28 ms·

Pristine GM EV1 Preserved by University Caretaker

74 points by samizdis 6y ago

handol 6y ago
Hey that looks familiar. I helped push it inside when it arrived. Still had that new car smell when I took my turn sitting in it.
- defterGoose 6y ago
  ...and on HN, i have no doubt that you're telling the truth.
Tade0 6y ago
Reminds me of the "abandoned" Subaru(or actually Fuji) dealership in Malta: https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/time-capsule-this-subaru-dealership-has-been-abandoned-since-the-90s/amp https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/time-capsu... Only the car in question is much more unique.
- Something1234 6y ago
  Is there an interview with owner or something that explains more than it exists and hasn't been updated?
  - Tade0 6y ago
    I tried to find any additional information, but apparently the owner is not interested in any media attention. Worst part is I've been to Mosta - the city where the dealership is located, was aware of its existence then but when I saw it I didn't realise what I was looking at. I remember thinking "what a weird country to have such old cars on display". Anyway Malta is full of unusual vehicles - it's the only European country where I saw kei-cars on the streets.
    - sokoloff 6y ago
      We sold our classic 1959 Mercedes 220S cabriolet to a buyer in Malta. It seemed fishy to us at first (that someone would want to ship the car to Malta), but the buyer was totally legit, did everything exactly as he promised, and has sent us in-progress shots of the further restoration work he's done to it.
      - gkop 6y ago
        I learned to drive (among other adventures) in a ‘64 220S sedan, Mercedes Blue. I believe your Cabriolet must have also been one of these special “heckflossen” huh?
        sokoloff 6y ago
        Ours was a long body Ponton. Fintail/Heckflosse followed the Ponton series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Ponton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Ponton http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/sokoloff/sokoloff.htm http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/sokoloff/sokoloff.htm Somewhere, I have a video of us rolling the odometer over back to 00000.0 on a roadtrip back from a meet in Pennsylvania (true mileage unknown, but we believe that was the first odo rollover for the car).
    - nradov 6y ago
      The country is small, speed limits are low, and streets are very narrow. So kei cars make sense.
danans 6y ago
I wonder how well the NiMH battery in it holds a charge after all these years. It would be a fun project to customize a new modern battery pack to replace the original. I hope someone takes that up.
maxerickson 6y ago
$50,000+ in year 2000 dollars for 142 mile range.
- imglorp 6y ago
  Vs GM's current token, the Bolt, at $36,500 for 259 mile range, with an 8/100 warranty. It's a perfectly cromulent car at this point: including a couple features Tesla 3 doesn't have like hatchback and headlights that steer into curves. But despite Mary Barra saying they're all-in on electric, it's still a gesture at ~20k sold/year. It's partly on the channels: I had to argue with several dealers to get a test drive because many are both threatened by the Bolt and ignorant of it. I finally found a good dealer with stock and knowledge to give me a test drive last year. Mary has been open that half the company is a liability, as well. https://www.barrons.com/articles/mary-barra-on-general-motors-all-electric-future-51605317984 https://www.barrons.com/articles/mary-barra-on-general-motor...
  - AuthorizedCust 6y ago
    Nice Simpson’s reference: cromulent. More info: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent
    - dragosmocrii 6y ago
      Was about to make the same reference. It's a nice sounding word "cromulent", this and the word "fillichor".
  - throw0101a 6y ago
    Doing a quick search, GM's ten best-selling vehicles were trucks and SUVs in 2019: * https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/03/these-were-the-10-best-selling-gm-models-of-2019/ https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/03/these-were-the-10-best-... Except for the Malibu (#5). It may be that they are (were?) doing things small to start to learn a bit more before ramping up. Just yesterday (1/15) they announced a major investment for EVs in Ontario: * https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/2021/01/15/gm-canada-announces-tentative-deal-for-1-billion-electric-vehicle-plant-in-ontario.html https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/2021/01/15/gm-canada-ann... There could also be friction given GM's large dealership network about profits: service departments are needed much less with EVs compare to ICE vehicles. I think things will change once GM announce EV SUVs and pick-up trucks. How knows when that will be though.
wumms 6y ago
Quote from the trailer of Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) [0], featuring the EV1: "The electric vehicle is not for everybody - it can only meet the needs of 90% of the population" [0] https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2147287321?playlistId=tt0489037 https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2147287321?playlistId=tt0489037
fortran77 6y ago
> had 142 miles of range decades ago It's intesting that they managed to get 2x the range of the first-gen "LEAF" without Lion technology
- labcomputer 6y ago
  The 1999 EPA range test was even more optimistic than the current test. On the current test, the EV-1 would earn closer to 100 miles. It’s also a tiny 2-seater compared to the 5-seat Leaf.
  - aetherspawn 6y ago
    It's also significantly more expensive in 2000-dollars than a LEAF today. For cars in that weight class, it's a simple equation: $$ = range.
PaulWaldman 6y ago
It would be interesting to take a step in a parallel universe where GM decided to invest heavily in electric vehicles after the EV1. One where they followed up the EV1 with a whole portfolio of electric cars. Maybe even converting Saturn to its first electric only brand. Where would this put electric cars today? Would we see cars with a 500 mile range selling for $30k? I kinda doubt it. My recollection is that GM instead pivoted massive investments in hydrogen fuel cells, which require much smaller batteries. It was probably a hedge against the slow advancement of battery technologies. Unfortunately it seems like hydrogen fuel cells are getting skipped entirely for battery electric vehicles for consumer vehicles.
alisausaaaaa 6y ago
Wanna have hot-lovin' conversations? You’re on the right way! - https://adultlove.life https://adultlove.life

74 points by samizdis 6y ago

Hey that looks familiar. I helped push it inside when it arrived. Still had that new car smell when I took my turn sitting in it.

defterGoose 6y ago
...and on HN, i have no doubt that you're telling the truth.

