Tom Hanks in his Toyota RAV4-EV
We were delighted to see Tom Hanks’s letter in this week’s ‘New Yorker’ — singing the praises of electric vehicles and name checking ‘Who Killed the Electric Car ?’
Read the full letter here :
RE: THE ROAD AHEAD
A letter in response to Peter J. Boyer’s article (April 27, 2009)
MAY 18, 2009
Peter J. Boyer, in his otherwise spot-on piece about the car industry, assumes that I once leased G.M.’s sadly fated EV1 electric car and, like other drivers of that twin-seat rocket of a vehicle, watched the emission-free car be wrested from my garage, towed away, and busted up into pieces of metal, glass, and rubber smaller than razor blades (“The Road Ahead,” April 27th).
Luckily, I did not. The source of Boyer’s slight inaccuracy may have been the documentary film “Who Killed the Electric Car?,” which used a clip of a visit I made to the “Late Show with David Letterman,” during which I claimed to be saving America one electric car at a time. However, by the time I began shopping for an all-electric car, in 2003, the EV1 had already been yanked from showrooms as if the car had never existed. Instead, I found what was purported to be the very last electric car available for sale in the state of California—a Toyota EV. It had four doors, a rear hatch, room for my family, including a dog in the back, power windows, A/C, a great sound system, and the fastest, most effective windshield defroster known to mankind. When the car companies collectively, and, to some, diabolically, decided to take these cars back, the electric vehicles disappeared.
But not mine. I have the pink slip. I own that car, and it is still driven every day, albeit by one of my crack staff of employees. My electric car recently crossed fifty thousand miles on the odometer with its original battery but without so much as a splash of gasoline.
Tom Hanks Los Angeles, Calif.
[Source: The New Yorker]
9 Comments
Nice article ! Thank you Tom ! EV IS REALLY THE ONLY WAY FOR EVERYBODY ! Earth,People,Economy !
Tom Hanks apparently writes nearly as well as he acts. It is abundantly clear that Tom is an unabashed EV advocate. He shares the pride that all of us “regular” RAV4 EV drivers feel when contemplating the amazing performance and longevity of our cars.
The Power of Electric, staring two other incredible EV advocates, Alexandra Paul and Stefano Paris, never fails to make me smile. It’s entertaining to see the green guy get the ravishing girl.
Sorry you got left pouting at the pump, Stefano, but you should soon be able to give chase in your own electric car . . .
I’m happy to hear Tom Hanks still has his electric vehicle. That is awesome! That explains why he wasn’t out with the others who were getting their EV-1’s taken away.
I wish Tom Hanks (or Deeter, Morgan, Paine, Durdic for that matter) with all the love of “True America” would help me produce a film documentary of me traveling across this great country using an electric vehicle, making charge stops at all the 300+ places that make the great American drink…..Root Beer.
Why Root Beer….because it is truly American and American people place their lives on the line for it everyday…….and it’s fun.
I’ve been in development of it since 2004, and I have the most complete list of Root Beer makers in America.
Really enjoyed the article, it was actually Tom Hanks on a talk show that got me interested in building my own electric car.
Dear sir,
i am from Angola i would like to buy this car so just i want to known the price. give me more informations about the car. i want to known the tax from new york to Angola.
best regards!
andre
Check out the Tesla electric cars! Very cool! It seems as though ford, GM, Toyota, Etc… are coming out with new versions of thier own EV’s in the next few years. We should but electric cars….from these other car makers (like Tesla) that went to work on design as the big car makers sold out to big oil. Screw em’!!!!!
Fun article, glad to see that Tom’s electric car has proved to be a success.
I had a few negatives to bring up about the electric cars which are becoming a big thing in the motoring industry but if tom hanks likes them i guess i cannot say anything. On a serious not there must be a few down sides to electric cars plus these new cars for sale are to little to late for some people who simply cannot afford to buy a new car.
The electric cars is suppose to be a big great thing in our life… Check this out on who killed the electric car http://www.malaysiaminilover.com/who-killed-the-electric-car