General Motors EV1 OverView

If You Agree That EV's (Electric Vehicles) Are The Answer To Our Pollution Problems & The Cure To Our Addiction To Oil Please Subscribe & Leave A Comment Thank You.
This is a fairly detailed over view of the GM EV1

[@geraquiroz6288]

It was way ahead of its time. 80 miles on lead/acid. Imagine lithium ion. Too bad GM destroyed most of them

[@geraquiroz6288]

I stand corrected, there are few that survived.

[@benji888578]

gera quiroz no, the only ones they sent to schools/museums are disabled. They really didn't want the general public to know they can do this. I lived outside of California and knew nothing about this electric car available only in California...until 2009 when I came acrross the DVD: "Who Killed The Electric Car" at my local library.

[@markplott4820]

gera quiroz - 2nd generation EV1 has NIMH Battery.

[@MarquosXoloVanda]

Tesla says hi. Oh by the way for anyone reading this, electric vehicles have been around since the late 1800s!

[@pika62221]

@@MarquosXoloVanda yeah, they're called golf carts! This was the first modern electric car, because it had computers.

[@SpencerHHO]

What a waste that this was scrapped. GM might never have needed bailing out if they committed to this.

[@benji888578]

People don't seem to see long-term effects, or think long-term, but, I saw this too, that is what happened. GM closed the plant for EV1 and within a month bought Hummer. They had their chance to be the leader in Electric Vehicles. Now Tesla is actually doing it...once gigafactory is up and running, and the less expensive model produced in larger numbers, that'll be the beginning of the end of ICE cars.

[@GANTZ100pts]

benji888578 On a funny note isn't the gigafactory an old GM plant? Also as much as I like Tesla's idea of selling directly to us instead of us having to go to a dealer ship, I really think he should look into partnering up with dealer ships that exclusively already sell electric cars. You know though's small dealer ships that sell though's small EVs and maybe a few Leafs? Just think how huge-er (Tesla) would become if he made a partnership with them. Teslas would fly even faster off the line.

[@lijay1]

+GANTZ100pts Nah, the Gigafactory is a brand new building that's being built outside of Sparks, NV to produce more batteries than virtually everybody else in the world, combined. You're thinking about the Nummi Factory in Fremont, CA, where the Model S and X are assembled.

[@MysteryPlaysRoblox]

I'm from the future and ev are getting popular

[@moderatesunited]

They lost massive amounts of money on each car. There's no way by 2008 this car would have somehow made them enough money to not go bankrupt. Also no charging infrastructure. That also would have incurred even more debt. People are delusional thinking that this car would have saved GM. Brain washed by Martin Sheen.

[@JEEPnF100]

I remember riding to school in my dad's back in the late 90's. EVERYONE wanted to get a ride in my dad's "future car". I miss our EV1 :(

[@link0587]

Wow. I can imagine watching this back in the 90s and being wowed by the amazing technology.

[@robdogracing]

@dougdemuro I found a sound clip of the EV1s Pedestrian Horn at 6:20! Bazinga!

[@alonsogt3]

@dougdemuro look!

[@rick_s]

Exactly why I came to this video today haha

[@GANTZ100pts]

Just imagine how much MORE range it would be getting now using lithium ion battery's, using the same T shape to house the packs.

[@markplott4820]

GANTZ100pts - 2170 cells are better and higher energy density, a skateboard Battery Pack is more efficient.

[@jacksonbangs6603]

Exactly!

[@markheggeland]

"corrosion resistant, non-metal exterior panels" .... plastic

[@kris4733]

The american way

[@bonosimic532]

try carbon fiber compsoites and fibre glass fiber fabric.

[@VintageToiletsRock]

When you try to describe your junk on craigslist.

[@electrictroy2010]

My friend’s Saturn was plastic too..... the paint did not stick & peeked off .

[@JspookSS]

Damn the EV1 was badass

[@dudemp4]

Looks slightly like a bland viper but its still sick

[@insideLCPD]

SHAME ON GM AND OIL COMPANIES TO DESTROY SUCH A BEAUTIFUL INVENTION.... SHAME ON US HUMANS... destroying ourselves with our hands......

