General Motors EV1
The General Motors EV1 is a subcompact car that was produced from 1996 to 1999 by the American automaker General Motors. A two-door, two-seat coupe, it was the first attempt by a major American automaker at a purpose-built, mass-produced electric vehicle following the 1990 introduction of the emissions standards in the US.
In 1990, GM debuted the battery electric Impact prototype, from which the design of the production EV1 was largely inspired. The California Air Resources Board enacted a mandate that year, stating that the seven leading automakers marketing vehicles in the US must produce and sell zero-emissions vehicles to maintain access to the California market. GM began manufacturing the car in 1996. In its initial stages of production, most of them were leased to consumers in California, Arizona, and Georgia. Within a year of the EV1's release, leasing programs were also launched in various other American states.
Produced in two short generations, the EV1 featured a lightweight aluminum frame and a three-phase AC induction motor capable of producing. At the 1998 Detroit Auto Show, GM unveiled several EV1 prototypes, comprising a series hybrid, a parallel hybrid, a compressed natural gas variant, and a four-door conversion. 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.
The EV1's cancellation has remained a subject of dispute. Electric car enthusiasts, environmental interest groups, and former EV1 lessees have accused the company of self-sabotaging its electric car program to avoid potential losses in spare parts sales, while also blaming the oil industry for conspiring to keep electric cars off the road. Its discontinuation inspired the documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car?, and GM gained a reputation as the company "that killed the electric car".
History
During the 1970s and 1980s, progress in electric vehicle development had largely stalled, with over 80percent of vehicles produced in the US powered by V8 engines. The enactment of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment and the 1992 Energy Policy Act, alongside the introduction of new transportation emissions regulations by the California Air Resources Board, led to a renewed interest in electric vehicles in the US.As opposed to many electric vehicles of its time, the EV1 was a mass-produced and purpose-built battery electric vehicle rather than a conversion of another car. Kenneth Baker, a General Motors engineer, was the lead engineer for the EV1 program, having previously served as such for the unsuccessful Chevrolet Electrovette program in the 1970s.
Development
At the 1990 Los Angeles Auto Show, GM chairman Roger Smith demonstrated the Impact, a battery electric concept car. The company initially planned to produce 20,000 units but later raised the goal to 100,000 vehicles per year. Developed by the electric vehicle company AeroVironment, the Impact featured design knowledge gained from GM's success in the 1987 World Solar Challenge—a trans-Australian race for solar-powered cars, which the automaker's Sunraycer won. Alan Cocconi from AC Propulsion designed and built the original drive system electronics for the Impact, which was further developed by Hughes Electronics. The Impact was powered by 32 lead–acid rechargeable batteries and had a top speed of. On April 18, 1990, Smith announced that the Impact would become a production vehicle, with a goal of 25,000 annual units.The CARB launched a major environmental initiative in 1990. The board required the seven largest automakers in the US—with GM as the largest—to ensure that twopercent of their fleets were emission-free by 1998, rising to fivepercent by 2001 and tenpercent by 2003, depending on consumer demand. CARB said that the mandate was intended to combat California's severe air pollution, which at the time exceeded the combined pollution levels of the other forty-nine states. In response, other members of the former American Automobile Manufacturers Association, including Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, also developed prototype zero-emissions vehicles.
In 1994, GM launched PrEView, a program in which fifty hand-built Impact electric cars were loaned to drivers for one- to two-week periods, with the requirement that participants document their experiences and provide feedback. Driver feedback on the Impact was positive, as were assessments from the automotive press. Motor Trend said that the Impact "is precisely one of those occasions where GM proves beyond any doubt that it knows how to build fantastic automobiles" and called it "the world's only electric vehicle that drives like a real car". Automobile magazine commended its ride and handling as "amazing" and praised its "smooth delivery of power". That same year, a modified Impact set a production electric vehicle land speed record of. Despite the good reception, as highlighted in a front-page feature in The New York Times, GM appeared to be unenthusiastic about the prospect of having created a successful electric car:
According to the report, GM considered the PrEView program a failure, concluding that electric cars were not yet commercially viable and that CARB regulations should be rescinded. Dennis Minano, GM's vice president for Energy and Environment, questioned whether consumers actually wanted electric vehicles. Robert James Eaton, chairman of Chrysler, expressed doubt about the readiness of mass-produced electric cars, stating in 1994: "If the law is there, we'll meet it at this point of time, nobody can forecast that we can make an electric car". Their skepticism drew criticism from Thomas C. Jorling, Commissioner of Environmental Conservation for New York State, which had adopted California's emissions program. Jorling argued that consumers had shown substantial interest in electric vehicles and suggested that automakers were reluctant to move away from internal combustion technology because of their massive existing investments.
