> Carmakers releasing test cars to markets and then destroying them was a common practice - GM did the same with their hydrogen cars, the famous turbine engine cars, and even large scale prototypes like the Aerovette. In many cases they were only able to circumvent safety/testing regulation because these were not registerable cars.
replyThe EV1 wasn't just a "test car". It was a production vehicle which was built (as you said) to comply with the California ZEV mandate, which GM also spent millions lobbying against, and eventually defeating, while they were contracting with an outside engineering firm to design the EV1.
TTBOMK, GM didn't spend millions lobbying against turbine engine and hydrogen fuel cell tech.
The earliest prototypes of what would become the Tesla Roadster used lead acid batteries.
replyWait didn't they have a NiMH battery too?
replyYes, and unlike what has been done in the Prius, these were large-format cells. The patents on them ultimately ended up sold to a Chevron subsidiary, which would only license the technology under absurd terms. They assumed that lithium-based battery technologies wouldn't be suitable. Oops.
replyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patent_encumbrance_of_large_au...
Yes, the exact same battery technology Toyota was already using in their Prius, which is still in-use in many Toyota hybrid models still on the road. The battery was not the problem.
replyPrius had 0.91 kWh battery and the EV1 had 26.4 kWh with NiMH. The EV1 was expensive, $80k to produce in 1996 money. A large part of that had to be the battery.
replyEventually, near the end. The first run of them was lead-acid; the battery was about 60% of the weight of the vehicle.
replyNiMH batteries suck too
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