[@bibbler227]

I don't really think we need a major conspiracy to blame on the EV-1's demise. The car was simply a tad ahead of it's time. Had GM not killed the project when it did, the battery technology would have caught up with the vehicle. As it was, the car was way too expensive to manufacture (and make a profit), especially in a limited production run. An EV-1 today with a cluster of 18650 Lithium-ion batteries and advances in software would a been a winner, and I believe could of been profitable.

[@DrSurprise]

now thats a car!

[@daxterreid]

This is sick man , so ahead of its time

[@peterstanfa]

Since we own part of GM we think they should bring back the EV1 now at the $25,000 price. Maybe the new CEO has a heart, instead of deep pockets.

[@zzap999]

This is what happens when u have business bureaucrats making bad decisions vs visionaries like Elon Musk. The EV1 could have been today's Tesla.

[@tylersimpson2974]

It had wireless charging? Wow.

[@markplott4820]

Tyler Simpson - nope, EV1 had Induction charging, you still had to insert a Contact Paddle, to charge it and you still had to Plug in the Charger to AC.

[@Sibs]

@@markplott4820 Induction charging is "wireless" charging. So the paddle end had the wireless part, just like a wireless charging pad for your phone. Obviously there is no true "wireless" charging yet.

[@markplott4820]

@@Sibs - GM tried Induction charging with its EV1 , but that TECH was Abandoned for the current charging system. Induction Charging is a Pipedream, wont be Implimented on a Large scale like Superchargers are. TECH is too Expensive, however it HAS been Demonstrated that WIFI Charging does work and the Freeways/Highhway can be set up for WIFI wireless charging.

[@Sibs]

@@markplott4820 so did they eventually switched to a regular plug instead of that plate? I'm not too familiar with the EV1

[@markplott4820]

@@Sibs - NO, the EV1 has a Paddle Charger induction system, the Front of the EV1 had a TOASTER slot, where you Inserted a Induction Charger, it was NOT Efficient NOR was it Innovative, the Honda Insight and 1st gen Prius has Plug in Chargers from DAY ONE, more convienent.

[@doiico]

The oil companies had something to do why the production of this car stopped. It was during the bush administration. Remember bush is ceo of texaco an oil company..

[@charger19691]

These cars should of NEVER been killed. I lost respect for GM after they killed the EV-1 . All that money and research, development all shot to hell. The EV-1 would of been GM's greatest car.

[@saneauto]

I found one of these here in Ga Filmed it and put it on my page.

[@SuperCrazyDiscoKangaroo9001]

The features your see in this car can also be seen in many new cars today.

[@LanceHyena]

I can imagine an alternate future when we had old 80s and 90s cars that were fully electric and had a devoted following. Ngl I like the early and late 90s look of cars even though it may seem plain or ugly to many.

[@johnnyrocksable]

Now we have lithium batteries and they are improving all the time. If we would have keep working on this design while selling and leasing them where would we be today? Design and development costs paid. New designs with lithium batteries and lower mass production costs. A public that is accustomed to electric cars being the future not just a pipe dream. When the change does start, people with gas powered cars will feel a sense of living in the past and will want to move forward and join the class of people that are moving into the future. This car could have done that for GM and I see it as a great missed opportunity. Soon some one will build an affordable electric car for the common man and all other car makers will be playing catch up.

[@jacksonbangs6603]

How about Nissan and their 100% electric Leaf?

[@bibbler227]

Yes, but that's common sense. Having solar panels and a wind turbine at your home to charge your electric car. As a matter of fact, it's a good idea whether you have an electric car at not. I personally have just started playing with a few small solar panels that I use to charge batteries in my Ham Shack. I hope to convert my garage next to all solar (this winter's project, although I plan to have the panels mounted in the next month or so)

[@DAVIDSDIEGO]

I still remember that car when I was kid...

[@78Caprice]

Dumbest thing of the century when GM pulled these great cars back and had them crushed. SHAME ON U GM!

[@MrEmptyHand]

I remember seeing these on the road in California. Too bad GM crushed and shredded em up, on account of people not needin em in these here days, yep!

[@TBman256]

no, I mean there is a documentary called "What is the electric car?"

[@MrACP1911]

Damn this battery is the same shape as in my 2017 Volt

[@markplott4820]

MrACP1911 - YES, no innovation at GM, just making the same stuff. The VOLT can be improved by making it A BEV.

