The GM Impact Prototype Unveiled in LA 34 Years Ago Evolved Into the Legendary EV1. Now, As Automakers Show Their Latest Models in LA, Many Wonder What’s Next
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, November 20, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — It’s been more than three decades since the groundbreaking GM Impact electric car prototype debuted on the auto show floor in Los Angeles, ushering the automotive world into a new age of possibilities. Those possibilities are now evident all around us. They are also surrounded by uncertainties as an expanding array of EV choices collides with downward-adjusting sales projections, growing buyer hesitation, and looming headwinds that could come with a new administration less enamored by battery electric vehicles and large federal subsidies.
Still, most automakers are confident in an electrified future even as they adjust to the realities of a changing world. Part of that reality is an evolving buyer preference for hybrids, which is prompting major revisions in product line strategies that include more hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, something that earlier had been summarily dismissed amid the fervor of a headlong move toward battery electric vehicles.
Green Car Journal editors have been strong supporters of electric vehicles since the publication’s launch in 1992, and before that while testing and writing about EVs for a variety of automotive magazines. That enthusiasm continues to this day, and it’s no small thing that electric cars have made a strong showing in Green Car Journal’s annual Green Car Awards™ in recent years. In fact, of the nine models rising to the top as recent 2025 Green Car Awards winners, seven are battery electric cars, with two gas-electric hybrids and another a plug-in hybrid.
CONTEXT IS IMPORTANT
“GreenCarJournal.com is proud to play an important role in educating consumers, media, and influencers that transcends simply sharing ‘green car’ news and reporting,” said Ron Cogan, editor and publisher of Green Car Journal and GreenCarJournal.com. “While keeping track of the latest innovations in the electrified vehicle field is important, so is understanding the complicated journey of electric and advanced technology vehicles that has led us to where we are today. Providing historical context enables an understanding of the challenges these advanced vehicles have overcome over time and the ones that remain today, and why.” This is an area where Green Car Journal excels as it draws upon more than 30 years of intense focus and reporting on this field, more than any other news source.
Especially important are the retrospectives and Green Car Time Machine reports that run in both the magazine and GreenCarJournal.com. Here, articles from the magazine’s extensive archives are framed with today’s news and shared just as they originally ran, sometimes decades earlier. Just one example is, “Why We Want to Plug In,” which explores the desire for electrified vehicles some 17 years ago that has changed little over time. Another is “The 20 Year Journey of Plug-In Hybrids,” which shares PHEV interest and activities that were gaining momentum some 19 years back and are prescient today. Others share test drive experiences with early electric vehicles like the Nissan Altra EV in 1998, Honda EV Plus in 1997, and the Ford Ecostar in 1993.
As part of its authoritative coverage and analysis of the “green car” field, GreenCarJournal.com regularly publishes wide-ranging perspectives from automotive, regulatory, and environmental leaders. The goal, as it has been over the decades, is to present features, analysis, and clearly-identified opinion pieces that inform and entertain, enabling readers to take in the broad view of the environmental auto industry and come to their own conclusions of the best way forward.
High-profile voices shared through Green Car Journal and GreenCarJournal.com have included those of Carroll Shelby, Bill Ford Jr., Mario Andretti, Lee Iacocca, Ray Bradbury, and Paul MacCready, among others. On the other side of the aisle, readers have also heard from leaders of the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, ACEEE, and the Alliance to Save Energy.
ABOUT GREEN CAR JOURNAL
Green Car Journal and GreenCarJournal.com are part of the Green Car Group, an organization that focuses on publishing, communications, and environmental strategy. The award-winning Green Car Journal has been a recognized authority on the intersection of automobiles, energy, and environment since 1992. It is the recipient of 13 International Automotive Media Awards and has been honored with the publishing industry’s highly-regarded Folio: Eddie Award for Best Automotive Issue.
Ron Cogan
Green Car Journal
rjcogan@greencargroup.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
X
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability
for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this
article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.