Preview: Who Killed the Electric Car?

Dean Devlin-produced look at the fate of the EV-1.
by IGN Staff
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May 15, 2006 - In 1996 a number of EV-1 electric cars began appearing on California's highways. The General Motors-produced vehicle was fast, ran quietly, produced no polluting exhaust and it ran without gasoline... and then, suddenly, it was gone.

The documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?, from producer Dean Devlin and filmmaker Chris Paine, chronicles the life and mysterious death of the groundbreaking vehicle, examining its cultural and economic ripple effects and how they reverberated through the halls of government and big business.

Filmmakers make the case that the death of the EV-1 was, in fact, a murder. They claim to show that production of the revolutionary car was halted due to pressure from industries that would be harmed by the proliferation of electric car technology.

Who Killed the Electric Car?, a 2006 selection at the Tribeca and Sundance film festivals, interviews and investigates automakers, legislators, engineers, consumers and car enthusiasts from Los Angeles to Detroit, to work through motives and alibis, and to solve the complex mystery.

Who Killed the Electric Car?, from Sony Pictures Classics, opens in New York and L.A. on June 28 and will further expand this summer. It's been rated PG for "brief mild language."