Hardly a verdict.

So the documentary…I get it: the EV1 is dead. Thanks Sony for so explicitly showing that fact. But at the end of the film, as a viewer, I was still left with “who killed the electric car?” I was taken through the line-up of suspects, everyone from the government to battery manufacturers to oil companies.

Yes, the government is the only power authority able to actually regulate American’s fuel economy. And technically, because the electric car could only travel about 60 – 80 miles per charge, it regulated the driver’s fuel economy by default. But if an individual is willing to drive less because of the restrictions of their vehicle, shouldn’t that decision be left to them? And furthermore, how is willing to drive less due to physical capabilities any different than a willingness to eat less because of physical capabilities (or lack thereof)? For example, I order a kid’s meal from McDonald’s instead of a value meal because I don’t have the capacity to eat the latter? I am choosing to regulate my intake. I don’t see the difference here.

And then to cite the consumer as a potential murderer of the vehicle? While there is reference to some defense, such as poor advertising and minimal media attention, just the mere mention of this notion is wrong. Americans are creatures of habit. We drive, bike, and walk on the right-handed side of the road and dear goodness, if we are placed abroad behind the “wrong” side of the car on the “wrong” side of the street, we are helpless creatures at the mercy of the world. But in the era of inexpensive gas (in comparison to today’s price) and roomy mom-mobiles/SUVs, manufactures expected us to be miraculously welcoming of their new electric car? Yes the minimal press probably had a lot to do with the slow integration into American society, but please. To blame only one party for our slow or complete lack of acceptance is incorrect. We are not ones quick to accept change, even if it is for the “betterment” of our environment.