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Who Killed the Electric Car?

In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads across California, offering near-silent operation, swift acceleration, no exhaust, and power drawn from electricity rather than gasoline. A decade later, these cars were destroyed.

Director(s)

Chris Paine

Cast & Crew

Ed Begley Jr.

Ed Begley Jr.

Self

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks

Self (archive footage)

Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen

Self - Narrator (voice)

Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson

Self

Chelsea Sexton

Chelsea Sexton

Self

Reverend Gadget

Reverend Gadget

Self

Chris Paine

Chris Paine

-

Details

GenresDocumentary
Runtime1h 32 mins
Released on04 Aug 2006
Languageen
Produced InUnited States of America
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Reviews

rsanek

7/10

Interesting albeit very biased perspective on early electric car attempts. The film could have spent more time on describing the older electric car technology -- I was unaware that in the early 1900s there were, in fact, already cars that didn't run just on gasoline. I found it laughable when, near the end of the movie, the creators assess that essentially everyone, including car companies, oil companies, CARB, even consumers (!) are to blame for electric's downfall. I think you could convince me of car & oil companies, but it's a real stretch to say that a regulator that simply didn't adopt stricter guidelines 'killed' an industry, or that people did because they didn't buy this amazing product. Overall, OK, but would not recommend unless you're really into electric cars.

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Who Killed The Electric Car?

Part of the Series

Revenge of the Electric Car

Revenge of the Electric Car

2011EN
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