History of production
Following the PrEView program, work on the GM electric car program persisted. The original fifty Impact cars were destroyed after testing was completed, and the design had evolved into the EV1 by 1996. The first generation of the EV1 was powered by lead–acid batteries; 660 units were produced, all of which were provided under a leasing agreement that explicitly prohibited purchase. Saturn was responsible for leasing and maintenance of the EV1. Analysts projected a potential market ranging from 5,000 to 20,000 cars annually. An industry insider estimated that each EV1 cost GM roughly $80,000 to produce when factoring in research, development, and related expenses, while other reports placed the figure closer to $100,000. GM invested just under $500 million in the EV1 and associated electric vehicle technologies, and more than $1 billion overall.GM pre-screened lessees, limiting initial eligibility to residents of Southern California and Arizona, with the program beginning on December 5, 1996. Leasing rates for the EV1s ranged from $399 to $549 a month. The car's launch was accompanied by an extensive $8 million promotional campaign that included prime-time television commercials, billboards, a dedicated website, and a tie-in appearance at the premiere of the Sylvester Stallone film Daylight. Early lessees included several high-profile figures, among them celebrities, executives, and politicians. At the debut event, forty leases were signed, with GM projecting 100 by the end of the year. In its first year, GM leased 288 vehicles. In 1999, Ken Stewart, the brand manager for the EV1 program, characterized the feedback from the car's drivers as "wonderfully-maniacal loyalty".
Joe Kennedy, Saturn's vice president of marketing at GM, acknowledged public concerns about the EV1's high cost, reliance on lead–acid battery technology, and limited driving range, remarking, "Let us not forget that technology starts small and grows slowly before technology improves and costs go down." Some anti-tax groups criticized the incentives provided to EV1 lessees, claiming they amounted to government-subsidized driving for the wealthy. Marvin Rush, a cinematographer for the television series Star Trek: Voyager, observed that GM was failing to properly market the EV1. He spent $20,000 of his own money to produce and air four unofficial radio advertisements promoting the vehicle. Although GM initially disapproved of the advertisements, the company later reimbursed Rush and officially endorsed the commercials. By 1997, GM had committed $10 million to EV1 advertising, with plans to increase the budget by another $5 million the following year.
In 1998, GM introduced the second-generation EV1. The update yielded reduced production costs, quieter operation, and significant reductions in weight. The second-generation models were initially released with a Panasonic lead–acid battery pack; soon after, an Ovonics nickel–metal hydride battery was added as an option. The second generation EV1 leasing program expanded to several other American cities, with monthly payments ranging from $349 to $574. GM produced and leased 457 second-generation EV1s. On March 2, 2000, GM issued a recall for 450 first-generation EV1s. The automaker had determined that a faulty charge port cable could eventually build up enough heat to catch on fire. Sixteen "thermal incidents" were reported, including at least one fire that resulted in the destruction of a charging vehicle. The recall did not affect second generation EV1s.
Design
Construction and technology
To maximize the car's efficiency, extensive wind-tunnel testing was conducted on the EV1, and GM additionally implemented partial fender skirts on the rear wheelhouses. The rear wheels are closer together than the front wheels, thereby creating a "teardrop" shape. These resulted in a very low and a. The EV1 was supported by super-lightweight magnesium alloy wheels and low-rolling resistance tires developed by Michelin. The tires were mounted on light fourteen-inch wheels and inflated to 50 pounds per square inch. The rubber compound and hardness of these tires helped to minimize rolling resistance.Almost all of the EV1's components were engineered to maximize energy efficiency. Its spaceframe, constructed of rolled, stamped, and cast aluminum, was the lightest of its kind, weighing just —40percent less than a typical steel frame. The frame was covered with three types of plastic, with reinforced fiberglass used for the roof, doors, and hood. For components requiring greater flexibility, such as the bumpers and interior fascias, reaction injection-molded polyurethane was used. The EV1 employed a regenerative braking system that converted the drive motor into a generator when the brakes were applied. This process slowed the vehicle while recovering kinetic energy and feeding it back into the battery. At long, the EV1 is a two-door, two-seat subcompact car with a coupe body style. The power-assisted anti-lock braking system was electrically operated. The front disc brakes used an electro-hydraulic mechanism, while the rear drum brakes were fully electric, an industry first.
Conventional vehicles use waste heat from the engine to warm the cabin, but because electric vehicles produce very little excess heat, GM had to develop an alternative system. The company equipped the EV1 with a heat pump to manage cabin temperature, using only about one-third of the energy required by a conventional heating and cooling system. However, the heat pump was effective only when ambient temperatures were above.