Have you ever heard of the EV1(A great electric car) and Would you buy one?

Question

check the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
There is a better way and The car companies are keeping it from us!

Answer 1

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Sure, I would buy one. I drive a similar car right now, an electric car built way back in 1981. It's a great car - it handles and accelerates great (electric motors have superior low end torque, and accelerate well), it does freeway speeds, and it's really cheap to drive - only about a penny per mile in electricity. Less than that, in fact, since I often charge it at work.
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There's a lot of misconceptions about electric cars, as you can see from other comments here.
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Electric cars are very reliable, and long lived. My 25-year-old EV has all the original motor parts - the motor has never needed service. That's because electric motors have only one moving part. There's nothing to wear out. While I can't pull into just any old service station, the cost of service is not excessive, especially considering that I need very little of it.
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Electric vehicles are not dangerous to rescue workers. There is no reason to run high voltage wiring into the passenger cabin, just like there's no reason to run gasoline lines there. Plus, while an EV is running, a contactor (electric switch) must be electrically held in position for high voltage to leave the battery box. If anything goes wrong, the electric switch shuts off. Even if the switch does not shut off, a fuse protects the high voltage circuit. Stopping the flow of gasoline would not be this easy, if a gas line broke.
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Lead batteries are also old news, even in the EV1's day (the EV1 used NIMH batteries.) The newest battery tech are the "Altairnanos" in this car:
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http://phoenixmotorcars.com/models/fleet.html
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The Phoenix electric pickup truck can:

-Travel up to 250 miles per charge
-Carry 5 passengers plus cargo at 95mph.
-Charges batteries in as little as TEN MINUTES.
-Has batteries that last 250,000 miles (never need replacement.)
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Answer 2

The EV1 was a decent/pretty good electric vehicle from GM. I saw some here in AZ when they were available. Problem with that vehicle though is the same as all electric vehicles-- range, charging time, battery life, etc.. Today, hybrids are a better options with chargable hybrids being even better.

GM wouldn't allow you to BUY one at the time. You could only lease one. If I remember correctly, the leases where like 500+ per month-- quite pricey for the time.

I don't think I'd buy an EV1. It was a bit odd as cars go. But we've seen that hybrids do have a bit of a following.

Let's not forget folks that gas and diesel engines have beome much much cleaner than years past. In fact, if I remember correctly, one car (Honda I think) actually had exhaust gas cleaner than when air went in-- because of the combustion and catalytic stuff. (I know sounds weird).

Answer 3

Well first things first...it's called marketing. That is one of the ugliest cars on the planet, and as "pretty" a thought it would be to think that something like that doesn't matter to people, it'd be an utter lie.

Second of all, how much electricity is required to charge one of them? How long will that last? Is it easy to charge? Could I do it 3,000 miles from home? The charging unit looks pretty diesel in your link.

What happens to those lead batteries when they're used up? Where are all of the batteries and their innards going? If bums are jacking the catalytic convertors off of the bottoms of cars for a TINY bit of platinum, what do you think they'd do to a car FULL OF copper wire?

Emergency medical technicians require specialized training--or a great first time lesson--to find out how to disable one of these cars in an accident. The currents running through those wires could kill a man, and I'd imagine, it's impossible to spray an electrical car on fire until you've cut one of those lines (very gingerly).

Finally, do you know of any electric car or hybrid mechanics? Ever seen under the hood and body of one of these things? They're mazes of wiring that require more than just your typical garage mechanic to maintain, and combined with a little thing called supply and demand, such a mechanic would command an exceptional value, and in-turn, repairs would be astronomical.

Answer 4

Nope, wouldn't buy one - it wouldn't suit my needs. I need a truck that can haul a horse trailer.

Answer 5

Never heard of it, and no I would not buy one!