Introduced in 1996 the EV1 was the best electric car for it’s time. People were excited for this vehicle that wasn’t run on gasoline. This was supposed to help make a difference to the world’s environment, but the EV1 project was shut down in mid 2000 and all the EV1 cars were crushed and recycled by the end of 2005. The EV1 is very environmentally friendly, but due to certain flaws with the car I don’t see why it is so important to some people.
One of the main reasons why people want there to be an electric car is because they are better for the environment and not run on gasoline. Yes there are better for the environment because its battery run. Therefore isn’t putting harmful toxins into the air that damage the o-zone layer, but for years we’ve been pouring these toxins into the air. Vehicles are one among many things that do damage to the o-zone layer. So really what good it is now if the damage is already done?
The EV1 takes about 5-1/2 to 6 hours to go from zero charge to being fully charged; where as filling up at a gas station will take only a few minutes. Gasoline may be more expensive but it is less time consuming. Also with the EV1 you can’t just plug into any outlet you have to have an inductive charger installed. This involves having a contractor, an electrician, and getting inspections and permits secured.
Another fault with the Ev1 is that the battery in the car will only with stand certain temperatures. So this car is great for people who live in a warmer climate, but for people who happen to live in a colder climate; such as Winnipeg the EV1 battery would not be able to with the cold winter temperatures. The EV1’s battery is only able to with stand temperatures to -20°C, so for many places in the world the EV1 wouldn’t be able to be driven during certain times of the year.
The EV1 is a good start to what the future can hold for electric cars, but until they have fixed some of the flaws with this car is can’t be distributed world wide. So until they have adjusted the temperature the battery can with stand, and made charging more convenient, who cares about the electric car?
Worked consulted:
http://www.evchargernews.com/CD-A/gm_ev1_web_site/charging/charging.htm
