Electric vehicles - a bit of history.
An incomplete look at the history of electric vehicles.
The historical period for the EV, is for the purposes of this site defined as anything before the year 2000.
Remember, today becomes yesterday and slips inexorably into history!
The historical period for the EV, is for the purposes of this site defined as anything before the year 2000.
Remember, today becomes yesterday and slips inexorably into history!
This documentary shows the evolution of the electric car from the very beginnings until the first mass production pioneered by Mitsubishi, Renault and Nissan.
If not yet the revolutionary solution, it is still is far better than burning the limited resources of fossil fuels (with an efficiency lower than 30%) to move our vehicles . Nevertheless, one big question arises: where will we get from the enormous amount of electrical power needed to charge the batteries in case of mass utilization of this kind of vehicles? If the energy source is still burning fossil fuels, then the results (in terms of overall efficiency and CO2 emissions) might even be worse than using the old internal combustion engine... (Running time, 48:08min) |
The Electric Car Revolution.
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The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of the Electric Vehicle.
A very brief account.
A very brief account.
Beginnings
It is uncertain who built the first EV and several inventors have been given credit. In 1828, Hungarian, Ányos Jedlik invented a small-scale model car powered by an electric motor that he designed. Between 1832 and 1839, Robert Anderson of Scotland invented a crude electric-powered carriage. In 1835, another small-scale electric car was designed by Professor Stratingh of Groningen, Holland, and built by his assistant Christopher Becker. In 1835, Thomas Davenport, a blacksmith from Brandon, Vermont, built a small-scale electric car. Davenport was also the inventor of the first American-built DC electric motor. Better Batteries
More practical and more successful electric road vehicles were invented by both Thomas Davenport and Scotsmen Robert Davidson around 1842. Both inventors were the first to use the newly invented non-rechargeable electric cells or batteries. Frenchmen Gaston Plante invented a better storage battery in 1865; his fellow countrymen Camille Faure further improved the storage battery in 1881. American Designs In the late 1800s, France and Britain were the first nations to see the widespread development of electric vehicles. In 1899, a Belgian built electric car designed by Camille Jénatzy called "La Jamais Contente" was the first vehicle to exceed 100kph. It was not until 1895 that Americans began to devote attention to electric vehicles after an electric tricycle was built by A. L. Ryker and William Morrison built a six-passenger wagon both in 1891. Many innovations followed and interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
In 1897, the first commercial EV application was established as a fleet of New York City taxis built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia. By the turn of the century, America was prosperous and cars, now available in steam, electric, or gasoline versions, were becoming more popular. The years 1899 and 1900 were the high point of electric cars in America, as they outsold all other types of cars. One example was the 1902 Phaeton built by the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago, which had a range of 18 miles, a top speed of 14 mph and cost $2,000. Later in 1916, Woods invented a hybrid car that had both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor.
Electric vehicles had many advantages over their competitors in the early 1900s. They did not have the vibration, smell, and noise associated with gasoline cars. Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most difficult part of driving, while electric vehicles did not require gear changes. The only good roads of the period were in town, causing most travel to be local commuting, a perfect situation for electric vehicles, since their range was limited. The electric vehicle was the preferred choice of many because it did not require the manual effort to start, as with the hand crank on gasoline vehicles, and there was no wrestling with a gear shifter.
While basic electric cars cost under $1,000, most early electric vehicles were ornate, massive carriages designed for the upper class. They had fancy interiors, with expensive materials, and averaged $3,000 by 1910. Electric vehicles enjoyed success into the 1920s with production peaking in 1912. Decline.
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Electric vehicles had all but disappeared by
1935. The years following until the 1960s were dead years for electric
vehicle development and for their use as personal transportation.
