June 28, 2006
Who Killed the Electric Car?
By Michael Rechtshaffen
The promising life and clandestine death of the electric vehicle is
afforded a thoroughly revealing autopsy (or is that auto-opsy?) in
"Who Killed the Electric Car?" a dynamic documentary by
first-time director and steadfast EV driver, Chris Paine.
Screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival (it premiered in January at Sundance), the smartly presented film is built to last in theaters, what with the price of gas these days and the global-warming dialogue generated by that other talked-about docu, "An Inconvenient Truth."
Turns out Ed Begley Jr. isn't the only electric vehicle fanatic roaming the streets, as Paine gathers such converts as Mel Gibson, Peter Horton and former "Bay Watch" babe-turned-EV activist Alexandra Paul.
But eight years after the much-heralded 1996 arrival of GM's fast, sleek EV1, the automaker terminated all leases (the vehicle was never made available for purchase), sending them to the crusher as Honda, Toyota and Ford also would pull their fleets off the streets.
Determined to find out who ultimately was responsible for the pulling of the plug, Paine brings in the usual suspects.
But in addition to the car companies, who contended that they couldn't make enough green from going green, and obviously the oil companies, who have grown accustomed to selling nearly 3 billion gallons of gas a week, fingers also are pointed in the direction of the California Air Resources Board, which backed off of its original Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate under pressure from the auto industry and Washington.
Neither is the fickle consumer left off the hook, as the gas-guzzling SUV proved to be a sexier proposition.
Boasting a particularly articulate and colorful bunch of noncelebrity talking heads, including former Jimmy Carter energy adviser S. David Freeman and Bill Reinert, the straight-shooting national manager of advanced technologies for Toyota who doesn't exactly sing the praises of the much-touted hydrogen fuel cell, the lively film maintains its challenging pace.
Throw in some clearly committed Martin Sheen narration, and you've got yourself a highly charged, undeniably thought-provoking vehicle.
