Consumers are smart. In other words, consumers seem to recognize the environmental-compatibility and the good fuel performance of the cars and trucks they are buying. Yet the sales of that vehicle were minimal, particularly in comparison to other vehicles offered by GM or any other manufacturer. The EV1 is another case in point. Four years ago, GM brought the country's first commercially available mass-produced electric vehicle to market in California and Arizona.
Consumers love to test drive it.
But, if you've visited California recently, you know that the freeways are not filled with EV1s. The EV1 represents a quantum leap in technology. We wish the market had accepted more EV1s. But consumers simply weren't ready to buy them. Moreover, consumers and government weren't prepared to invest in the infrastructure necessary to make the EV1 viable.