It's taken as gospel by many of the people who have seen it since its 2006 release, and there's no denying its influence.
"Who Killed the Electric?" seemingly stung General Motors enough that the company unveiled the Chevrolet Volt concept in 2007 and then, startled by its popularity, decided to put the range-extended electric car into limited production.
Now, there's a sequel, appropriately titled "Revenge of the Electric Car," and it premieres tonight as part of Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The paragraphs below are edited down from the press release announcing the premiere (it's actually quite long). They're how the movie makers describe their own film:
With almost every major carmaker now jumping to produce new electric models, Revenge of the Electric Car follows the race to be the first, the best, and to win the hearts and minds of the public around the world.
We watch as these cars are developed from a concept into a working product, and see the car makers themselves struggle with the economy, the press, each other, and the car-buying public.
We follow the electric car renaissance through the eyes of industry pioneers. First, there's Bob Lutz, the larger than life General Motors executive who inspires the Volt, GM's newest electric car program. But can GM overcome years of corporate doubt and public hostility and make a viable electric vehicle? This is the company that killed of the EV1, after all.
Then there's Elon Musk, the young dot-com billionaire and head of Tesla Motors, [who] decides that Silicon Valley can teach Detroit a few lessons about car making. We're with Elon for every step and misstep as Tesla Motors swerves from initial excitement into near bankruptcy -- and then comes back from the dead with a triumphant IPO.
Our third protagonist is the dynamic head of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn. A former [electric-car] skeptic, Ghosn astonishes the car world in 2009 by announcing the Nissan LEAF: an affordable electric vehicle meant for mass market. If Nissan succeeds, they will corner the market in mass-produced electric cars. If they fail, then the company will fail too.
We'll bring you our review of the movie tomorrow, once we've attended the premiere and seen it.
Meanwhile, here's the official trailer. Let us know what you think in the Comments below.
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