Tade0 6y ago

Reminds me of the "abandoned" Subaru(or actually Fuji) dealership in Malta: https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/time-capsule-this-subaru-dealership-has-been-abandoned-since-the-90s/amp https://www.autoindustriya.com/auto-industry-news/time-capsu... Only the car in question is much more unique.

Something1234 6y ago
Is there an interview with owner or something that explains more than it exists and hasn't been updated?
- Tade0 6y ago
  I tried to find any additional information, but apparently the owner is not interested in any media attention. Worst part is I've been to Mosta - the city where the dealership is located, was aware of its existence then but when I saw it I didn't realise what I was looking at. I remember thinking "what a weird country to have such old cars on display". Anyway Malta is full of unusual vehicles - it's the only European country where I saw kei-cars on the streets.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    We sold our classic 1959 Mercedes 220S cabriolet to a buyer in Malta. It seemed fishy to us at first (that someone would want to ship the car to Malta), but the buyer was totally legit, did everything exactly as he promised, and has sent us in-progress shots of the further restoration work he's done to it.
    - gkop 6y ago
      I learned to drive (among other adventures) in a ‘64 220S sedan, Mercedes Blue. I believe your Cabriolet must have also been one of these special “heckflossen” huh?
      - sokoloff 6y ago
        Ours was a long body Ponton. Fintail/Heckflosse followed the Ponton series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Ponton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Ponton http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/sokoloff/sokoloff.htm http://www.mbzponton.org/pax058/people/sokoloff/sokoloff.htm Somewhere, I have a video of us rolling the odometer over back to 00000.0 on a roadtrip back from a meet in Pennsylvania (true mileage unknown, but we believe that was the first odo rollover for the car).
  - nradov 6y ago
    The country is small, speed limits are low, and streets are very narrow. So kei cars make sense.

danans 6y ago

I wonder how well the NiMH battery in it holds a charge after all these years. It would be a fun project to customize a new modern battery pack to replace the original. I hope someone takes that up.

maxerickson 6y ago

$50,000+ in year 2000 dollars for 142 mile range.

imglorp 6y ago
Vs GM's current token, the Bolt, at $36,500 for 259 mile range, with an 8/100 warranty. It's a perfectly cromulent car at this point: including a couple features Tesla 3 doesn't have like hatchback and headlights that steer into curves. But despite Mary Barra saying they're all-in on electric, it's still a gesture at ~20k sold/year. It's partly on the channels: I had to argue with several dealers to get a test drive because many are both threatened by the Bolt and ignorant of it. I finally found a good dealer with stock and knowledge to give me a test drive last year. Mary has been open that half the company is a liability, as well. https://www.barrons.com/articles/mary-barra-on-general-motors-all-electric-future-51605317984 https://www.barrons.com/articles/mary-barra-on-general-motor...
- AuthorizedCust 6y ago
  Nice Simpson’s reference: cromulent. More info: https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cromulent
  - dragosmocrii 6y ago
    Was about to make the same reference. It's a nice sounding word "cromulent", this and the word "fillichor".
- throw0101a 6y ago
  Doing a quick search, GM's ten best-selling vehicles were trucks and SUVs in 2019: * https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/03/these-were-the-10-best-selling-gm-models-of-2019/ https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/03/these-were-the-10-best-... Except for the Malibu (#5). It may be that they are (were?) doing things small to start to learn a bit more before ramping up. Just yesterday (1/15) they announced a major investment for EVs in Ontario: * https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/2021/01/15/gm-canada-announces-tentative-deal-for-1-billion-electric-vehicle-plant-in-ontario.html https://www.thespec.com/ts/business/2021/01/15/gm-canada-ann... There could also be friction given GM's large dealership network about profits: service departments are needed much less with EVs compare to ICE vehicles. I think things will change once GM announce EV SUVs and pick-up trucks. How knows when that will be though.

wumms 6y ago

Quote from the trailer of Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) [0], featuring the EV1: "The electric vehicle is not for everybody - it can only meet the needs of 90% of the population" [0] https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2147287321?playlistId=tt0489037 https://www.imdb.com/video/vi2147287321?playlistId=tt0489037

fortran77 6y ago

> had 142 miles of range decades ago It's intesting that they managed to get 2x the range of the first-gen "LEAF" without Lion technology

labcomputer 6y ago
The 1999 EPA range test was even more optimistic than the current test. On the current test, the EV-1 would earn closer to 100 miles. It’s also a tiny 2-seater compared to the 5-seat Leaf.
- aetherspawn 6y ago
  It's also significantly more expensive in 2000-dollars than a LEAF today. For cars in that weight class, it's a simple equation: $$ = range.

PaulWaldman 6y ago

It would be interesting to take a step in a parallel universe where GM decided to invest heavily in electric vehicles after the EV1. One where they followed up the EV1 with a whole portfolio of electric cars. Maybe even converting Saturn to its first electric only brand. Where would this put electric cars today? Would we see cars with a 500 mile range selling for $30k? I kinda doubt it. My recollection is that GM instead pivoted massive investments in hydrogen fuel cells, which require much smaller batteries. It was probably a hedge against the slow advancement of battery technologies. Unfortunately it seems like hydrogen fuel cells are getting skipped entirely for battery electric vehicles for consumer vehicles.

alisausaaaaa 6y ago

Wanna have hot-lovin' conversations? You’re on the right way! - https://adultlove.life https://adultlove.life