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Showing posts from April, 2012

REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR

Last month I watched a condensed version of "Revenge of the Electric Car" at KPCC. The sequel to the 2006 documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?" follows three automakers and one converting specialist through the challenges of producing a market shift during a recession. Bob Lutz, the now-retired, global warming-denying GM head, releases the Volt. It's a mea culpa for killing the EV-1, on which leases were inexplicably denied for purchase, featured in the first film. Nissan's Carlos Ghosn, called the Napoleon of the electric car revolution by narrator Tim Robbins, more or less bets the farm on the mass production of the LEAF, a family-oriented, completely electric hatchback. PayPal millionaire turned Tesla CEO Elon Musk encounters the challenges of precision car making, fighting mechanical problems against shrinking capital and a ticking clock. Completion dates get iffy while prices for the completed Roadsters suddenly spike just ahead of dealer del