Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

A documentary that investigates the birth and death of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in the future.

Director:

Chris Paine

Writer:

Chris Paine

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Sheen	...	Narrator (voice)
Reverend Gadget	...	Himself (as Greg 'Gadget' Abbott)
Dave Barthmuss	...	Himself
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Himself
Jim Boyd	...	Himself
Alec N. Brooks	...	Himself
Alan Cocconi	...	Himself
John R. Dabels	...	Himself
Phyllis Diller	...	Herself
Colette Divine	...	Herself
Tom Everhart	...	Himself
David Freeman	...	Himself (as S. David Freeman)
Frank Gaffney	...	Himself (as Frank J. Gaffney Jr.)
Mel Gibson	...	Himself
Greg Hanssen	...	Himself

Storyline

With gasoline prices approaching $4/gallon, fossil fuel shortages, unrest in oil producing regions around the globe and mainstream consumer adoption and adoption of the hybrid electric car (more than 140,000 Prius' sold this year), this story couldn't be more relevant or important. The foremost goal in making this movie is to educate and enlighten audiences with the story of this car, its place in history and in the larger story of our car culture and how it enables our continuing addiction to foreign oil. This is an important film with an important message that not only calls to task the officials who squelched the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, but all of the other accomplices, government, the car companies, Big Oil, even Eco-darling Hydrogen as well as consumers, who turned their backs on the car and embrace embracing instead the SUV. Our documentary investigates the death and resurrection of the electric car, as well as the role of renewable energy and sustainable living in our ...

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Plot Keywords:

car | electric car | technology | california | big oil | 

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Taglines:

Unrest in the Middle East. Rising Petrol Prices. Global Warming. There was an Alternative.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 August 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chi ha ucciso l'auto elettrica? - Un giallo che si tinge d'oro nero

Filming Locations:

Willow Springs International Motorsports Park, Rosamond, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,138, 2 July 2006, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,677,838, 12 November 2006

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,222,746, 20 August 2006

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plinyminor, Electric Entertainment, Papercut Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The boxy, small EV shown being crushed in the movie was the Honda EV-Plus. They, like the sleek GM EV-1, were only available for lease; several returned to Honda, and were converted into fuel cell demonstration vehicles. For a while, you were able to lease them through EV Rentals (at several Budget Rent a Car locations).

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Quotes

Ed Begley Jr.: The electric vehicle is not for everybody. It can only meet the needs of 90 percent of the population.

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Connections

Referenced in Cleanflix (2009)

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Soundtracks

I'll Take The Woods
Written by Adam Dorn, Ambrosia Parsley
Performed by Adam Dorn
Courtesy of Mowol Inc.

User Reviews

A very good documentary that put its biases up front

I'm neither a liberal or a conservative (yes, there are other options!)and while I expected to read the usual 'party lines' concerning the politics of this movie ... I was AMAZED at how many people missed the point of the movie. This wasn't, at its heart, a movie about the politics of energy. Rather, it was a human story about people who found, and even fell in love, with a preferred form of transportation, only to have it taken away from them against their will. ***CAUTION --- POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*** I don't think what I'm about to say will spoil the movie experience, but I decided to play it safe. The most amazing part of the story, to me, concerns the quiet battle between General Motors and the EV1 lessees who wanted desperately to keep their vehicles. Why did GM take such a hard core approach? It seemed to me a more conciliatory approach would have done the embattled auto-maker a world of good. To me, that was the question that drove the story. Yes, most of the people who apparently leased one of GM's electric cars were celebrities and/or people of some measure of wealth. So what? Anyone who likes electronic gadgetry has heard the expression "early adopter," referring to those with money who purchase state-of-the-art equipment at high prices, thereby fueling the development and investment that pushes products to consumer-level pricing. GM's inability to realize this is what makes the whole story fascinating. I encourage anyone who would, to watch the movie closely, and see If this doesn't ring true. Now, having said my piece about the movie, let me throw some comments about energy policy into the fray. 1) We absolutely, positively need gas to reach a price of $5 a gallon or more. Why? Supply and demand. Only when it HURTS to drive a gas guzzler, will most of us finally get off that doomed bandwagon. 2) We had a solution to coal produced electricity in our laps twenty years ago, and a piece of Hollywood drivel ("The China Syndrome")turned us into weenies. Yes, folks, I mean nuclear power. It CAN and IS producing power safely, and environmentally soundly. Just not here in the U.S., by and large. Finally, 3) Supporting the development of electric-only cars is a viable choice. With the improvements being made in solar panel technology, I suspect a working battery-solar hybrid may be a very real option in the NEAR future. If we avoid the stupidity this movie helps us to understand.