Friday November 14th, 2008 – GM Training Center – Burbank, CA
The Honorable Nate Holden, former California State Senator and L.A. City Council Member, held a press conference demanding General Motors apologize to the American people for destroying the automaker’s EV1 plug-in electric vehicle. Mr. Holden demanded the EV1’s immediate re-introduction before, or in exchange for, any Government bailout of GM.
“General Motors compounded their financial woes by destroying the EV1 and continued to work with the oil companies to gouge the public. It’s a dishonest act on the part of General Motors.” said Holden.
Former EV1 driver Chris Reeves's 1997 GM Chevy S10 EV.
Former EV1 driver Doug Korthof's 2002 Toyota RAV4-EV.
This press conference was held at the very same GM facility where the EV1 Vigil took place during February and March 2005. Loyal GM EV1 customers tried valiantly to save 78 remaining EV1s from being crushed. Activists kept a 24/7 watch over the vehicles and offered to buy the EV1s from GM for their residual value. Alexandra Paul and Colette Divine were arrested while peacefully protesting and making a stand against an EV1 filled GM transport semi attempting to exit the facility. Chris Paine’s film “Who Killed the Electric Car ?“ documented the EV1 Vigil. Former EV1 drivers Doug Korthof and Chris Reeves attended and spoke at Holden’s press conference, having each arrived in their respective plug-in EVs (2002 Toyota RAV4-EV and 1997 GM Chevy S10 EV).
Alex Datig (Business & Public Affairs Consultant, HighRoad Consulting Group LLC) let us know that Mr. Holden had a fruitful day getting the EV1 word out. After the press conference at the GM Training Center Mr Holden went to City Hall to conduct more interviews and to speak to elected officials. He sent the story to KFWB News 980 and to President-elect Barack Obama. Mr Holden had the following words for the loyal supporters of the EV1 :
“I want to thank the EV1 family for their support and encouragement for me to continue the fight to hold General Motors and other auto manufacturers’ feet to the fire. As you know, today I strongly urge Congress to withhold any bailout funds from the auto industry, unless and until the industry agrees to mass-produce fuel efficiency automobiles; electric cars.
Congress should not, under any circumstances, release the bailout money to automobile manufacturers without making these demands. Without these demands, the automobile manufacturers will just continue with “business as usual,” manufacturing gas-guzzlers, which would increase our dependency on the middle-east oil producing countries. This dependency must end now!
We are the advocates of the electric car family and must continue our fight to save the electric car. We must not allow Congress to backslide, or “bait and switch.” At the very least, members of the electric car family demand that the conditions that were incorporated in the funding legislation of the $25 Billion loan package of September 2008 be adhered to.
I respectfully urge each member of the electric car family to contact Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of the United States Senate, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each of your local members of Congress, to let them know that any deviation on their part from the conditions of the loan approved in September will not be tolerated.
Lets keep the pressure on!”
Nate Holden
California State Senate, ret.
Los Angeles City Council, ret.
Hon. Nate Holden’s next press conference on the EV1 will be held on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM at the LA Auto Show (LA Convention Center – Pavilion adjacent to West Entrance).
[Click here to see more coverage from the Bring Back the GM EV1 Press Conference.]
10 Comments
Luckily for us, the world has realized that the EV is an answer to many of our problems right now, and so most major auto companies and many not so major ones are in the process of developing or already have a working prototype of an EV in place. Even as early as 2009 we shall be seeing many interesting options in the EV space.
Excellent film – I have only the highest praise for your perseverance. Here’s my post on the link between the EV and the bailout:
http://avuncularamerican.typepad.com/blog/2008/11/they-killed-the-us-auto-industrys-best-hope.html
All the best from Brussels, Belgium.
We need the EV1 now more than ever. We can’t depend on foreign oil forever. The EV1 electric car has proven to fulfill a demand in the market. Well done Nate!
You have stood up to save the future of mankind. Thank you Nate.
Thanks for bringing up the EV-1 !
The car worked well, and GM scuttled it, that with their exorbitant pay for CEO has driven gm into financial ruin. They have the blue prints to fix thier financial problems, “BUILD the EV-1 !!!”
It has proven twice as much range 80 mpc as the volt will 40 mpc, in 2 years.
This garbage they spout out about “Battery Technology ” not being good enough” Garbage!! GM owned 51% of a great American battery company. Then the second batteries for the EV-1 were from Ovonics. It is described in “Who Killed the Electric car” The nice gray haired gentalman who invented these batteries. GM owned 51% of the company, controlling interest, and they sold that to EXXON! Who knows what has happened since, all we know is the EV-1 was DESTROYED after that sale. Bring back the EV-1 !! I would also like the Ford Ranger Electric Pick-up truck. I’m from California – called Ron Reagan’s show on Air America. His Ford Electric Ranger Has 140,000 miles on it and still going strong!! No money for Car companies without bringing back the Electric cars & trucks!!!
You can make all the movies you want, and protest all you want, but the EV-1 will never return, GM saw to that. What many of you don’t know is GM bought 51% of the company who developed the NiMh battery. GM controlled the patents. I suspect they did this to prevent any other electric car from using the same battery. So they effectively stifled the competition. But it gets worse, much worse. GM sold the battery patents to Texaco, so they could kill the electric car idea once and for all. Within a few weeks (days?) of Texaco acquiring the patents, Texaco was bought out by Chevron. Now Chevron has and will sue the pants off of any car company that uses “their” NiMh batter unless the car also has a gas tank. So there will never be an all electric car with a NiMh battery like the EV-1. All of the car companies are now trying to use LiOn batteries which is much more expensive and more dangerous to work with. LiOn batteries IMHO won’t work well with vehicles. If you want to launch a protest, then do it against Chevron which is stopping the production of these electric cars.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_encumbrance_of_large_automotive_NiMH_batteries
for more info.
Where can I sign a petition to bring back the EV1?
I would like one! Bring them back! Someone start a petition!
thank for your work and searchs i am student of electric i am interest of article of electric please send for me
how can I get involved?
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