Thanks to a tip from a reader, we've been introduced to a new electric sports car maker based in Cincinnati, Ohio: Advanced Mechanical Products. AMP has taken a major shortcut to offering its first electric vehicle by starting with a gas-powered Saturn Sky as the base. Out goes the GM Ecotec four-banger, in goes an electric motor and lithium phosphate batteries. According to the manufacturer, the electric car will accelerate to sixty miles per hour in less than six seconds and have a top speed of around ninety miles per hour. A full charge will give a range of up to one-hundred-fifty miles. The company is currently accepting orders for the first batch of three-hundred cars, which will cost around $50,000 each.

For those who want an electric car conversion but can't make do with a two-seat sportscar platform, AMP says that its next two projects will center around a Saturn SUV and a Saturn sedan. Sounds like they have an affinity for the Saturn brand, huh? We look forward to finding out more information about AMP and its new vehicle, and you can be sure that we'll keep you informed with whatever information we get.

[Source: AMP, thanks for the tip, Bryan!]

You don't have to spend much time talking with Chelsea Sexton to realize she is passionate about electric vehicles. Sexton has been part of the EV debate that started in the 1990s with the debut of General Motor's first mass-production all-electric vehicle, the EV1. Sexton worked for GM, leasing the EV1 to customers and working on marketing strategies, until late 2001, when she was laid off and GM stopped the EV1 program. The EV1's story is told in the new film "Who Killed The Electric Car?", which features Sexton and others talking about the strange fate of the cars that were once hyped by Hollywood stars, then found a fanatic consumer base, and are now out rusting in the desert. Sexton found time for an exclusive Q&A with AutoblogGreen.

ABG: Do you think "Who Killed The Electric Car?" accurately portrays the EV1 story?
Sexton: I do, actually. I've been really proud of Chris [Paine, director] and Dean [Devlin, executive producer]. That is part of what has enabled all of us to have a good level of trust going into it because it is their story, too. The director and the executive producer were both drivers of these cars [EV1s]. We knew they'd do right by the story. I've been really impressed with how well Chris told that complex story in a precise and compelling way.

ABG: How did you get involved in the film?
Sexton: (laughs) I leased them their cars. I've known Chris for about nine years and I actually leased Dean his car but also his father Don Devlin was one of my very first drivers, the guy to whom the film is dedicated. In some ways, Don is responsible for our ability to tell the story with such accuracy because he was, from the very beginning, saying the auto companies do not want to do this and he made us pay attention all along. It was very rewarding to get to tell the story for Don in the end.

ABG: There is a scene in the film where you go see an EV1 in an underground parking garage, I think in a car museum. Is this the last EV1 in existence?
Sexton: No. There are about 40 that GM gutted and donated to museums and universities, basically in an effort to get some brownie points in the end, I guess. The Peterson [Automotive Museum] got one of them. Another one that is kind of making a lot of waves right now is the one in the Smithsonian because they got the only intact car, but they just removed it from display. The Washington Post wrote a big article on it a few days ago. The other interesting component is the wing that the EV1 sits in was paid for by General Motors. GM donated $10 million to the museum and now, on the eve of the film coming out, they remove the car. There's no conspiracy theory involved, but it certainly is a big coincidence.