Sometimes the MSM (mainstream media) really disappoints me.

Okay. “Sometimes” and “disappoints” are both understatements. And not just cuz of Fox “news.”

The latest underreporting from the LA Times: “Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it intended to increase research into plug-in hybrid technology, which it once derided…”

Nowhere does the article mention an already-influential film scheduled to hit theaters on June 28.

The film: Who Killed the Electric Car?
Among the companies indicted: Toyota.

From the movie website: “GM, Ford, Honda, Chrysler, Nissan, and Toyota all developed electric vehicle programs in response to California’s zero emission mandate—and most ended up crushing at least part of their EV fleets. Even as the automakers launched their EV programs, they undermined their success every step of the way. Why?”

EVs came to Cali back in 1996. Now, they’re pretty much nonexistent.

Watch the trailer, and you’ll see perfectly nice cars getting shredded. People who leased EVs weren’t allowed to renew their lease, let alone buy the cars. The car companies took them back and demolished them.

Not only do electric vehicles (EVs) not use ANY gas, they also require v. lil maintenance, cuz there’s no internal combustion engine. EVs are different from plug-in hybrids. The former use no gas; the latter use some, though a much-reduced amount. Companies such as Energy CS in Monrovia are already offering a technology, EDrive, to convert hybrid Priuses into Plug-in hybrids. But at $12,000 or so, the conversion ain’t cheap.

In any case: is the fact that Toyota’s making this plug-in announcement just a couple weeks before this movie launches a coincidence?

I think not. And I wish MSM journalists would take the time to connect the dots. It’s not hard, really. PBS’s already done a show on it, avaliable to view online.

Of course, maybe I’m lucky. I’ve run into Paul Scott, one of the people who helped bring this film to fruition, at the Global Green Oscar party and the Rainforest Alliance Network fundraiser. The guy was part of the Don’t Crush campaign, and co-founded Plug-in America. He did an interview with Treehugger too.

Then again, I’ve also had a bunch of readers email me about this film cuz they hadn’t seen me write about it yet, and wanted to make sure it got publicity. I find it hard to believe that an LAT reporter writing about the automotive industry heard nothing about this film.

I still wanna get rid of my car entirely, but for those who can’t, I’d love for them to have EVs as an option

Update, 7/3/06: For LA and NYC peeps, the movie’s already out!

Update, 7/8/06: I watched it, and you should too — a review here.

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