If you’re watching this video, you may or
may not be an electric car junkie like me.
When it comes to electric vehicles I always
have an open ear mainly because of their clean
nature and also because I’m kinda getting
sick of all the fumes produced by most gas
powered vehicles.
Also because I’m just a super huge fan of
Tesla which introduced me to almost every
other electric vehicle on the market.
And electric vehicles are becoming better
and better everyday.
As with anything with a seemingly long future,
Electric Vehicles have a pretty deep rooted
past going as far back as the 19th Century.
So, whether you’re a fan of Tesla, a Faraday
Future lookout, an all around EV/Hybrid enthusiast
or just someone interested in electric vehicles,
this video is for you.
The History Of Electric Vehicles.
It all started back in the 1800s, around the
year 1828.
Who actually invented the very first EV is
uncertain as several inventors have been given
credit but the timeline goes like this.
In 1828, Hungarian Ányos Jedlik invented
a small-scale model car powered by an electric
motor that he designed.
This was sort of the small push which helped
move things along a very tiny bit.
A few years later between 1832 and 1839, A
Scottish inventor by the name of Robert Anderson
invents the first crude electric carriage
powered by non-rechargeable primary cells.
It was a small carriage that looked like the
first version of the rail carts you see in
San Francisco.
Later in 1835, another small-scale electric
car was designed by Professor Stratingh of
Groningen, Holland, and this was built by
his assistant Christopher Becker.
In the same year, Thomas Davenport, a blacksmith
from Brandon, Vermont, built a small-scale
electric car.
Essentially he created the first electric
vehicle that used a small locomotive as it’s
engine.
This type of vehicle didn’t need to stick
on rails, as it had actual wheels and a way
to control them.
Davenport was also the inventor of the first
American-built DC electric motor.
Skip forward a few years (1842) and Thomas
Davenport and Scotsmen Robert Davidson continued
to work on their designs for the electric
vehicle.
They also continued to work with non-rechargable
electric batteries which were used to power
their inventions.
Later on Gaston Plante invented a better storage
battery in 1865 and Camille Faure further
improved the storage battery in 1881, improving
the storage battery's ability to supply current
and invent the basic lead-acid battery used
in automobiles.
Though all this was going on at the time it
wasn’t until the 1890s that electric vehicles
really started to take off in popularity and
functionality.
By the time 1891 arrived, William Morrison
of Des Moines, Iowa completed his build of
the first successful electric automobile in
the United States.
It was a six-passenger vehicle capable of
a top speed of 14 miles per hour.
This was one thing which marked out the push
towards electric on not just one continent.
For the next 20 years, electric cars were
very popular amongst Americans.
In cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago,
one-third of vehicles were battery powered.
Electric taxi cabs were dominating all over
busy cities as well.
These battery-powered vehicles were doing
well due to a few factors.
Compared to their competitors, they were quiet,
easier to maneuver and didn’t release a
foul odor.
On the other hand, gas-powered cars had gears
that needed to be switched and needed to be
started up with by a hand-crank.
It is clear to note that while electric vehicles
were moving into the spotlight, so to were
gas powered vehicles and at the same time
steam was slowly dieing.
In the late 1800s, France and Great Britain
were the first nations to support the widespread
development of electric vehicles.
In 1899, a Belgian built electric racing car
called "La Jamais Contente" set a world record
for land speed of 68 mph.
It was designed by Camille Jénatzy.
In 1897 The first electric taxis hit the streets
of New York City early in the year.
The Pope Manufacturing Company of Connecticut
became the first large-scale American electric
automobile manufacturer.In 1899 with the belief
that electricity will run all vehicles in
the near future, Thomas Alva Edison begins
his mission to create a long-lasting, powerful
battery for commercial vehicles.
Though his research yields some improvements
to the alkaline battery, he ultimately abandons
his quest a decade later.
