American auto giant General Motors has had some troubles ramping up the production of its modern electric cars, but with those troubles finally sorted, it’s churning out more and more battery-powered cars every day.
Models like the Chevrolet Silverado EV, Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Equinox EV offer over 300 miles of range on a full charge, are quite plush inside and can be had for monthly fees that are sometimes comparable or even lower than their gas-powered counterparts when factoring in the $7,500 tax credit. But with more and more EVs roaming the streets, it’s easy to forget where the industry stood almost three decades ago.
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Modern EVs are far better than their predecessors
The original GM EV1 could only drive about 80 miles on a full charge. A modern EV can do much, much better and at a lower price when taking inflation into consideration. Evidently, what will come in the future will be even better and cheaper.
Enter the GM EV1, the American automaker’s first modern battery-powered passenger car that people could actually own (well, sort of, but we’ll get to that later.) I was just seven when the car went into production in 1996, so I have almost no recollection of its debut, but fortunately, MotorWeek’s YouTube channel exists. It’s there where several period gems reside, including the first drive of the GM EV1, which you can watch embedded at the top of this page.
“Some of you in the Southwest can actually drive home right now. But do you really want to?” That’s how John Davis, the presenter, starts the review and it only takes a few seconds for him to follow up with remarks such as a “soap bar with a drag coefficient of 0.19” and a rear end that “even the French won’t buy anymore.” Suffice to say, things have moved on quite a bit since 1997 when it comes to critiquing the styling of an EV.
Powered by 26 lead-acid batteries that offered a range between 70 and 90 miles on a full charge, the 1997 EV1 had a 3-phase AC motor that made 137 horsepower. That power went to the front wheels through a two-stage gearbox and differential.
With a zero to 60 miles per hour sprint of 8.9 seconds, it was “faster than most compact cars on sale.” But “the important point is the EV1 drives like a real car, not a glorified golf kart.” A low bar to cross, indeed.
Frivolous comparisons aside, the EV1 had some serious kit on board for its time, like electrically operated brakes with rotors at the front and drums at the rear, an ignition code instead of a key and a home charger with an inductive connector to the vehicle “that could be used in any weather.”
Similar to the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, which have a centrally-mounted touchscreen that doubles as an instrument cluster and infotainment system, the EV1 also had a centrally-mounted gauge cluster. And just like modern reviewers who have a hard time getting used to Tesla’s approach (and more recently, Volvo's), MotorWeek didn’t like the placement of the dials.
As for the downsides, the batteries had to be replaced after 450 full discharges and the car was only available through leasing at a rather small selection of just 26 Saturn dealers (remember Saturn?) in Southern California or Arizona. The EV1 had an MSRP of $33,995 in 1997 before local incentives, leading to monthly payments between $480 and $640 depending on location and credits. The charger had to be leased separately for another $50 per month, leading to a pretty high ownership cost, but one that included a replacement battery pack, according to the review.
Convert that into today’s money and you get a price of $66,434 and monthly payments between $938 and $1,251 for a car that couldn’t even drive 100 miles on full charge. Today, a base 2024 Nissan Leaf that has an advertised range of 149 miles starts at $29,235 and offers seating for five instead of two. You could also lease it for under $200 per month.
Production of the GM EV1 ended in 1999 after roughly 1,100 units had been made. GM terminated the leasing program in 2001 and effectively forced customers to return their cars, most of which were then destroyed.
