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They thought it was dead, they thought they had it buried deep beneath the ground…

But suddenly without notice, a tire blasts through its shallow grave. It wiggles itself up from the depths with one headlight hanging from its socket! Ah…

The popular documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car, has brought about a lot of question as to who is really at fault for hindering the production of the electric car back in the early 90’s. It was the GM Impact that started much of the initial hype.

The GM Impact caught so much attention at its introduction, GM decided that they should produce a few thousand. When California heard about this unique method of transportation and how it might be able to reduce the brown cloud hovering over its cities, they jumped right on the bandwagon.

At this point the big six manufactures, which included, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, were mandated to produce a few thousand electric vehicles. Well, nobody likes to be told what to do, so like three year olds having just been told to take their hands out of the cookie jar, the six manufacturers grudgingly threw together an electric model.

They put their cars out on the market figuring that it was going to be a complete bust, but to their surprise, everybody loved the idea and began pre-ordering these vehicles. So many in fact, that they had a list of pre-orders from new customers that would have had to make several more thousand just to get their first line of orders filled.

Knowing that they would stand to make more money from their current fleets of gas guzzlers, they sued the state of California. With the help of George Bush Senior, and the White House, they threw out the mandate and set to crushing every single electric car that was currently out on the California street.

It was as if they wanted to erase the electric car from consumer’s sight. Out of sight, out of mind… at least that is what they thought. But the owners did not easily give up these innovative vehicles. In fact, several of them offered the manufacturers a quarter million dollars, just to let them keep their old electric car.

They said “no” and the electric car was quietly annihilated by crushers… never to be seen or heard again. Well, I guess they were never really heard since the darn things can practically sneak up on you in an alley without notice… but you get the picture.

Some 15 years later at the height of gas prices reaching the $4.00 a gallon mark, manufacturers began to see the electric car in a different light. Consumers were demanding something other than gas vehicles… and well, what the consumer wants, the consumer gets. Especially when bankruptcy in knocking at the door of a few of these big six manufacturers.

The once popular SUV that made so many of these manufacturers millions was sitting in dark dealerships, as hybrid electrics began to appear driving to and fro with happy owners with thick wallets.

The big six clamored to the drawing tables and set to work designing what would be the best darn electric vehicle out there. The Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Volt are getting quite a bit of press coverage for their introduction of the plug-in electric… but you can be sure that a few others will be surfacing soon.

Even with the big six’s renewed interest, experts such as Chelsea Sexton, the woman partially responsible for the GM Impact, says this story is far from over. She predicts that it will actually be the smaller electric manufacturers, such as Tesla, who will make the greatest advancements in technology and consumer interest for the electric vehicle.

Could we have a new “big six” on the way… is the electric car going to finally collect its revenge against those manufacturers who tried to kill it?

Stay tuned to find out.. The oil has only just begun to spill!