U.S. Personal Electric Vehicle Sales Halted

One of the features that many of the current crop of personal electric vehicles has in common is their appearance. Since one of the main problems with electric power on the road is the need to squeeze the most juice out of the batteries, most of them are made smaller than most people are used to. Typically, a personal electric vehicle will have for two people and then need to periodically plug them in to charge the battery is preventing them from catching on with the mass market.

Science has long determined that the theory of perpetual motion will not enable an electric vehicle to charge itself while it drives and with any personal electric vehicle on or ready to enter the market, the driving speed and the need to plug it into a regular power outlet to recharge are proving the one hurdle, developers can t get over.

However, in the late 1990 s General Motors has been mass producing an electric car named the EV-1, following a California mandate that required non-polluting vehicles. There are many theories regarding the demise of the vehicle from government intervention based on pressure for automakers and oil companies. Some in the automotive industry blame the consumer s lack of interest that caused the recall and crushing of all the personal electric vehicles still on the market in 2005.

Batteries As Cited As Lack Of Interest

Since most of the early electric vehicles had a range of about 65 miles, those who traveled long distances, for commuting to work or wanting to travel, had little interest in a vehicle that could go 60 miles before needing to be plugged for up to six hours to be recharged. Despite one company s claim of having developed a battery that would power the personal electric vehicles with a much longer range, it was never pursued. Majority ownership in the battery company was at first General Motors, until it sold their interest to Exxon Mobile.

During the recall and crushing of the personal electric vehicles known as the EV-1, numerous environmentalists attempted to block access to the dealers and were arrested in a failed attempt to save the cars. Despite the apparent support for the vehicle sales in California where they had been marketed, sales never allowed the manufacturer to recoup its development investment. This led GM as well as other car makers to determine there wasn t enough interests in personal electric vehicles to justify the continued development of the current technology.