NeedThatCar

(This post was originally written for, and appeared here, at Hooniverse.com.)

From 1996 to 2003, GM built an electric car called the EV1. The car was a huge hit with environmentalists. Actor Ed Begley Jr. had one and sung its praises from the rooftops. The electric car was finally being built by a full-scale manufacturer and times were good in EV land. Alas, all of GM’s good ideas needed to be squashed to make room for more Cavaliers and Suburbans. GM recalled every single EV1, which could only be leased, not bought. Save a precious few that ended up in museums, they were sent to the crusher. GM sited lack of sales (despite a waiting list for new EV1s) and an inability to support such a small number of vehicles profitably as reasons for ending the EV1 program. The interesting saga can be witnessed in an overly dramatic documentary called Who Killed The Electric Car by Chris Paine (2006).

While all this was going on, Chevrolet quietly adapted the electric powertrain technology to their trusty S10 pickup.  Most of these were made available as fleet lease vehicles, although some 60 of them were actually purchased outright.  This one is now available on a government liquidation auction site.  Click it for more on this ultra-rare truck.

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