive something like this; both for the costs savings, and the perk of driving a powerful electric car.
abcdefghiklmnop12345 2 years ago
I agree with you fully. I mean yes, in the short term, there is some high expenditure compared to your almost cheap-as-free internal-combustion vehicle, but if you look at the price of gas steadily climbing, the pollutants being belched, and the inevitable END of petroleum drilling, electric vehicles definitely have the upper hand. There is a whole other side to be argued, though, about the energy required to generate the electricity, but the earth is rife with renewable sources of power.
Zammtron 2 years ago
All the energy I need for my EVs comes from my roof-mounted PV system. It just isn't that hard!
darelldd 2 years ago
Zammit, in canada all our power is nuclear, or hydroelectirc.. You knew that you silly goose! lol.
Plus the energy to effecency ratio is much greater when using coal power to create electricity then the same ammount of fuel energy being used to run individual gasoline engines. for our american friends.
Coal power is still terrable the least, but its more effecent then indiviual gasoline engines running independently for every vehicle.
abcdefghiklmnop12345 2 years ago
The energy you would save by "filling" up with electricity as opposed to fuel would more than cover the cost of the car. I know this because of a video I saw from a woman that owns an electric Toyota Rav 4
LoveTheSupremes 2 years ago
if i owned an ev1 back in the 90's and early 2000 i would have fought to keep it...
Italia827 2 years ago
And most of us did. Some even went to jail. And all this after offering to buy the cars out for residual value - in cash.
darelldd 2 years ago
G,M, was paid off by the oil companys to kill off the ev1 and crush every one of them.
That is the sad, plain truth !
apatheticempathy 2 years ago
If only it were that simple, we could more easily remedy the situation, I think. But alas there is not just one reason that GM did what it did to their EV program. The reasons were many, and most of them made business sense - at least to the shareholders at the time - and in the short term.
darelldd 2 years ago
Thats a 1st Gen Only The secound generation (1998-2003) got crushed gen 1 Ev1s were sent to museums
bbfanproductions3 2 years ago
Your information is incorrect. There were about 800 of these leased at one time, and there are maybe 12 in museums, and some at universities. Only a small percentage of the original cars have NOT been crushed, regardless of generation.
darelldd 2 years ago
thanks for the info sorry
bbfanproductions3 2 years ago
aw man! i forgot all about this car because i was ten when they started taking them away but i showed this to my dad and he told me that i said when i can drive i want one of these and i wouldnt drive anything else.
Andrew0089 2 years ago
Andrew - I hope you stick to that promise! :)
darelldd 2 years ago
me 2 i get my license in december ( 4 days before christmas =) hint hint ) but i really want an electric car. I just dont have the money to convert or lease one. I wish i had seen an EV1 in person though.
Andrew0089 2 years ago
great video i realy dont understand why they crushed it
bbfanproductions3 2 years ago
Great video and your daughters cute too
bbfanproductions3 2 years ago
It breaks my heart everytime I see a home movie of an EV1 like this. If there was ever a chance of me buying a new GM product, its gone for good.
Can't get over the sound of that car.
grndiesel 2 years ago