The Return The 60s and 70s saw a need for alternative-fueled vehicles to reduce the problems of exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines and to reduce the dependency on imported foreign crude oil. Many attempts to produce practical electric vehicles occurred during the years from 1960 and beyond. Battronic Truck Company In the early 60s, the Boyertown Auto Body Works jointly formed the Battronic Truck Company with Smith Delivery Vehicles, Ltd., of England and the Exide Division of the Electric Battery Company. The first Battronic electric truck was delivered to the Potomac Edison Company in 1964. This truck was capable of speeds of 25 mph, a range of 62 miles and a payload of 2,500 pounds. Battronic worked with General Electric from 1973 to 1983 to produce 175 utility vans for use in the utility industry and to demonstrate the capabilities of battery-powered vehicles. Battronic also developed and produced about 20 passenger buses in the mid 1970s. CitiCars & Elcar Two companies were leaders in electric car production during this time. Sebring-Vanguard produced over 2,000 "CitiCars." These cars had a top speed of 44 mph, a normal cruise speed of 38 mph and a range of 50 to 60 miles. The other company was Elcar Corporation, which produced the "Elcar". The Elcar had a top speed of 45 mph, a range of 60 miles and cost between $4,000 and $4,500. United States Postal Service
In 1975, the United States Postal Service purchased 350 electric delivery jeeps from the American Motor Company to be used in a test program. These jeeps had a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 40 miles at a speed of 40 mph. Heating and defrosting were accomplished with a gas heater and the recharge time was 10 hours. Impact of New Legislation
Several legislative and regulatory actions in the United States and worldwide renewed the electric vehicle development efforts. Primary among these was the U.S. 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment, the U.S. 1992 Energy Policy Act, and regulations issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). In addition to more stringent air emissions requirements and regulations requiring reductions in gasoline use, several states have issued Zero Emission Vehicle requirements. The "Big Three" automobile manufacturers, and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a number of vehicle conversion companies became actively involved in electric vehicle development through the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). Electric conversions of familiar gasoline powered vehicles, as well as electric vehicles designed from the ground up, became available that reached highway speeds with ranges of 50 to 150 miles between recharging. 90s EV Models Some examples of 90s vehicles were the Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck converted by U.S. Electricar. It was powered by dual alternating current motors and lead acid batteries. It had a range of about 60 miles and could be recharged in less than 7 hours. The Geo Metro, converted by Solectria Corp., an electric-powered 4-passenger sedan powered by an alternating current motor and lead-acid batteries. It had a range of 50 miles, and it could be recharged in less than 8 hours. During the 1994 American Tour de Sol from New York City to Philadelphia, a 1994 Solectria Geo Metro cruised over 200 miles on a single charge using ‘Ovonic’ nickel metal hydride batteries. Ford offered an electric version of its Ford Ranger pickup. It had a range of about 65 miles with its lead acid batteries, had a top speed of 75 mph, it accelerated from 0 to 50 mph in 12 seconds, and it had a payload of 700 pounds. General Motors designed and developed an electric car from the ground up instead of modifying an existing vehicle. This vehicle, called the EV1, was a 2-passenger sports car powered by a liquid-cooled alternating current motor and lead-acid battery. The EV1 had a top speed of 80 mph, had a range of 80 miles, and could accelerate from 0 to 50 mph in less than 7 seconds. In addition to the EV1, General Motors offered an electric vehicle Chevrolet S-10 pickup. This vehicle had a range of 45 miles, it accelerated from 5 to 50 mph in 10 seconds, and it had a payload of 950 pounds. Other electric vehicles that were available during 1998 included the Toyota RAV4 sport utility, the Honda EV Plus sedan, and the Chrysler EPIC minivan. These three vehicles were all equipped with advanced nickel metal hydride battery packs. Nissan placed limited numbers of their Altra EV station wagons in California fleets during 1998. The Altra was equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack. In addition, both Ford and General Motors during 1998, made the Ranger, the EV1, and the S-10 pickup available with nickel metal hydride battery packs. Cost Effectiveness By 1998, electric vehicles satisfied the driving requirements of many fleet operators and two car families, however, a cost of $30,000 to $40,000 (1998) made them expensive. However, this cost was considerably lower when tax credits and incentives were included. Large-volume production and improvements in the production process later made prices competitive with IC powered vehicles. For a wider look at the early days of electric vehicles use the buttons below.
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