The electric car, once seen as the answer to dependence on foreign oil, air pollution and many other of the world’s problems — perhaps over-population and cancer — was off to a pretty good start a half-decade ago, but then General Motors recalled all the cars and destroyed them. Writer-director Chris Paine brought out the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” which challenged automakers, oil companies and others
Now, five years later, with electric cars a mini-rage, Paine gives us a sequel, “The Revenge of the Electric Car,” traversing the bumpy road that automakers, both large and small, have been on, from the Chevy Volt to the Nissan Leaf, from the still-in-labor Tesla to the semi-pros like Greg (Gadget) Abbott, who convert gas-powered cars to electric ones.
Interestingly, Danny DeVito had an early GM EV-1 that he loved dearly and drove a lot until GM recalled (the cars could be leased but not bought) it and crushed it, as it did with all the others.
Paine seems to be more on the side of the big manufacturers today, with softball interviews of Bob Lutz, GM’s decision-maker; Carlos Ghosm, head of Nissan; and Elon Musk, still trying to make the Tesla viable.
It’s an interesting story, well-written and professionally produced; we have come a long way in producing relatively inexpensive electric cars, but we obviously have a long way to go before they’re in garages all over America.
Revenge of the Electric Car opens today at the Tivoli
— Joe