Have you heard about the '90s, when the modern electric car burst upon the scene -- only to be quietly disposed of?
No, I'm not talking about the arrival of Tesla. That came later. In the 1990s, there was this newfangled machine called EV1. GM introduced it. It was all the rage among its new owners, who became very faithful to it.
Other companies, such as Toyota and Honda, Ford and Chevrolet (the EV1 was under the GM nameplate, but Chev came out with an electric S10 pickup), jumped on board with their own electrics. A burgeoning new industry awaited America.
Until it got shut down. The oil companies didn't like the EV. You can't make much money off a car that doesn't use oil or gasoline. And, the car companies, themselves, saw a down-side, financially. They make a good share of money off repairs and servicing, and the EV doesn't require that.
So, they shut them down. Despite at outcry from their EV customers, GM recalled all its cars (which were all on lease agreements), and destroyed them. The EV customers raised enough money to buy every one of the EV1s, but GM wouldn't allow it. There were protests throughout California, but GM paid them no heed. GM took all the EV1s, transported them out of state, and shredded them. The other companies followed suit, destroying as many of their EVs as they could.
You have to wonder. It does seem the car manufacturers of today are also resistive to manufacturing EVs, but they have little choice, what with the mandates calling for a certain share of their sales to come from EVs.
(Index -- Climate change info)
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