2006 Electric Car Has Been Around For More Than A Century
The idea of having an electric car makes so much sense. Imagine workers in a large, contained industrial area using electric cars to transport material and employees from one area to the next. At the end of the run they would simply plug the car in and charge it back up. Imagine the same electric car on college campuses across the country. Students would drive from class to class and then back to their dorm or apartment. As part of their regular routine, they would plug in their electric car for a recharge.
Imagine too these quiet electric cars in planned communities transporting residents to the golf course, to the club house or around the neighborhood to visit with friends. The employees, the students, the residents would be able to drive day after day without the need for gasoline. The electric cars would operate quietly without emitting polluting toxic fumes. The area would be cleaner and quieter. This has to be a radical new idea, right?
Actually the electric car has been around in one form or another since 1832 when the Scotsman Robert Anderson invented a rather crude carriage that was powered by battery cells that were not rechargeable. Not practical for long-term use, but it was the beginning of a revolutionary concept.
Shortly after Anderson?s success, an American, Thomas Davenport, build a practical electric engine for a small train. The effort was truly global and the next step came from a French scientist, Gaston Plante, who invented the rechargeable storage battery. In 1881 the battery was improved and became the same basic lead-acid battery that is still used in today?s cars.
Electric cars were all the scientific rage in the 1890s. The decade began with William Morrison building the very first successful electric auto in Iowa in 1891. He was followed by Thomas Edison in 1893. By 1897 the Pope Manufacturing Company took the concept big time with the first electric taxis in New York City. At the end of the decade, electric cars were well accepted. Approximately one-third of the cars being made were electric and the brightest minds in the industry were working on ways to improve the battery.
However, soon after, all of that changed drastically. In 1908 Henry Ford rocked the auto world with the mass-production of the gasoline-powered Model T. At first these Model Ts were difficult to start because they required a hand crank starter. In 1912 the electric car starter was invented and the gasoline-powered car was off and running at full speed.
At the time everything seemed to support the gasoline-powered car. They could travel farther than the electric car. They had better horsepower and of course gasoline was in abundant supply from American sources. So the electric car faded from the scene.
It would be more than 40 years later before the public was again ready to even think about electric cars as a viable source of transportation. In the 1970s the price of oil was rising at alarming rates and the political turmoil in the Middle East caused American to once again look inward for answers.
Some attempts were made in the 1970s but with limited commercial awareness. These electric car models could not compete with the long-range and power that drivers had come to demand of their cars. By 2006 a few electric cars and a few hybrid models were introduced. The rising gas prices that year helped to spur public attention. The most commercially successful company has been Toyota with their Prius line.
It isn?t that consumers don?t recognize the need for alternatives to high-priced, volatile foreign oil and gas; they have simply become too accustom to the power and convenience of gasoline-powered cars and trucks. We are a very mobile society and very unwilling to compromise on that in the ways that an electric car would involve.
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.electric-car-2007.com Electric Car
Hybrid Articles:
Alternative Fuel Vehicle Market Cracks Wide Open as Oil Thunders Towards $110 per Barrel; TechnoMetrica Releases New Study
New research shows that American consumers, beaten down by high gasoline prices, are now more ready than ever for alternative fueled vehicles - Northeasterners hardest hit by high gasoline prices, market ripe for development.
Saving Money With A Hybrid Car
Hybrid Cars not only seek and help out the environment, but they can also save the consumer money through government incentives and other motives, all which add to the worthy reasons why consumers should be investing in this low fuel expenditure and unique car. The cars are being seen as a car of the future and certain states in America are giving advantages to owners of them.
What Is A Hybrid Car?
With the opening of the new year headlining oil costs rising up to a historic $100 per barrel, more and more Americans are now looking into the possibility of owning up their first hybrid car. Though, generally, American drivers have been immediately associated with gas-guzzling trucks or sports cars who trade oil efficiency for speed, the idea of paying up to $4 a gallon is creeping up to a mind-set of customers. Hybrid cars seem to solve this problem. Ironically, the hybrid car is also seen as environment friendly. This is the reason why car companies are in a race to seal victories with consumers.
TPV Weatherseals Protect Electric Car's Interior, Befriend the Outside Environment too
Jyco's TPV weatherseals protect electric car's interior, befriend the outside environment too
Seven Reasons For Not Buying A Hybrid Car
Looking to buy a hybrid car? Are you scouring the web for which are the best hybrid cars, what are the facts about hybrid cars, and perhaps even what are hybrid cars for sale on eBay?
Awareness of Alternative Fuel Has Arrived
No doubt by now we've all become aware of the alternative fuel issues. Overy the years we've had casual conversation of the issures but without any real emphasis. Fortunately we have the raw resources to solve the issues we're dealing with. We now have mobilized a serious effort to find the solutions to alternatrive fuel.
Mobility Products & Design Announces AMKAR E-6 - Six Passenger ADA Compliant Wheelchair Accessible Electric Car
Mobility Products & Design, a division of Braun Motor Works, announces AMKAR E-6, a six passenger, battery powered, ADA compliant, wheelchair accessible vehicle for the physically challenged.
Go, Greased Lightning ? the All Electric Car
Ever since Mr Benz first put an internal combustion engine onto a piece of carriagework and thus invented the car, the internal combustion engine has been powered by gasoline or some other derivative of petroleum.
Why Honda Hybrid Car Is The Best So Far
Fuel and energy prices have been at record high levels. Consumers accustomed to cheap gas are looking for ways to save money. Many people with large gas-guzzling vehicles such as trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUV) are scrambling for more fuel efficient vehicles. Hybrid cars offer customers fuel efficient alternatives to their large vehicles. In particular, the Honda hybrid car called the Insight offers excellent value.
Mobility Products & Design Announces AMKAR -- Wheelchair Accessible Electric Car
Mobility Products & Design, a division of Braun Motor Works, announces AMKAR, a low cost, zero emissions, battery powered and wheelchair accessible vehicle for the physically challenged.
Consumers Now Have One-Stop Shop for Green Cars: New Website Saves Time Researching, Buying and Selling New & Used AFVs
With 11 million alternative fuel vehicles on the road and almost 70 million AFVs on sale today, the quest to buy green cars is gaining poularity. If someone wants to learn more about AFVs and buy or sell one, it can take days to figure out where these care are listed amongst the myriad of options. GreenCarDepot.com (www.greencardepot.com) is a one-stop maketplace for buying and selling AFV's, and a hub for information and industry-related parts and careers.
Federal Assistance to Student Car Buyers Launched; Initiative to Provide 20% Student Subsidy for Hybrid Car Purchases
FASCB, also known as Access Hybrid, prevails upon the federal government to pass legislation granting a one-time, 20% subsidy to qualified buyers, through direct payment or by way of a one-year payment-free exemption on a five-year auto loan.
Indepeth Review of Hybrid Car
We did a thorough research for you on hybrid car technology because our goal is to give you some useful information on hybrid car technology.
What You Need To Know About Alternative Fuel Sources
Using alternative fuel sources is not just a matter of environmental responsibility. It is not just about calming down the little voices screaming in your head. It makes good sense and a solid investment for the future. Although most of us are either ignorant or can?t care less, the fossil fuels which form the backbone of our world economy are dwindling quite rapidly, even as we go about our daily business in our cars. Just look at the rocketing oil prices reported all over the media and you?ll get a feel of how severe the problem actually is.
How Green Are Green Cars?
With the issue of global warming taking on international importance in recent years, unsurprisingly the focus has fallen on car drivers, with cars seen as one of the major contributors towards global warming. Green cars have been held up as a potential solution, one that motorists should be embracing.