The Documentary GM Doesn Posted by: Joe Tracy, Publisher

Before seeing "Who Killed the Electric Car?" I saw and reviewed a very poorly produced documentary about global warming titled "An Inconvenient Truth".  "An Inconvenient Truth" is a documentary where most movie critics conveniently looked over terrible execution of an otherwise vitally important message. Why do I mention that? Because “Who Killed the Electric Car,” which also received rave reviews, helps confirm the points I made in my “An Inconvenient Truth” review… more on that later. First, let’s examine what makes “Who Killed the Electric Car?” one of the most interesting murder mystery stories of the year…

“Who Killed the Electric Car?” is the true story of the EV1 cars that GM produced in order to comply with a California law requiring automakers to produce a certain percentage of zero-emission vehicles. The documentary traces how this amazing concept was sabotaged and how the electric car met a very destructive death.

When “Who Killed the Electric Car?” first opens, it is showing a funeral procession. I must admit that I was turned off by this opening scene and worried that director Chris Paine was about to deliver a terrible documentary, much like “An Inconvenient Truth”. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The documentary backtracks the story and leads you right back up to the funeral procession in order to understand it. Then the impact hits you and by the end of the documentary people who generally don’t like the concept of boycotts may find themselves having a strong desire to never buy a GM car again.

When you find out that GM bought controlling interest in the battery company making its EV1 car batteries then turned around and sold that controlling interest to an oil company, you’ll just shake your head in disbelief.

When you learn that at the same time GM was shredding its EV1 cars they were also producing the Hummer, you’ll become puzzled at how a company could have such a lack of concern for oil consumption and the health of Americans.

When you see how fast and efficient the EV1 car was, you may find yourself ready to buy the next one that hits the marketplace. Are you listening automotive companies? Americans are tiring quickly of high gas prices, smog, and a dependence on other nations for oil.

“Who Killed the Electric Car?” is an example of really effective documentary filmmaking for many reasons:

1) Story. It’s an interesting story that people with deep pockets don’t want the public to know about.

2) Interviews. Dozens of people and experts are interviewed in order to help shape the story from multiple angles.

3) Insight. Why would corporate America want to kill something that would benefit humans, health, and the environment? This documentary answers “why” through some very insightful interviews and facts.

I lived in California at the time the electric cars were becoming popular. I remember going to Costco and seeing two electric car stations, at the front of the store, for people with electric cars to park and charge while shopping. I remember the blue signs along the freeway announcing “Electric Car Recharging Station – Next Exit”. California was on the cutting edge in solving a major problem (pollution from cars, smog, etc.) then suddenly it all just disappeared.

I never knew what happened to the electric car. It went so quietly that I hadn’t really given it a second thought. Then one day I saw a trailer for “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and suddenly all those memories came back and I was ready to learn the truth.

When watching “Who Killed the Electric Car?” you’ll find yourself both entertained and enraged. You’ll start by saying “California was so smart…” and end by saying “how could California be so stupid?”

Paine gets it right with “Who Killed the Electric Car?”. He films dozens of experts on the subject, backing up the assertions made in the documentary. In fact, in the first five minutes of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” we’ve already heard from more experts, specifically on the subject of global warming, than in the entire “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary. The inconvenient truth here is that “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is a lesson on the importance of quoting more than one source in order to get a point across.

No doubt, “Who Killed the Electric Car?” is going to be a major thorn in the side of GM who thought they had heard the last of protesters when they took the last batch of their EV1’s and shredded them. That was just the beginning…