Ask an environmental activist about why electric cars haven't caught on and they will invariably mention the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" The basic message of the film is that GM and other car companies didn't want to make electric cars and set about sabotaging California's political efforts to mandate them. The movie cites a range of reasons they come to this conclusion.

One of the main claims in the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car?" is that poor advertising made the Saturn EV1, the one car that was produced in the 90s, unattractive and harmed sales. Indeed, the movie even goes so far as to claim the advertising was intentionally poor.

In the film, they quote one person criticizing the EV1 ad campaign, noting "We never saw a TV ad with an electric car  scampering up the side of a hill with a good looking man or woman draped around it. That's how they sell cars."

An EV1 saleswoman in the movie says bluntly "how far, how fast, how much. These are the three questions we are getting. Please put it in the advertising. It's not rocket science."

The Consumerist blog echoes those sentiments. After watching the movie the blogger wrote "If you want to sell a car, you put a hot person in it and shoot them skidding at high speeds across desert plains."

Here is the ad they complained about.

What is interesting is that there are now two electric cars available on the market: the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. Do they have cars with good looking men or women? Do they have cars driving fast or going off road? Do they answer the questions "how far, how fast, how much"? Take a look for yourself.

The simple truth is that it is easier to blame the message than the product. Losing politicians do this all the time -- the problem isn't me, it was my ads. The reality, however, is that the EV1 had real limitations and consumers reacted rationally to them.

Whatever the merits or demerits of the EV1 ads, Chevy and Nissan have decided to go a similar route with their ads. I'll be watching to see if greens claim the auto manufacturers don't really want to sell cars.