Ad at Canadian Online Auction Site Indicates 1998 EV1 Sold Recently for $465,000

Ad at Canadian Online Auction Site Indicates 1998 EV1 Sold Recently for $465,000

If an ad  at the Canadian online auction site UsedVictoria.com can be believed, the General Motors EV1 electric car shown here just sold for $465,000.

There are clues that the ad might be bogus. For starters, it includes "Grandfather prepaid in 1995." To our knowledge, GM never offered the EV1 for public sale.

All of the 1,117 EV1s, which were produced from 1996 to 1999, were leased, according to the automaker, and came with a "no purchase" clause.

As we know only to well, GM officially canceled the EV1 program in 2003 and eventually crushed all but several dozen of the zero-emissions vehicles. Those that survived were donated to museums and college engineering programs.

GM has said that it spent roughly $500 million on the EV1 program. If so, each of the 1,117 vehicles cost the automaker $447,627. In this light, $465,000 for a true collectible doesn't appear so bad.

Scott Doggett:  is an AutoObserver.com Associate Editor.