Who Killed The Electric Car?

In the 1990s following California's passing of the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate American car companies began producing electric cars for mainstream consumption. GM's EV1 which was by all accounts quiet fast and capable of driving up to 80 miles on one charge used no gasoline and quickly developed an intensely devoted following in California. But even as its popularity grew car manufacturers were fighting the mandate; it was overturned and by 2005 just about every single EV1 had been recalled crushed and shredded. GM put its resources into the Hummer instead. WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? looks at the tangled web of interests behind the car's untimely demise laying out convincing cases against the auto industry big oil corrupt federal and state governments and consumers themselves. Chris Paine's directorial debut is not especially stylish but it is effective. He leads viewers through the twisty maze of politics and profit that surrounds the main story taking time to dwell on the passionate attachment that many