Who Killed The Electric Car?

The past two days in composition class we watched “Who killed the electric car?” It is a documentary on the past of the Electric car that at the time seemed to be the future of the automotive industry. Not only were they stylish, but they were cleaner, better for the environment, and because they ran on battery there was no wasted money on gas. However, many contributing factors led to stopping the production and sales of these cars by American car companies, leaving electric cars “dead”. This video helped to identify all the components, people, and companies that contributed to the killing of the electric car.

I really enjoyed watching this because I really learned a lot and got a lot out of it. For one, before this video, I never really heard of the electric car because it never played a significant role in the automotive industry, which in my opinion is unfortunate. This video really helped to me to open my eyes to what is/ was out there. It also made me realize that we really have to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking more about the environment and the future of the earth.

In my opinion electric cars are good thing and it really is too bad GM motors decided to stop making the cars. I think they should have pursued it because the electric car was a step in the right direction. It was good for the environment because it was less of a pollutant. Because it ran on electricity instead of gas, the consumer benefited because they did not have to invest huge amounts of money in gas. Instead all you had to do was come home and plug it in to recharge. I think this is a lot more convenient and although the initial cost of the car may be more, the amount of money you save on gas definitely makes up for it. The movie said this in itself was a hold back because there was a limited range in the number of miles you could travel per charge. However, most people’s daily mileage falls with in this range so this should not be a problem to the majority of the American population. Also if there are better and stronger batteries then they should put those into electric cars. Everything about the electric car seemed to have had great potential for becoming the car of the future.

I believe the main reason why the idea of the electric car died was because of the American selfishness that exists in almost every aspect of our culture. People were too ignorant and concerned with their own desires to accept this idea and look out for the future of our environment. Oil companies and car companies were too focused on keeping their profit up that they failed to pursue this great electric car that would have had many benefits. After watching this video I realized that we need to be more conscious of how our wasteful American life style is causing harm to our environment. We as Americans need to stop being greedy and self centered and start thinking about our environment and world we live in. I would like to see a future in which every one drives electric cars because not only is it better for the environment, but it is convenient and the right thing to do.