[@fairyheli2]

then: 90 miles at 55 mph now: "100" miles at 55 mph we have come so far

[@michaelhorta8649]

Now we are at 335 mpge. We truly have come far.

[@ThompYT]

well a tesla is like 300miles at 55mph

[@Rarrin9378]

R.I.P EV1

[@cluberic]

GM paid $600 to destroy each EV instead of selling the 1,000 EV1s for $33,000 each. They invested over $1 billion dollars in the project and threw it away This is why i extremely distrust GM. Ford & Toyota are the only brands i will ever buy.

[@KiaK7Electric]

Gm in 1990s: welcome to the future! Gm in 2000s: scraps all evs Gm now: buy our evs!

[@MrEnergyCzar]

Awesome video...

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

Big oil managed to push electric cars back by 30 years by killing the ev1. Going to be interesting to see how they will do it this time, oh wait they are behind most of the charging stations:)

well, more like 10-25years I'd say, depending whether we consider Roadster, Model S or Model 3 as an "equivalent" ;) Leaf/Bolt not so much, although considering their ~150km/h top speed I'd say they're kind of EV1-ish

[@JonHawaii2003]

They never owned them, they were all leased. That is how a lease works.

[@MrLittleRacer]

i always wanted to own this car in the 90s :-)

[@fireballxl5768]

EVs make more sense here in Europe with high petrol tax,would like to be driving a EV1 !

[@Nichen]

Lovely footage, I've never seen this before!

[@fireballxl5768]

Would love to have this now with a modern battery,like the looks I like cars that look different. What could have been if they had developed it further,would have been good here in the UK with high petrol prices !

[@DAcePuma]

Bestes Auto und das 1990 und 20 Jahre Späte kommen sie nicht an die Technik ran ... Best Car Ever

[@Nichen]

This video is like a big FINGER shown to GM after killing the electric car and the documentary. UP YOURS GM! :)

[@DancingGeisha86]

Breaks my heart what Gm did to these cars... hell if they still where around i buy it in a heart beat! for a lil eletric car this car kicks up pretty quick. This car probably would have changed the street/Track racing community as well.. still so sad... T.T

[@linkskywalker5417]

They didn't destroy all of the EV1s, but they destroyed so many of them that I doubt anyone of the later generation y years has seen one on the road today

[@benji888578]

the few that were not destroyed were disabled, only given to schools/museums, and they were given to them to study, under the stipulation they could not make it drive on the road.

[@markplott4820]

Link Skywalker - there can LEGALLY be any EV1 on the road, GM crushed most of the cars, the Survivors are disabled undriveable cars in museums.

[@Trades46]

I did a project back in 2007 where me and a friend lambasted GM for killing the EV1. Today in 2017 however while the EV1 is missed, GM kind of redeemed itself with the brilliant Bolt, which I got a chance to drive a week ago.

[@bofaf3tt]

Trades46 not really though. how did they come out with a brand new electric car with maybe a third of the range of this? somethings not right about it

[@jacksonbangs6603]

@@bofaf3tt the Chevrolt Bolt is rated for 200+ miles. That is way better than the EV1.

[@misterbuklau4053]

@@jacksonbangs6603 ev1 was the first of its time

[@MICHGO1]

BRILLIANT BOLT?

[@anthonybha4510]

Hahahahaha. They can barely sell those. GM is being blown away by a company building cars in a former GM plant

[@AndY1ksi]

Interesting. When they (GM) crushed the EV1, they said, that it's range of 160 mi (260 km) wasn't enough for an average american. OPEL Ampera is a part of GM production, and suddenly an average american, european and chinese drives only 60km per day. Check for the presentation from Frank Weber - Development Chief Opel Ampera & Chevorlet Volt. Search KZbin for 'Opel Ampera'.

[@iTheftAuto]

Lead Acid batteries are bad when they have to be reinstalled, but they came out with a second generation in '98 that had only NiMH Batteries, something you find in rechargeable Double-A batteries.

[@gaiuspliniussecundus1455]

Very clean interface, functional. Beatiful really

[@bsanchez3563]

The chemistry of the battery makes sense that it is a trade off although that still ig would be more of a rec thing than for transportation much less a travel as thatd be bad to be stuck somewhere with no place to charge but yeah the concept of being able to create that is pretty nifty... plus for merely experimenting itd be probably fun to see what it looks like inside or how comfy it is etc for mere recreation purposes or for taking it to go camping for a about a a day or so...

