A while back we looked at the early history of Plug In America. Here is the very publicized GM fight and what the future holds.
GM’s Famous/Infamous EV1. GM’s gaffe in handling the EV1 showed how the invincible company handled the matter giving the electric vehicles, EV brand new lease on life. By the late 2003, the EV1 was at its second generation with better performance, shaming the internal combustion engines, ICE with its superior reliability and relative lack of maintenance. It was an embarrassment to GM who had maintained for decades EVs were not possible when its own were being driving on the road. DontCrush.com decided to stage a stand in when GM decided to crush them. At that time, Chris Payne, director of the up and coming “Who killed the electric car?” was filming his documentary of the fledgling group at the gates where GM would send the EV1s to their final destination. After a 28 day sit in and 2 arrests, the Washington Times broke the story and the media was in a frenzy. GM caught in a bind decided to speed up the process by sending all cars out to be crushed somewhere in Arizona. The anecdote was that Chelsea Sexton was following one of the burly truck driver who felt threatened enough to call the Arizona State Police who held her 45 minutes on a desert road in a very threatening way.
The Toyota Battle. Now it was Toyota’s turn since they were moving to stop selling the RAV4 EVs with unhappy owners. With a few weekend demonstrations in front of a Santa Monica dealership, Toyota was shamed enough to open negotiations and agree to provide parts for it. At this point, DontCrush.com becomes Plug In America.
PIA Gets Involved. PIA is proud to have gotten involved with local, state and federal government on crucial electric drive and alternative energy decision. The latest is trying to get CARB to look into loopholes that is allowing some car makers to get full credits for short term projects instead of rewarding those who have serious long lasting plans.
Paul never felt threatened and this little movement grew into an imposing advocacy group. What was good about talking to him is that PIA’s interested is not just about the electric drive but also plug-ins, hydrogen and alternative energy. It was nice to talk to a rational person, although very vocal that can see the value in any given solutions.
For more information: Plug In America, Who Killed The Electric Car?, Wikipedia on the Ford Ranger, the RAV4 EV and GM’s EV1.