I saw the movie and have to admit the EV-1 was a good product for its time. The reason they leased it was that very few if any could have afforded it as it was.
The Volt is not vaporware and should be a huge advance for electric cars when it is introduced.
As I understand it, the team that designed the EV-1 are also at work on the Volt. So maybe it wasn't quite the boondoggle everyone thinks. Also, the timing wasn't quite right in 1999. Gas was still too cheap for anyone to seriously consider a car like the EV-1. Too many people still drive gas hogs even now as it is. Toyota took the next step with the Prius and showed how to really do it. We can't and won't get rid of gasoline entirely anytime soon since there are literally millions of ICE cars on the road. Global warming is a hoax intended to destroy American auto makers. I drive a Prius for its fuel savings (my wife drives a Yaris Liftback) so gas is not that big of an expense. However, I look forward to getting a Volt in order to save gas and move to an electric vehicle depending on the price.