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Here's the story behind GM's revolutionary electric car from the 90s that disappeared

Here's the story behind GM's revolutionary electric car from the 90s that disappeared

There was a ton of excitement when the EV1 was first released in late 1996.

At the time, there wasn't really anything else like the EV1 on the market.

It was one of the first mass-produced electric cars to be openly available to consumers.

The design was based off of a GM concept from 1990 called the Impact.

Not much changed physically.

Depending on where the lessee lived, the EV1 could cost between $399 a month to $549 a month.

The lease program was considered a real world test project. The lessees were pretty much beta testers of the EV1, and GM held the right to revoke a lease whenever they deemed necessary.

The EV1 was made up of then-uncommon car building materials.

GM used an aluminum frame, aluminum for suspension parts, and plastic around the exterior to minimize weight.

Here's a closer look at that frame.

The production EV1 had a crazy low drag coefficient of .19 Cd.

Even though lease orders has to be done through Saturn dealerships, the EV1 was the only car to be sold under the GM brand.

GM claimed a range of 70 to 90 miles on a full charge.

On a normal 110-volt outlet, the first generation EV1 took about 15 hours to charge.

If you were lucky enough to have one of their speedy, 220-volt MagneCharge chargers, the EV1 could be fully charged in just three hours.

These chargers were available to be installed in homes, and had also been set up in public areas like malls and airports.

Source: Digital Trends

GM blamed high build costs and a small customer base as their reasons for discontinuing the EV1.

GM had almost all EV1s crushed.

And the few museum pieces that survived, except for the one given to the Smithsonian, had their drivetrains disabled.

When GM began recollecting EV1s for demolishing, many enthusiasts came together to give their piece of mind and attempt to put a stop to the crushing of their beloved electric cars.

Many even sent checks in to GM in a pleading effort to get their leases extended.

It didn't work.