1997 General Motors EV1

This terrible picture is one that I really wish had turned out, as it shows a General Motors EV1 at the 1998 Portland International Auto Show in Portland, Oregon, the only one I've ever seen. The EV1 was introduced in 1996 as a 1997 model, and was the first modern mass-produced purpose-designed electric car from a major automaker. Powered by a 137-horsepower 3-phase AC induction electric motor with lead-acid batteries, the two-seat EV1 had a standard range between charges of 65 miles in the city to 95 miles on the highway. The EV1 was available only as a three-year lease through select Saturn dealers in California and Arizona, at a cost of about $399 per month in California and about $549 per month in Arizona. This car is apparently a 1997 model, as there were no 1998 models built. The 1999 EV1 would feature improved lead-acid batteries, plus optional Nickel metal hydride batteries (available only in California at a cost of $499) that increased the range to 75 to 140 miles between charges, and allowed the EV1 to accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 8 seconds. The EV1 program was also expanded to Atlanta, Georgia, and additional parts of California. The reason for this EV1 appearing in Portland is unclear. The EV1 was never available for lease in Portland, but perhaps Portland was a potential future market General Motors had been considering for the EV1. As it turned out, production of the EV1 would end in 1999 after a total of 1,117 cars, and General Motors would soon stop offering lease renewals to reclaim them. By the end of 2003, all of the EV1s were off the road. A few were donated to universities and museums; the rest were crushed.