GM restarts electric vehicle program!

(Originally posted May 29, 2008)

Awhile back I mentioned the movie Who Killed the Electric Car?, which chronicled the sad demise of GM's electric vehicle program, to the point where every single one of the experimental EV-1's was systematically repossessed from its owner and crushed or deactivated, effectively ending GM's brief foray into alternatively-fueled vehicles.

Last week, the cover story of Business Week magazine detailed how GM realizes that high gasoline prices are most likely here to stay, and that they are losing market share to companies like Toyota and Honda, whose alternatively-fueled vehicle businesses are thriving. The designers at GM are now frantically trying to make up for lost time by energetically pursuing development of new vehicles, including plug-in electrics and hybrids. It's an interesting mea culpa from what was once the largest company in the U.S., which is now suffering the same fate as the rest of the American auto industry, and it outlines the effort GM is putting into trying to not only catch up to the companies that have passed them in sales, but to once again become an innovator and an industry leader. The whole article can be viewed here. Recommended reading.

For those interested in the high-end electric vehicle market, check out the Tesla Roadster. No, I don't get a commission if you buy one!