Electric car revisited by U.S. filmmaker

The filmmaker who probed the death of the electric car in the 1990s is set to revisit the subject with a new documentary called Revenge of the Electric Car.

California-based documentary maker Chris Paine believes the electric car is making a comeback, and this time, the automakers may actually be prepared to let it live.

Big changes have occurred in the political and business climate since the automakers pushed back against electric cars in 1990s, a story Paine explored in his acclaimed 2006 documentary, Who Killed the Electric Car?

In an interview for Q, CBC's cultural affairs show, from Culver City, Calif., Paine said there is more awareness that U.S. security is under threat because of reliance on Middle Eastern oil. There's also a battle brewing over climate change.

"The big changes in the U.S. happened when oil prices spiked a couple of years ago and the car companies realized it was a mistake to push back on electric cars in the '90s, because they had nothing to sell to people that had high mileage and would run on product other than gasoline," Paine said.

"That sparked change in the top-level boardrooms and they said 'You know what?We've got to give consumers some choice besides gasoline cars.'"

In the meantime, technology has advanced and batteries have become cheaper and longer lasting, he said.

Nissan recently shipped its first electric car, the Leaf, the Chevy Volt is en route to dealers and Hertz has announced it will be the first car-rental company to add electric cars to its fleet. The Leaf and the Volt will both be sold in Canada in 2011.

Paine said he believes consumer attitudes toward electric cars will have to change before they make real inroads.

"There's a lot of people that understand that getting an electric car is like getting an iPod or iPad or something it's the next generation of technology and others want to wait and see how this plays out for the next few years," he said.

His Revenge of the Electric Car takes him behind the doors of GM, Nissan and Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors to look at the re-emergence of electric car technology. It will also look at ways the North American automakers are attempting to change the perception of the electric car as too "feminine" for the average driver.

"All the manufacturers coming to the market withelectric cars knowthey've got to be seen as rugged as gasoline cars," he said.

Painesaid he's a true believer in the potential of electric cars. He said the initial sticker price may be higher, but the running costswill bemuch lower than gasoline cars.

Paine also believes the cars will prove to be an environmentally responsible choice comparedwith gasoline cars.

Some observers say electric cars might lead to more use of coal to make electricity, resulting in dirtier air.

"The difference is electric cars work off electricity which can be generated in many different ways. The big difference is we can clean up the way we make electricity, and we can't do that with gasoline," he said.

Revenge of the Electric Car is scheduled to come out in spring 2011.