4 of 7
BACKNEXT
EV1
EV1
It's been said that "No good deed goes unpunished" and the EV1 is a prime example.

GM introduced the EV1 in 1996 as a production version of a 1991 concept car called the Impact. It sold mostly in California, where state regulations at that time required manufacturers to offer a certain number of zero-emission vehicles.

Unlike electric vehicles offered by other automakers, the EV1 was not a retrofitted version of a gas-powered model. It was designed, from the wheels up, to be an electric car. Only two parts were carried over from any existing GM vehicle: The radio and the door handles, said GM engineer John Berisa.

Despite high hopes, the EV1 ended up being a money-loser for GM. The battery packs alone cost about $35,000 each to produce.

Customers leased EV1's on a three-year basis. In 2003, after California changed rules that required the vehicles, GM took the leased vehicles back and stopped the program, along with other car companies.

"The people who were leasing those cars for $350 a month were getting a killer deal," he said. "They just didn't know it."

GM's decision to end the EV1 later made the company infamous as the villain of the documentary, "Who killed the electric car?"

Other car companies had also stopped selling their electric cars but because GM struck a chord with its product, it was stuck with the "killer" distinction.

NEXT: Pontiac Aztek

Last updated June 02 2009: 3:55 PM ET
Email | Print | Share  |  RSS
 
google my aol my msn my yahoo! netvibes
Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader
See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close)
Find Your Next Car
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.