HornElectricCar

===**Argument:** After GM put a large amount of resources and effort into developing a battery powered electric plug-in vehicle pressures from the oil industry and automobile manufacturers went to great lengths to reclaim the cars and put them out of commission. The reclamation of the car was part of a conspiracy developed in response to the California Air Resources Board's mandate for eliminating vehicle emissions within a short time frame. The conspiracy involved the removal of the successful EV1 plug in as well as the creation and federal support of a hydrogen car market that is stagnant. ===

===**Problems:** As electric car technology seemed to be on the rise in California during the mid to late 90's and the technology was being hyped in the state, the California Air Resources Board decided to act quickly to establish a new mandate requiring zero emissions on all new vehicles after 2003. They acted quickly as a means to push car manufacturer's in the right direction to solve the major sustainability issues facing the state. The amount of car traffic and sprawl of Los Angeles and the general suburban nature of many Southern California cities created the large issue of smog. As well as being a visual obstruction in the city, reports were revealing that increases in asthma rates and cancer rates were being connected back to the smog problem. However the problems clearly span further than that addressing issues of global warming due to increased carbon dioxide emissions. California often dared to set the standard that the automakers had to adjust to, as California was such a large part of the industry. What the film suggests is that big oil became involved directly with the auto industry and convinced them to back track on their electric vehicle technology to allow oil sales to continue. The auto industry did this through a careful leasing procedure allowing the reclamation of all the cars at the end of the contract, and manipulating information to make it appear as there was no public interest in such technology. ===

===**Persuasive:** The film really makes a number of good points and actually accesses multiple personalities from various time periods to attempt to sort through the information presented. I thought the format of the entire film, giving a more or less re-cap and expansion on key “murder” suspects at the end of the film, was a good method of organization. By establishing a variety of “suspects” that were issues brought up in the beginning of the film by those on each side of the argument, they were able to fairly sift through the information to come to general conclusions. I was impressed when they fairly questioned the technology, specifically the batteries. The conclusion was that GM actually went to great lengths to suppress better battery technology, forcibly making the cars under perform. A man named Oshinsky owned his own company of which GM bought the controlling share. After his battery technology proved its worth with the EV1 technology, he was basically sidelined for a cheaper and lesser battery. Two years went by before GM finally admitted they had to use his battery system. But as they began with their reclamation program GM sold the company to Chevron Texaco, basically stifling any future business. Another interesting part was the role that government had in the introduction of the hydrogen power technology during the Bush administration. 1.2 billion dollars was given to the automobile industry to push research towards hydrogen powered cars, and no significant hydrogen technology has emerged that has had the success of the electric vehicles did in the late 90's in California. The film also fairly places the user of the electric car, by saying that it is not a solution for everyone. However, it is the solution for approximately 90% of people who don't travel more than 60 miles in one day. ===

===**Not Compelled:** There are few blatant criticisms of this film that stand out to me because of how well balanced it was. One issue that does though is the notion that the automotive industry was worried about the sale of replacement car parts and how much money that would subtract from the industry if things like oil changes went out of existence. I find it hard to believe that these electric cars would not need constant upkeep in some manner, especially after the batteries began to deteriorate and needed a massive overhaul. It also seems like the majority of the blame is placed on the car companies being influenced by the oil industry but it appears that the real blame lies with the complete caving of the government and regulatory commissions at the regional and federal level. It began with Reagan and reversing the majority of Carter's energy policies, and then the push of hybrids by the Clinton administration and the eventual abandoning of that technology by the Bush administration. Ironically this move pushed the Japanese to develop hybrid technology out of fear of being left behind and now they have the most successful hybrid fleets on the market. ===

===**Audience:** I think the audience for this film is definitely the automobile dependent classes in America. Since it was such a regional occurrence that could have spread nationwide I think the documentary calls to attention an issue that could have vastly changed the nature of the commuting in the country. The film even appeals to extreme “gear heads” by attempting to promote the car as a well performing vehicle that with increases in technology could become a powerful exciting experience. The movie also simply calls to consumers to think about the powers that control the creation of goods and the legalities that control them as well. ===

===**Enhancement:** I think that one of the major issues which is briefly touched upon but needed to be backed up a bit more by data or systems analysis was the actual environmental impact in terms of location of energy production. As one interviewee says, the electric car is simply a fossil fuel burning vehicle which has “an extra-long tailpipe”. What needed to be discussed in greater detail was the efficiency of fossil fuel vehicles and then decrease of environmental impact with the introduction of electric vehicles. ===

===**Intervention:** The movie doesn't really provide a call to action but is trying to analyze how this important piece of technology was phased out of the system. I think it is a call to push towards electric vehicles though. The users that are interviewed in the film quite clearly want their cars back and are in strong support that it is still the most efficient and important piece of commuting technology to emerge in the past 20 years. Hydrogen is continually promised to the public but the technology seems to have advanced very little since it's conception. ===

===**Additional Info: 1]** Decided to look into the hydrogen vehicle infrastructure and market to see if any improvement have been made since the time the film was made. Apparently Honda has introduced a fuel cell vehicle to the market in California that is currently testing around 300 models, a similar scale to the initial EV1 launch. Below is a link to the Honda model and below that is a WIRED argument about how the technology isn't a solution to our global problems. ===

=== **2]** After the zero emissions standards were cut by the CARB from industry pressures I was wondering how much of an impact the regulatory agency was now having on influencing the industry. It appears that actually not much pressure has been given through the enactment of new standards over the past 5 years or so. Out of all the standards in the link below only three were passed or amended in the past 5 years. Their credibility was also threatened last year when it was discovered that their standards utilized false numbers and overestimated the amount of deisel fuel being consumed in the state by 340% ===

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