Electric vehicles may be all the rage in the zero-emission-obsessed 21st century automotive world, but they are not the novelty carmakers would have you believe.

In fact, the first electric vehicle was manufactured in the early 19th century, predating the invention of both gasoline and diesel internal-combustion engines. Its limited range, though, along with the rapid development of road infrastructure in the early 20th century that made travels much easier, caused its demise.

Even though it has been available in other regions including Europe and Asia since 2009, Chevrolet’s latest city car, the Spark, will make its North American debut at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16.

The five-door, four-seat subcompact hatchback will be available in the U.S. and Canada with a single engine option, a 1.2-liter four-cylinder with an output of 85HP that turns the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox or, optionally, a four-speed automatic transmission.

On Wednesday, General Motors held a special event in the U.S. to announce the launch an all-electric version of its Chevrolet Spark. But it didn't go as smoothly as the company had hoped for.

You see, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, during the event, computers displayed a derogatory remark after any mention of certain GM competitors like Chrysler to the 200 members of the media who were using the company’s internet network.

The development of the Chevrolet EN-V prototype wasn't the only electric vehicle-related news to come out of General Motors' Detroit headquarters today as the automaker also announced the launch of the Spark EV.

The pure-electric version of its Spark city car will be produced in limited numbers for select global and US markets, including California, starting from 2013.

“The Spark EV offers customers living in urban areas who have predictable driving patterns or short commutes an all-electric option”, said Chevrolet’s global vehicle chief engineer for electric vehicles Jim Federico.

In the same warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is purportedly stored, all of the world’s missed opportunities are held in a sort of limbo, no doubt waiting for sweet release at the hands of Irina Spalko.

What you may not realise until the last twenty seconds (assuming you’re seeing this ad for the first time and didn’t look at the title of this post) is that it’s a TV commercial for Chevrolet’s European arm.