The first fully automated subway train began revenue service with passengers in New York City. This began a six-month trial period as a shuttle 2,600-ft between the Times Square and Grand Central stations. A ceremony was followed by a run carrying invited guests and reporters. Next day, it began service for three hours each morning and evening rush hours. With a top speed of 30 m.p.h., a round trip took 4-1/2 mins including waiting time in the station. The three-car train carried a stand-by motorman. A strike threat by the Transport Workers Union had delayed an earlier scheduled trial beginning the previous 15 Dec, and resulted in a contract agreement that a motorman would still be aboard each train during the trial period. It remained in service until 21 Apr 1964, until destroyed by the spread of a nearby major fire in a station.«

The EV1 electric car, running on nickel-metal-hydride batteries, was announced by General Motors at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show. Its limited introduction began later in the year, available only on lease, and only in California and Arizona. Although its wider adoption would have met requirement to move toward zero-emission cars, when California backed down from its stricter air-pollution standards, the GM scrapped the electric model in 2003, citing excessive production and maintenance expenses. Instead, the company fed consumers' whims for sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) and small trucks, rather than downsizing their fleet or developing hybrids in the face of more fuel-efficient imports. The company went bankrupt in 2008, and was bailed out by the U.S. government.«