GM EV1s popping up all of a sudden.

[Logic]

Here's a video an EV1 being restored

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahcvx1L1oBo

There are a good number of similar videos all of a sudden.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=GM+EV1

Tin foil hat:
So it's like a number of 'dead if you're caught with it it' EV1 'owners' aren't scared anymore..? Scared of who/what that's now gone away..?? Where..???

[Gasoline Fumes]

I'm pretty sure all the recent videos are about the same car.

[Logic]

In this video, we uncover the shocking story of the GM EV1, an electric car that achieved 140 miles of range and sports car acceleration in the mid-90s, powered by revolutionary technology from California inventor Alan Cocconi.
Despite customers desperately offering millions to buy them, GM systematically crushed nearly every EV1 in existence, refusing all purchase offers and forcing lessees to watch their beloved cars get destroyed.
This deep dive reveals how one brilliant engineer working from his garage created the AC propulsion system that would later inspire Tesla, how GM spent a billion dollars perfecting then killing their own innovation, and why the auto industry fought so hard to bury a technology that threatened to revolutionize transportation decades before its time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29EQw39D5jo

[freebeard]

No mention of how much that semi-fastback bubble top roofline contributed to the 0.19 Cd.

[Piotrsko]

If I recall correctly, the GM1 was flooded lead acid, lipo had not arrived on scene. So maybe 6kwh maybe more. Looking at 1.000 lbs of battery plus maintenance. Did that in the ranger for 2 years for just maybe back and forth 14 miles to work above 40 degrees f. Frost at work was ok, more downhill that direction. And no the batteries never got warm to the touch after use. Converted ranger before Elon used computer battery packs in his lotus

[Logic]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

If I recall correctly, the GM1 was flooded lead acid, lipo had not arrived on scene. So maybe 6kwh maybe more. Looking at 1.000 lbs of battery plus maintenance. Did that in the ranger for 2 years for just maybe back and forth 14 miles to work above 40 degrees f. Frost at work was ok, more downhill that direction. And no the batteries never got warm to the touch after use. Converted ranger before Elon used computer battery packs in his lotus

The video says they started out as lead acid, but moved on to a somewhat more energy dense chemistry, IIRC.

[Piwoslaw]

I seem to remember a PoPSci or PopMech article from those times, which mentioned plans for not only upgrading the batteries to NiCad, but also for a hybrid version of EV1.

Seeing the great success of Toyota's (gen 1) Prius and Honda's Insight from that time, GM would have had a different future had it gone that direction, instead of the "scrap & deny" policy of USA's automotive industry.

[Logic]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

I seem to remember a PoPSci or PopMech article from those times, which mentioned plans for not only upgrading the batteries to NiCad, but also for a hybrid version of EV1.

Seeing the great success of Toyota's (gen 1) Prius and Honda's Insight from that time, GM would have had a different future had it gone that direction, instead of the "scrap & deny" policy of USA's automotive industry.

Everyone:
Do we Agree that the Oil Industry was behind this "scrap & deny" policy?

ie: That the Oil Industry holds great sway (shares etc) over the Motor Industry..?

If so:
What other fuel saving advancements have been 'shelved'??

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by Logic

If so:
What other fuel saving advancements have been 'shelved'??

Electric trams in mid-XX-century USA

[freebeard]

That's true for urban routes, LA and San Francisco lasted until ~1960.

Interurbans were another matter; Oregon Electric Railway (1906-1933) and Southern Pacific Red Electric Lines (1914-1929)

If I understand correctly Oregon Electric ran to the West side of the Willamette (paralleling Union Pacific) and Southern Pacific was to the East. Southern Pacific operated the urban lines in California.

Oregon Electric:

Route
The tracks run parallel to the main modern Union Pacific line between Portland and Eugene, used for freight and passenger service. The OE line is to the west, closely following the Willamette River.[7] In the 2000s, the line has been under consideration as an alternative for Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight passenger lines. Removing passenger service from the clogged Union Pacific track would improve the timeliness of the trains, permit higher capacity, and allow higher-speed travel, peaking at 110 miles per hour (180 km/h).[7]

The right-of-way between Portland and Tigard has since been abandoned. From the North Bank Depot, it followed 10th Avenue, Salmon Street, and the west bank of the Willamette River. Portions of the right-of-way between the South Waterfront and Multnomah Boulevard are currently under Interstate 5.

This sounds like a job for The Boring Company. Amtrak would only need it twice a day, they could run interurbans the rest of the time.

The Red Line:

On June 17, 1917, electric rail service was completed through the Willamette Valley to Corvallis, eighty-eight miles south of Portland. A planned extension to Eugene was not built, and Corvallis became the southern terminus for the Red Electrics. The Southern Pacific was running sixty-four Red Electric trains a day by the 1920s. Four trains went to Corvallis and two to Whiteson. One- or two-car commuter trains offered frequent service closer to Portland.

When I was a mere sprout, I rode the electric buses (rubber tires and catenary wires) in downtown Portland. Portland had elecric street cars in 1893:

Originally Posted by DDG Search Assist
Oregon City was connected to Portland's streetcar system through the East Side Railway Company, which established the first interurban electric railway in the country in 1893. This connection allowed for electric streetcars to operate between the two cities, significantly expanding public transit options in the region.
[URL="https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/portland_streetcar_system/"

The Oregon Encyclopedia[/URL] trimet.org