"The Car That Could" by Michael Shnayerson

Twenty-three years after it was published, I finished reading Michael Shnayerson’s behind the scenes look at the development of the GM EV1. To be fair, I just bought my copy from Amazon a few months ago. “The Car That Could” is more than just a look at one vehicle, it is a snapshot of the EV and battery industries, political climate of the early 90s. It’s a great book, that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. As soon as I put it down, I wanted to rewatch “Who Killed The Electric Car?” just to put faces to all the names in the book. Shanyerson had intimate access to GM’s electric car program from its infancy through its EV1 production announcement at the 1996 Los Angeles Auto Show. As a result of this behind the scenes access, as a reader, in many cases you can feel as though you were there. What’s most striking to me is that almost a quarter century later, we need EVs to succeed just as much now, if not more. If you are at all interested in the history of EVs, it’s a worthwhile read. Since it is only available as a used book, it’s an incredible value to boot.