[@markod1977]

Lovely car!

[@TOR1Hershman]

I am quite proud that GM has paid homage to my video "Chanting The Name Of The Turd" with the 'Bowing Gumby' in the GMC Terrain SLE-1 TV spot ,

[@SniperSnake50BMG]

With my Grom type motorcycle I could stuff 160Ah of LFP battery... The EV1 would have been more competitive than the bolt with nowadays Batts

[@rossasaurus]

I'll take one!

[@lostindiancamp]

@athlonz2007 I wonder what the driving range would have been here in South Texas where the A/C is used almost every day?

[@jhudso15]

It sure is! I would die for one of these cars! I could take it to work then charge it and go home, all with no gas! I really wish they would make a pure electric car again. :)

[@SuperSurr73]

Tesla answered your wishes

[@electrictroy2010]

I knew a guy named Doug Wickstrom that worked at GM’s EV1 division. QUOTE: “The range of 130 miles is bogus. None of them ever achieved that under normal driving conditions. Running the air conditioning or heater could halve that range. Even running the headlights reduced it by 10%. “Minimum recharge time was two hours using special charging stations that (except for fleet use) didn't exist..... NiMH batteries that had lasted up to three years in testing were failing after 6 months in service. There was no way to keep them from overheating without doubling the size of the battery pack. Lead-acid batteries were superior to NiMH in actual daily use.” “You cannot turn batteries "off." This is the reason the vehicles were leased, rather than sold. As long as the terms of the lease prohibited maintenance by other than a Hughes technician, GM's liability in the event of a screw-up was much reduced. Technicians can encounter high voltages in hybrid vehicles. In the EV1, there were really high voltages present. “Lessees were complaining that their electric bills had increased to the point that they'd rather be using gasoline..... the car was a dream to drive, if you didn't mind being stranded between Bakersfield and Barstow on a hot July afternoon when a battery blew up from the combined heat of the day and the current draw.“

[@carlosmalave540]

What a shame, that a small start-up company in Fremont California would up-hand GM in the future. Teslamotors is the name.

[@MICHGO1]

YUP, AND GM IS STILL FALLING BEHIND. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.#History

[@MICHGO1]

THE GUITARIST IS DOING HIS BEST TO DROWN OUT THE VOICE OVER.

[@99dndd]

then we crushed them all. The End.

[@MenwithHill]

Watch "Who killed the electric car ?". Electric car existed since... 1905.

[@tony12345pl]

@gab1971 if they had the ev1 they wouldnt be out of buisness or they would start selling it at chevy ,buick ,GMC etc.. dealers

[@RealMudSkipper]

I WANT ONE

[@ckildegaard]

It was just absolutely stupid for GM to crush these vehicles. Now they're coming out with the Volt. Hmm...how long will that be around for? Until 2020? Then those will get crushed too I bet. It's sad. They look to me like they were absolutely awesome cars.California should NEVER have dropped the mandate, and even when they did they should have let people keep the cars...they'd get plenty of money from it...especially if they massed produced them and advertised well.

[@mattdudley13]

Free energy, surely not, but renewable energy does exist, just costs more than non renewable energy, Still a viable option to have an EV if you have your own solar panels or windmill. I don't, so I just drive an old pickup

[@ivaniclixx]

@wtl1964 I insist, ok, never sold, only leasing, but still something real, not "just a prototype".

[@AJoppe78]

These cars could have been made very affordable for people

[@ivaniclixx]

@wtl1964 NOT a prototype

[@therealwillie2024]

@ivaniclixx yes to test out in the market never sold to the public

[@kenzeliano]

She Gone!

[@BeyondOrdinaryTV]

1st comment in last 8 years

[@kobayashiharuno]

why it was destroyed ?

[@nalendraalif1116]

GM should make EV2

[@mattdudley13]

At the time the EV1 was introduced as the Impact concept in 1990, renewable/ Free energy didn't exist and it was just coming into play when the EV1 was released.. At the time the EV1 was in use, it was a novelty, and GM knew they couldn't afford to keep parts on the shelf, they knew they couldn't even sell it. Nowadays electric cars are just becoming viable options. Goverment did not kill the EV1, just discontinued a mandate before it happened. GM axed the EV1 program for financial reasons.

