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The Chevy S-10EV pickup was a result of California’s cry for zero emission vehicles, (ZEV) as they were called in the 90’s. The three automakers came out with their own versions of the electric vehicle, which ran on rechargeable battery power. General Motors came out with the EV1, as a car model and the Chevy S-10EV pickup as the truck prototype. The EV-1s were not for public sale, but were put on lease programs, as General Motors claimed to have approximately $80,000 in research, development and manufacture of the vehicles. At the end of the lease period, General Motors reclaimed the EV-1s, and most of them were scrapped. No EV-1’s are in operation today.
The Chevy S-10EV was offered in fleet lease programs to government and utilities. There were 492 of these vehicles produced and 60 were sold and titled to private individuals. The truck looks the same as the gas powered model, but is very different on the inside components. It is front wheel drive and was powered by an 85 watt, three phase AC motor, capable of producing 112 horsepower. Two different battery configurations were available.
In 2001, Popular Mechanics talks about the 2003 California ZEV mandate, for the zero emission cars. The mandate did not include the hybrids, as even though they ran on a battery backup electric vehicle principle, they still were gas powered, and emitted more than water vapor emissions. At that time, they mention the only vehicles qualifying at that time, for the general public were the General Motors EV-1 available through Saturn dealers and the Honda EV Plus. All other electric vehicles were in fleets: Chevy S-10EV Pickup, Ford Ranger EV, Chrysler EPIC minivan, Nissan Altra EV and Toyota’s Rav4EV.
The Chevy S-10EV was manufactured primarily from 1997 into 1998. The electric vehicle was able to go up to 70 mph, with a trip duration range of 45-50 miles. It came equipped in a front wheel drive, heat pump powered heat and air conditioning, also used to cool the battery charging units, along with ABS Brakes, dual airbags and other features found on the gas-powered model.
In 2004, General Motors began experimentation on a leftover S-10EV, converting it to a rear wheel model, at an attempt to produce another electric vehicle, by harnessing power with in-wheel electric motors. While the automakers are still attempting to enter the electric vehicle market in mass production, there are many independents, with foreign funding arriving on the scene.
In the 1990’s the government funded much of the research and development for the electric vehicle, and the large automakers, spent it trying to develop a vehicle that would satisfy consumer’s power and transport needs. However, the program was basically an overall failure and lack of interest, due to stability in the Middle East, let the programs fall by the wayside, as fossil fuel prices stabilized. The pressure to produce ZEV’s was lessened, as gas powered motors became more emission controlled and still have to meet California’s emission standards.
Much of that earlier research could be salvaged from the large automakers, once again to resurrect the electric vehicle, as fuel prices continue to rise and the Middle East and European countries become unstable. Electric vehicles, are still much more efficient for 90% of travel, as the majority is done on short trips, in town, and these are the most fuel burning trips. Not only would zero emission vehicles cut down on pollution, but also the fuel demand would drop dramatically. With more sophisticated battery configurations, it is possible to increase trip durations, and speed. Many Chevy S10EV fans are converting gas powered stock S10’s into EV’s with kits available on the Internet and eBay.
Of course, those 60 remaining original 1997 and 1998 Chevy S10EV’s
are in the hands of collectors, and can offer a peek at the attempts by
the large automakers to enter this upcoming market. Perhaps, had they
continued the electric vehicle development of the late 90’s, their
sales figures would not be suffering as they are today, due the
non-sale of many of the gas guzzling models they have recently
released. Maybe the Chevy S10EV was ahead of its time, and maybe
General Motors should have learned a lesson from it.