GM Deploys EV1 Electric Car To Troll Ford, And Tesla, Too

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When the Ford Motor Company hit the brakes on its electrification plan last fall, General Motors was quick to remind everyone of its own commitment to electric cars. “Electric vehicles are General Motors’ ‘North Star,’” the company effused through its in-house media outlet, GM News. Now GM News has invoked the memory of the company’s 1990’s EV1 electric car to troll Ford again, while taking a poke at Tesla for good measure.

EV1 And The Return Of The Chevy Bolt

The latest missive from GM News focuses on the restoration of a vintage GM EV1 electric car. In an article posted on March 11, GM News Senior Editor Chris Perkins notes that the engineering systems developed for EV1 in the 1990s laid the groundwork for the company’s current lineup of electric vehicles including its successful Cadillac branch. With the re-launch the Chevy Bolt, GM has also beaten both Ford and Tesla to the affordability punch.

GM caused much lament back in 2023 when it stopped producing the original Bolt, but all’s well that ends well. The second-generation Bolt electric crossover clocks in at $28,995, including destination fees, significantly less than the $36,990 starting price of the least expensive Tesla available, the standard Model 3 sedan. It’s also less expensive than other new electric cars on the market.

Who Really Invented The Electric Car?

Perkins also used the opportunity to make some points about who really invented the electric car. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has soaked up plenty of praise for popularizing zero emission mobility in the 21st century, but electric vehicles long predate the launch of Tesla Motors. Electricity was the fuel of choice as the auto industry began to take shape in the 19th century, and electric vehicles were still relatively common up through the early part of the 20th century.

GM was among the automakers that continued to support electrification R&D during the latter half of the last century, leading to the company’s Impact concept EV of 1990 and eventually to the EV1 production model in 1997.

The life of the EV1 was a short one, and GM took plenty of heat when it cut production in 1999 having made just 1,000 units for lease — not for sale. Instead of providing lessees with an option to buy, the company repossessed and destroyed the vehicles, as chronicled in the 2006 documentary film, Who Killed The Electric Car?

Still, all that 1990s know-how did not go into the crusher along with the ill-fated EV1. Perkins cites a list of EV1 systems that provided the foundational technologies for key elements in the company’s electric car lineup of today, including:

Heat pumps for climate control

Regenerative braking

By-wire controls that deploy electronics instead of mechanical actuators

Low-rolling-resistance tires to optimize range

Weight-saving aluminum space frame chassis instead of steel

Next Steps For The Electric Car Of The Future

The EV1 also serves as a reminder that EV battery technology has come a long way since the 1990s. The original EV1 ran on lead-acid batteries, with nickel–metal hydride chemistry to follow. Tesla Motors took over where GM left off, producing the first electric Roadsters in 2008 with lithium-ion batteries.

The Li-ion formula has remained the battery of choice for EV makers ever since, though other chemistries have been emerging. The 2026 Chevy Bolt, for example, sports now-popular LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) EV battery formula. As described by GM, drivers can top off their 2026 Bolt to 100% of charge instead of stopping at 80% as recommended for conventional lithium-ion batteries.

LFP is not the final stop in GM’s battery journey. Last spring GM began talking up new LMR (lithium manganese-rich) EV batteries, describing them as “a leap forward that will offer consumers EVs with an attractive combination of long range and low cost.”

LMR batteries are still part of GM’s future plans, as recapped by Perkins at the conclusion of the EV1 article. Alongside the forthcoming LMR formula, Perkins takes note of GM’s other programs supporting an all-electric future, including public charging partnerships with EVgo, Pilot, ChargePoint, and the IONNA consortium. The company’s vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home technologies also get a mention.

The EV1 Lives Again

That sure doesn’t sound like GM plans to mothball its EV division anytime soon. Besides, now that US President Donald Trump has spiked global oil prices, the domestic market for EVs doesn’t look so gloomy any more.

Some auto industry analysts have suggested that temporary fluctuations in the price of fuel are not likely to change the hearts and minds of drivers accustomed to the habits of conventional vehicles. However, gasoline and diesel are not the only fuels going up on the heels of Trump’s war.

The conflict has also sparked a jolt in the cost of natural gas while raising the potential for a ripple effect on coal, which is sensitive to swings in the cost of transportation fuels. All else being equal, that will increase the upward pressure on the cost of electricity as well as natural gas and oil for heating and cooling buildings.

That makes electric vehicles all the more attractive. In addition to saving money on fuel, EVs can contribute to a new suite of cost-shaving opportunities for electricity ratepayers, particularly where rooftop solar and home energy storage systems are available.

In fairness to Ford, while the company did pull pack on EV production, it has expanded its focus on EV charging and energy storage with an eye on cost shaving. That will come in handy whenever EV sales in the US recover from the elimination of the $7,500 federal tax credit. Meanwhile, Ford has also affirmed its commitment to produce the affordably priced, mid-sized electric pickup truck it teased last August.

On its part, GM launched the PowerBank program in 2024 to support sales of its EVs with home energy cost shaving. In an ironic twist of fate, the company has also focused attention on the EV1 to keep the EV sales momentum going.

A lucky few EV1 vehicles somehow managed to avoid the crusher, and last year one of them ended up in the hands of an auto enthusiast connected with the YouTube workshop Questionable Garage, which began posting videos of its efforts to restore the electric car to blooming health. Instead of hanging its head in shame, GM embraced the publicity. The company provided spare parts for the restoration from another EV1 survivor and it has hosted on-site visits for the QG team.

“GM techs also showed off their own EV1 project, a recommissioning of a very special example, EV1 #1,” Perkins notes.

Oh … interesting! GM apparently plans to support its EV sales with a publicity tour for both the QG restoration and the EV1 #1 project, in time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the EV1 — which didn’t die after all — coming up in November this year.

Photo: The death of the EV1 was reported prematurely according to GM, which is preparing to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the 1990’s electric car this year (cropped, courtesy of GM).