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Before Toyota's Prius had people waiting months for their very own electric(ish) car, domestic carmakers like GM and Ford had their own electric cars on the road. One of the early elegant cars was GM's EV1. Can't quite picture one? Well, they're hard to find. Most EV1s were leased, and were called back to their maker as pawns in the twisted politicking by carmakers balking against California mandates for cleaner emissions (which had helped to spur the cars' development in the first place). The cars worked fine, and leassors were left heartbroken. Producer/actor/EV1 driver Peter Horton memorialized his love for his EV1 in the LA Times.
Today Horton stood in solidarity with the Rainforest Action Network and other EV1 fans in Burbank, where more than 70 EV1s await destruction. GM intends to turn the little-engines-that-would into so much landfill, but the protestors plan to stay parked where they are until the EV1s get a reprieve. It worked up north, where Ford relented and gave drivers the opportunity to acquire electric trucks.
The vigil continues at the General Motors facility at 1105 West Riverside Drive in Burbank. The'd love you to show your support — just don't drive up in a gas-guzzling Escalade.
