Paterson, Matthew

Matthew's focus was on the creation of vehicles that required little energy to operate and not in finding means of increasing the power of inefficient systems. His endeavor in the production of the battery-powered EV1 was a significant achievement in engineering. Paine systematically puts his point across using an onslaught of compelling statistics regarding the consumption of fossil fuels and a parade of prominent EV1 devotees such as Peter Horton, Mel Gibson, and Phyllis Diller (Kirsch 424). Like its counterpart “An Inconvenient Truth,” this documentary delivers cinematic advocacy of an eco-friendly kind, charting the preliminary victory, eventual failure, and grassroots attempts to restore the titular battery powered EV1. Structured as an investigative documentary, this film slowly moves along a list of culprits in the destruction of the electric car, detailing a blend of influences and forces that led to the disappearance of the electric vehicle only a few years after its introduction.

            Since the introduction of the electric car in California by General Motors through it EV1 model as a way of complying with the ZEV mandate, the most preposterous parties turned out to be the automobile manufactures themselves. These entities created non-viable cars and then spent extraordinary time, energy, and resources in attempting to smother their own inventions. Even though the arguments provided in the documentary seem meticulously researched (a fact that is evident both from the enlightening on-screen information, as well as the production notes), Paine’s film does not become unfavorably overwhelmed by unmanageable talk regarding CAFÉ standards. It focuses on the outrage of engineers and celebrity owners.