Why was EV1 destroyed?
GM loaded the EV1s onto semi trucks, hauled them to Mesa, Ariz. Photos showed flattened EV1s stacked on top of each other. GM said the cars were destroyed because a lack of replacement parts made the EV1 unsafe. There are 2,000 unique parts to this vehicle,” Barthmuss said. Most GM EV1s were crushed, but a handful survived, most being donated to universities and research institutes as static pieces of EV history. A few are known to still be operational. Given their historic significance, their backstory and rarity, EV1s today are very expensive.Despite favorable customer reception, GM believed that electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market, ultimately reclaiming and crushing most of the cars. In 2003, GM terminated the EV1 program, disregarding protests from customers.
What does EV1 mean?
Electric Vehicle 1) The first electric vehicle produced in quantity in the U. S. General Motors modeled the EV1 after its Impact electric vehicle concept car that it unveiled in 1990 at the Los Angeles Auto Show. California’s new zero-emissions regulations were also incentive. The car’s top speed was electronically limited to 80 mph (130 km/h). At the time of release, the lead-acid battery-equipped EV1 was the only electric car produced which met all of the United States Department of Energy’s EV America performance goals.