GM's long road back to electric cars

The Sunraycer was an electrically-driven car powered by sunlight. While impractical for use on public roads, it was technological triumph.

"With Hughes, we had access to the world's best solar cells," said John Berisa, now GM's director of advanced propulsion.

The car finished the nearly 2,000 mile race almost three days ahead of anyone else, he said, with its batteries still fully charged.

The Sunraycer convinced GM executives that electric drive technology had improved enough to take another stab at a commercially viable car.

"Many of its technological and design innovations later influenced the development of GM's EV1 electric car and the Chevrolet Volt E-Flex concept," GM said in a 2008 press release naming it one of the carmaker's "Top 10 concept vehicles."

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