When you think of the first electric vehicle, you might think of the Tesla, the Toyota Prius or even a Tyco R/C car. But I would venture to guess that you never thought of General Motors coming out with the most influential electric car you’ve never heard of. I’m talking of course about the EV1. The vehicle was able to utilize low-rolling-resistance tires, as well as a heat pump for the usage of HVAC as well as keyless ignition.
There was also regenerative braking to consider for the General Motors vehicle.
And it wasn’t even so much a production vehicle. More of a concept car if anything. It would then lead to the production program seen at the LA auto show in the month of January 1990. The 1994 speed record car is well known as “Impact.” And of course, it’s a highly modified early-build development auto. It wouldn’t really become a real vehicle past 1999. In which case production would stop after about 1000 EV1 cars entering production.
Additionally, the team had plenty of problems that General Motors had encountered. The most prominent was how 26 lead-acid propulsion batteries filled with a half-gallon of gasoline. The problem would require cutting-edge automobile strength. General Motors Electric Vehicles had plenty on their hands. So many technologies had to come into creation for the EV1 to be the most prominent of electric vehicles at the time.
Such gear has been passed down and perfected through ICE and EV vehicles. They had strong power electronics design, as well as packaging and cooling additionally. This all links to electrohydraulic power steering, heat pump HVAC and electric defrost windshields, which would utilize embedded wiring to defog glass. Among countless other patents, the EV1 really paved the way for future models to make their triumphant debuts. The EV1 is a capable vehicle of endless possibility.
