Here's how the death of GM's EV1 was the catalyst for Tesla

[firsttruck]

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Here's how the death of GM's EV1 was the catalyst for Tesla
In this episode I provide the history of the GM EV1, General Motors' first car that was designed from the ground-up to be electric. It was born out of the emission requirements they expected to be coming out of California, but ironically, the original concept, the Impact, was so well received by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that they imposed even stricter requirements that were near impossible for any automaker to achieve, leading to all automakers banding together to stop it. GM would later crush all the EV1's to avoid liability, and yet that act of crushing the cars lead to the start of the eventual largest electric car maker on the planet, Tesla.
Mar 25, 2023
My Old Car

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General Motor’s EV 1 “Media Information” Press Release Book- 1996; Including Photos and Slides
Thanks for watching everyone! Don’t subscribe to me for my vehicle related content because I probably won’t do any. Have a great day, and I hope this was useful information for you all!
Feb 11, 2023
TheConfusingWords

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[jerhenderson]

the dumbest thing GM ever did.

 

[JCERRN]

There is such thing in economy and politics as being too early.

 

[charliemagpie]

I guess once the pressure to change was removed, as a bonus they had an epiphany to squirrel patents away so as to make it hard for anyone else.

And continued on their merry way with ICE vehicles.

Imagine what was going through their heads in 2008... They must have been so convinced Musk would fail. Hubris.

 

[firsttruck]

There is such thing in economy and politics as being too early.

Usually it is technology not yet mature that determines "too early" but in this case the technology was on time (late 1990s/early 2000s)and could have scaled. The technology was NiMH batteries which were used in the later made EV1s, Honda's, and also in Toyota Prius non-plugin hybrid.
NiMH patent owners, Texaco & Chevron (yes, the fossil fuel ones), made particular stipulation that NiNH cells made using its patents could not be used to make full BEVs or even plug-in hybrids. They actually sued battery maker Panasonic & auto maker Toyota to stop production of 1st gen RAV4 EVs.

The EV1 program was shut down by GM before the new NiMH battery could be widely commercialized, despite field tests that indicated the Ovonics NiMH battery extended the EV1's range to over 150 miles.

There is such thing in economy and politics as being too early.

Besides economy and politics let's not forget

greed, corruption, collusion and

Selfishness.

Even if you don't believe in human action and carbon releases causing global climate change it has be known for over 50 years that ICE autos/trucks/buses/motorcycles/scooters/tuktuks/leafblowers/chainsaws and others exhaust was harmful and also caused shorten lives and 100s thousands of deaths every year.


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Some auto makers had a valid excuse that patents on NiMH tech keep them from making EVs with NiMH cells but GM can not use that excuse.

GM owned the large format NiMH battery patent !!!!

GM had NiMH batteries in EV1, saw it worked and killed it anyway.
Then GM sold the NiMH battery patent to the oil company against the wishes of the scientist who was the original inventor.

Also the U.S. Federal government ( ie. taxpayers) partial funded the development. So big Auto & big Oil robbed U.S. taxpayers and human society as a whole so these big corporations could continue getting exorbitant profits at societies expense (wealth & health).

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Patent encumbrance of large automotive NiMH batteries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_encumbrance_of_large_automotive_NiMH_batteries

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In October 2000, oil company Texaco announced the purchase of General Motors' share in GM Ovonics.[14][15][16] Texaco was itself acquired by rival Chevron, which was announced a few days later (and completed a year later).[17][18] At that time, Toyota was using NiMH batteries in the electric RAV4 SUV available in California. In March 2001, Chevron-controlled Ovonics filed a patent infringement suit against Toyota's battery supplier, Panasonic, as well as against Toyota itself,[19] that led to a negotiated settlement in 2004. The agreement included extensive cross-licensing of each company's patents; a joint research venture to improve nickel hydride battery technology; and a ban on Panasonic's and Toyota's[19] use of large format NiMH batteries for certain transportation uses until 2010.[19][20][21] Information about what exactly were these particular transportation uses of NiMH batteries - that ChevronTexaco has forbidden - was suppressed due to a gag order placed on Toyota.[22] This way, ChevronTexaco forced Toyota to end production of the first generation Toyota RAV4 EV. However, the existing RAV4 EVs were not crushed.
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According to Stanford Ovshinsky (co-inventor of patent), the auto industry falsely suggested that NiMH technology was not yet ready for widespread use in road cars.[13] Members of the USABC, including General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, threatened to take legal action against Ovshinsky if he continued to promote NiMH's potential for use in BEVs, and if he continued to lend test batteries to Solectria, a start-up electric vehicle maker that was not part of the USABC. The Big Three car companies argued that his behavior violated their exclusive rights to the battery technology, because they had matched a federal government grant given to Ovonics to develop NiMH technology.[dubious – discuss] Critics argue that the Big Three were more interested in convincing CARB members that electric vehicles were not technologically and commercially viable.[12]

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Chevron and EVs – GM, Chevron and CARB killed the sole NiMH EV once, will do so again
EV1 Behind the Scene – Our Sole Mission
Chevron and EVs
Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH)
Tesla-Toyota
Operation Sunburst
https://www.ev1.org/chevron.htm

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Instead, ECD settled for PART of the $30 million, thirty piece of silver, Chevron won from Toyota by crushing production.

And the world was doomed to another generation, at least, of oil-fired cars, deepwater drilling, lung trouble, oil wars, and Big Oil control of the U.S. government.

It’s not the battery that’s the problem: it’s not the motor. The problem is that government and industry are sucking up to Big Oil, and afraid to produce the cars that will allow you to do most driving on power you make on your own rooftop.

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Oil and auto company claims that “no one wants an EV” ring hollow when the full cost of gasoline, mostly subsidized by the Taxpayer, is taken into account.


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Another great invention by an American engineer that was more recognized for its value by Asian companies than American.

Stanford Robert Ovshinsky (November 24, 1922 – October 17, 2012) was an American engineer, scientist and inventor who over a span of fifty years was granted well over 400 patents, mostly in the areas of energy and information.[1] Many of his inventions have had wide-ranging applications. Among the most prominent are: the nickel-metal hydride battery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_R._Ovshinsky

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In 1994, General Motors acquired a controlling interest in Ovonics's battery development and manufacture, including patents controlling the manufacture of large NiMH batteries. The original intent of the equity alliance was to develop NiMH batteries for GM's EV1 BEV. Sales of GM-Ovonics batteries were later taken over by GM manager and critic of California's air quality regulator, CARB ( California Air Resources Board), John Williams, leading Ovshinsky to wonder whether his decision to sell to GM had been naive.[23] The EV1 program was shut down by GM before the new NiMH battery could be commercialized, despite field tests that indicated the Ovonics battery extended the EV1's range to over 150 miles.

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[charliemagpie]

Yea... Suppressed for decades.