1999 GMC EV1

The EV1 was an attempt by General Motors to create an alternative to the internal combustion engine. This was not the first production vehicle to be powered by batteries; alternative fuel sources had been used since the early production of the automobile. When vehicle production first began, there were three prominent sources of power for vehicles, and it took a number of years before the internal combustion engine ultimately prevailed. Steam and electric vehicles were very popular, especially with women. They were easy to operate, clean, and quiet. There were no smoke, fume, or odors. It would be centuries before electric power would make a comeback and the driving force was both environmental issues and the escalating price of fuel. During the 1970s experimentation was done with little success. They reappeared in the 1990's this time being championed by legislation seeking to reduce pollution, mainly in California. Under this legislation, GM created the electric prototype vehicle which they debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show under the name 'Impact'. There was a positive reaction to the vehicle so it was put into limited production and designated 'EV1'. It carried a sticker price of $33,995 but never technically sold any vehicles. Rather they leased the vehicles to consumers for three years at an average price of $399 to $549 per month. The lease included a bumper-to-bumper warranty and roadside assistance. Power windows, CD player, and air-conditioning were all offered as standard equipment. There were three color options that included red, dark green, and blue silver.

The cars were designed to be recharged outside using a special plastic-coated paddle that fits into a slot located at the front of the car. There were three options for recharging the car. A special 220-volt charging station was installed at the owner's home and would set the buyer back an additional $1000 to $2500. Recharging took only three hours. Various charging stations were also established at shopping centers and municipal buildings in California and Arizona. The final charging option was a mobile unit that fit into the trunk and could be plugged into a 110-volt outlet. The drawback to this option was that it took around 15 hours to fully recharge. A full charge would last for about 80 miles.

In 1994 on a track in Texas, an EV-1 set a speed record for electric vehicles by achieving a 184 mph top speed, though the production versions were limited to 80 mph. It was reported that the 137-horsepower engine could propel the vehicle from zero-to-sixty in less than three seconds while the zero-to-sixty time took about 8.5 seconds.

The program was expensive and GM lost money on the program. Many people were upset when the company abandoned the program in 2001 once all the lease programs expired. Nonetheless, it was an excellent attempt at finding alternative means of powering vehicles.

By Daniel Vaughan | Feb 2010

The EV1 was the first purpose-built battery electric vehicle produced by General Motors, and at the time, was the only vehicle in the history of the company to bear the 'General Motors' badge. Produced from 1996 to 1999 1,117 units, GM never offered the EV1 for public sale. It was available to Arizona and California consumers under a lease program that did not allow purchase at the end of the lease. Almost all EV1s were destroyed with the exception of a few that were donated to universities. A nickel metal hydride battery powers the 3-phase AC Induction engine. It had a computer-limited top speed of 80 miles per hour. The cars were only serviced at Saturn dealers.