Who Killed the Electric Car? I think it was GM but I never saw that movie so I can’t tell you for sure. Up next on my list of Tribeca Film Fest reviews is Revenge of the Electric Car, Chris Paine’s followup film to the aforementioned question.
This film is about the triumphant return of the electric car after so many people believed it was dead. For three years (2008-2010), Chris Paine was granted unlimited access to practically every major player in the EV race around the world. ROTEC follows four entrepreneurs as they attempt to build the dominant electric vehicle. The men we follow are Tesla Motor’s Elon Musk, GM legend Bob Lutz, Nissan CEO and ultra capitalist Carlos Ghosn, and a California based “do-it-yourself car converter Greg “Gadget” Abbott. The question remains, who will create a quality product and match it to a realistic and profitable business model for the electric car to make a successful return to our streets as environmental concerns continue to grow.
If you’re a car enthusiast, entreprenuer, or someone who cares about the environment to some extent, you are probably going to find this movie fascinating because this is the greatest behind-the-scenes movie about the electric car that you’ll ever see.
The documentary takes us through the unveiling of the first production version of the Tesla Roadster and then through its radical rise, fall and eventual rise again as the economy collapses and the company becomes strapped for cash. If you ever want to see what a hard working entrepreneur looks like and experiences, watch this movie just for CEO Musk’s point of view.
At the same time we see a radical change in perspective from GM’s Bob Lutz, a skeptic of global warming and a man all for gas burning vehicles, he was one of the men responsible for recalling the EV1 and eventually became the man responsible for the existence of the Chevy Volt but, like Tesla’s CEO, the collapse of the economy crushed some dreams and GM had to be bailed out. You all know the story from there.
In California we follow a couple who literally take your car and transform it into a commuter electric car that gets about 120 miles in one charge. After watching ‘Gadget’ (above) work and seeing him drive around in his Porsche Speedster, I’ve concluded that this is what I would want for my Mustang, but it all depends on what the actual charge time is. While seeing a couple this passionate about changing the world one car at a time, watching them was also the most upsetting and depressing aspect of the film. Like Tesla Motors, they had a rise, fall and then a gradual rise again after some unexpected events not related to the economy.
On the other side of the world, we take a look inside Nissan’s headquarters and get inside Carlos Ghosn’s mind and his approach to the EV market. We watch as he puts together one of the riskiest and most aggressive campaigns for a mass marketable electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf. He does this under the radar of the other car companies and tries to hit them hard when its time to unveil it.
If you’re a car enthusiast you probably know the ending to three of the four stories, but if you are or not, watching this documentary is like watching an interesting history lesson, it’s great brain food but what kind of questions are you supposed to raise when nothing is left for chance. Whether it be one of the largest companies in the world, a start up or a married couple with a garage, Revenge of the Electric Car tries to explain to you how car companies today are actually striving to make improvements, how they are trying to better the environment and how they are trying to make a difference in the world that we live in. The real question is, how many of us are ready to change with them?
Rating: A fascinating and indepth visual car lecture for both the environmental skeptics and lovers (6.6/10)
P.S. The opening credit sequence was really cool so make sure you’re not late
You can catch Revenge of the Electric Car at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 23, 27, and 30th
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