"...if only the world knew they existed..." retorts EVUK's Jim Carlucci.

The Gen 2 NiMH GM EV1 could change the world' ...wrote in Jan 2000..
EVUK adds: so 'could' the 373 mile-per-charge 4 person saloon Solectria Sunrise or the family-sized 120mpc Nissan Altra IF ONLY the public - especially in tax-rip-off, 5.50 dollar-a-gallon (...oh, AND eco-minded) Europe knew about them...Unfortunately the traditional media just won't risk annoying their VERY generous car-advertising sponsors by reporting on cheap-to-run, clean and long-range alternatives to the Internal Combustion Engine and seem determined to keep the EV genie tightly corked ...the whole aggressive thrust and mantra from the UK media is "SELL SELL SELL more cars!!!" and to show the carmakers that their oh-so-imaginative(!?!) adverts are worth the money (£700 million a year spent in the UK alone on marketing)
For the last year at least the entire UK media has been fanatically campaigning to get carmakers to cut the cost of new cars. Why?? Because no matter how expensive, demented, "imaginative" and relentless car advertising campaigns are becoming, PEOPLE JUST AIN'T BUYING THE CARS!!! "The adverts just don't work so let's all suck up to our sponsors by campaigning obsessively to get car prices down...so that more people can buy more cars to create more gridlock, more toxic emissions..." - this seems to be the tunnel vision strategy of the UK's media including the BBC...Oh, wouldn't it just be heart-stoppingly miraculous if the media would actually press for a different, 21st Century PRODUCT. Maybe, just maybe, it's the PRODUCT - not the advert or the price - that's the problem. Just maybe.

EV1 Club member continues:

"For two years, while living on a steep .8 mile Hollywood hill, I never had a 'Wakeup Range' of more than 34 miles. That included two different Gen1 EV1s and one brand new battery pack. Actual mileage was between 30 and 45 miles. When I moved to Malibu, CA which is at sea level, I experienced 'Wakeup Range' of around 60 miles. My real mileage was between 45 and 60 in my Gen1 EV1.
With the Gen 2 EV1 with Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries at the same ocean residence, my Wakeup range is 150 to 160 miles, with an actual range 120 to 150 miles. Including hills, I have been getting mostly between 130 and 140 miles. For me, charging has become unnecessary, although I charge when there is a public charger to 'Show the Flag'.
This is the first generation GM/Ovonic NiMH car and is the technology that could change the world. As Bob Purcell (in charge of ATVs for GM) once told us, "the best technology for URBAN, SUBURBAN, COMMUTTER, and REGIONAL TRIPS is the PURE BATTERY electric vehicle. Better than Hybrids and Fuel Cell EVs." Purcell also said he took his hat off "to the guys at OVONIC for the fantastic job they had done in developing, and now with GM, manufacturing the incredible NiMH EV battery."
Don't let the Pure Electric Vehicle be killed, now that the right technology is available.