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EV1 Vigil At GM Burbank Facility Enters Day Three

Devoted drivers send letter to GM demanding that it remove its zero emissions EV1 from death row, and restart its electric vehicle program
February 18, 2005
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An ongoing vigil at General Motors' Burbank facility is entering day three. Following a kick-off event Wednesday, EV activists started a sit-in to protest GM's destruction of pollution-free, petroleum-free, all-electric high-performance commuter cars. Inspired by civil rights sit-ins and powered by a solar array, clean car advocates are prepared to sit in vigil until GM reverses its unpopular decision to crush the only clean cars in its gas guzzling fleet.

The vehicles, GM's innovative EV1 high-performance commuter cars, were repossessed from loyal California and Arizona drivers, and are being dismantled and crushed. Seventy-seven working vehicles remain at the GM's Burbank facility. Vigil participants, supported by a broad coalition of climate protection and clean-air organizations, are demanding that GM rescue these zero-emissions vehicles, return them to California drivers and restart its all-electric vehicle program.

Speakers at yesterday's event, included actor Ed Begley, Jr, actress Alexandra Paul, energy efficiency expert and solar pioneer Bob Siebert, and electrical engineer Greg Hanssen, all former EV1 drivers, as well as EV1 senior designer Wally Rippell, former EV1 specialist Chelsea Sexton, and representatives of the American Lung Association, Coalition for Clean Air, Earth Resource Foundation and Rainforest Action Network.

Following the event, advocates settled in for an extended vigil in front of GM's facility, where they vow to stay until GM agrees to honor the right of Californian's to end tailpipe pollution and greenhouse gas emissions with existing zero emission vehicle technology.

A letter to GM's CEO, G. Richard Wagoner Jr., from Rainforest Action Network, Global Exchange, and Earth Resource Foundation, asks that GM:

  1. Stop dismantling and crushing the EV1s and offer the remaining cars for sale or on open-end lease.
  2. Restart their electric vehicle engineering efforts with a goal of offering fully electric vehicles or plug-in hybrid vehicles with at least 20 mile all-electric range, by 2008.
  3. Increase GM overall average fleet fuel economy to 50 mpg by 2010 and build an entire fleet of zero emissions vehicles by 2020.

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