[@VintageToiletsRock]

So basically GM created an ultra basic Tesla a decade before that and then scrapped it? Makes their current lineup look like garbage in comparison.

[@MICHGO1]

TESLA WAS STARTED BECAUSE OF GM'S BONE HEADED DECISION. THEY'RE STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP TO TESLA. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.#History

[@DeeDee-rx3cb]

Gm killed 2 great things. This, and the 3800 engine

[@donfarlan214]

i think the dmc was better with stainless steel body and that great pujeot engine of its day ,wow that was some ferrari

[@markplott4820]

Don farlan - imagine a DMC with Dual Motor and a 100 kWh Battery.

[@StarcraftAlphaBeta]

2 Movies to see: Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) Revenge of the Electric Car (2011) Thumbs up if you wish others to see these.

[@ThompYT]

Tesla was a warning!

[@markmorrow8o]

thats bullshit, so they werent allowed to purchase them?.. wow. talk about conspiracy

[@bhuwangurung2557]

i like this car, and want to buy it.

[@cjmillsnun]

+Bhuwan Gurung You'll never be able to. Most of them have been crushed by GM. The ones that aren't are disabled permanently.

[@drsmack3000]

Buy a Tesla Model 3 instead :-) IT's actually going to be around the same price as what the EV1 would have sold for and seats 4 people. The range is improved since EV1 was lead acid batteries and Tesla is using lithium ion.

[@akzebraminer]

Bhuwan Gurung buy a tesla model 3 because it's the closest you'll get with the same price as the EV1

[@Robodogggg]

They don't want the electric car, because there is a lot of oil to sell worldwide. First they want to do the biggest business worldwide - oil business- The electric car is possible, but there are other forces who fight against this, because of money... it's always the same reason...money..money...money........

[@gab1971]

Guys, this car would be gone now anyway. GM has removed Saturn, so it would be no longer made.

[@rhcplover100]

@gab1971 it wasn't even a saturn car. they sold it at saturn dealerships to market the car to younger people

[@SPR00KS]

No ashtray?

[@flyhouseoftruth470]

They had batteries at the time that gave this car a 300 mile range with all accessories on. they choose to use their lead acid Delco batteries instead.

[@markplott4820]

Fly house of truth - Umm, even in the 2nd generation EV1 , they had NIMH Battery, still not Efficient.

[@Zeroini]

Tesla Model S is coming with a 350mile charge life. They are also working with toyota with a all power rav-4.

[@generatrix999]

Can't really blame GM, they were threatened by big oil, but took down in the end anyway.

[@MICHGO1]

AT ONE TIME GM WAS A MIGHTY COMPANY. NOW? HA!

[@Visibleguy132]

we now know where toyota got that gauge for the prius

[@haggman7]

haha yeah...Tesla is like teasing GM and showing GM what they could've had.

[@StarcraftAlphaBeta]

@TBman256 Revenge of the Electric Car (2011) It's about home made electric cars, nissan leaf, chevrolet volt, tesla car

[@hom2fu]

back to the future

[@Jesus6587123]

Because of what gm did to ev1 I may never like gm again except for the corvette and the camaro...............

[@misterbuklau4053]

Firebird and gto too

[@artwalsh5071]

This is what chia wants and i think gm would make$$$

[@TBman256]

@StarcraftAlphaBeta another one What is the electric car?

[@fullerjames12901]

wow. this was 13 years ago. i would still take this over any new gas car today. but that's silly. NOBODY wants these ;)

[@mil161]

@andrieux They are bringing it back, Its going to be called The Chevrolet Volt

[@ph11n70]

pena q nao exista mais

[@chicagoelectricbicyc]

this car could have revolutionized the auto industry. Stupid rick wagoner harvard grad killed it.

[@jcwgarrett]

Damn oil companies

[@mrnarason]

wow inductive charging, wireless charging

[@THESocialJusticeWarrior]

The removed the limiter and it hit 183 mph

[@chestateegold]

the only problem with this one was that you couldnt recharge the battery during driving like with the volt