1900 hits and of the 4,192 cars produced in
the United States 28 percent are powered by
electricity, and electric vehicles represent
about one-third of all cars found on the roads
of New York City, Boston, and Chicago.
Electric vehicles had many advantages over
their competitors in the early 1900s.
They did not have the vibration, smell and
noise associated with gasoline-powered cars.
Changing gears on gasoline cars was the most
difficult part of driving and electric vehicles
did not require gear changes.
While steam-powered cars also had no gear
shifting, they suffered from long start-up
times of up to 45 minutes on cold mornings.
The steam cars had less range before needing
water compared to an electric car's range
on a single charge.
The only good roads of the period were in
town, which meant that most commutes were
local, 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 manual
effort to start, like with the hand crank
on gasoline vehicles and there was no wrestling
with a gear shifter.
So, Let’s skip forward in time 8 years to
when Henry Ford introduces the mass-produced
and gasoline-powered Model T, which will had
a profound effect on the U.S. automobile market.
It was Henry Ford’s mass-produced Model
T that dealt a blow to the electric car.
The Model T made gasoline-powered cars widely
available and affordable.
By 1912, the gasoline car cost only $650,
while an electric roadster sold for $1,750.
While all this growth was great and all that,
it’s important to note that around this
time, when electric vehicles were at their
highest growth position, was when they fell
down in popularity and almost went into extinction.
In 1912, Charles Kettering invents the first
practical electric car starter.
Kettering's invention makes gasoline-powered
cars more alluring to consumers by eliminating
the unwieldy hand crank starter and ultimately
helps pave the way for the electric car's
demise.
During the 1920s the electric car ceases to
be a viable commercial product.
The electric car's downfall is attributable
to a number of factors, including the desire
for longer distance vehicles, their lack of
horsepower, and the ready availability of
gasoline.
The decline of the electric vehicle was due
to an abundance of petroleum and the fact
that technology improved for gasoline-powered
cars.
It became obvious that gas cars were superior
to electric cars.
As more gas stations appeared, less electric
cars would be seen on roads.
By the time it was 1930, there were no electric
cars to be seen.
Decades later, when gas prices were soaring,
and oil is very rare to find, the U.S. Congress
allowed the Department of Energy to help fund
motor companies to rebuild electric cars.
When the first set of electric cars were re-released,
they were very slow.
By the 1970’s Concerns about the soaring
price of oil (peaking with the Arab Oil Embargo
of 1973) and a growing environmental movement
result in renewed interests in electric cars
from both consumers and producers.
In 1972, Victor Wouk, the "Godfather of the
Hybrid," builds the first full-powered, full-size
hybrid vehicle out of a 1972 Buick Skylark
provided by General Motors (G.M.) for the
1970 Federal Clean Car Incentive Program.
The Environmental Protection Association later
kills the program in 1976.
By 1974, Vanguard-Sebring's CitiCar makes
its debut at the Electric Vehicle Symposium
in Washington, D.C.
The CitiCar had a top speed of over 30 mph
and a reliable warm-weather range of 40 miles.
By 1975 the company is the sixth largest automaker
in the U.S. but is dissolved only a few years
later.
The rise back up to electric was a rocky road
but things smoothed out as time went by and
the technology got better.
In 1976, Congress would pass the Electric
and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development,
and Demonstration Act.
The law was intended to spur the development
of new technologies including improved batteries,
motors, and other hybrid-electric components.
Skipping back a little bit, 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.
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.
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.
In 1988, Roger Smith, CEO of G.M. , agrees
to fund research efforts to build a practical
consumer electric car.
G.M. teams up with California's AeroVironment
to design what would become the EV1, which
one employee called "the world's most efficient
production vehicle."
By 1990, The California Air Resources Board
(CARB) passes its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV)
Mandate, which requires two percent of the
state's vehicles to have no emissions by 1998
and 10 percent by 2003.
The law is repeatedly weakened over the next
decade to reduce the number of pure ZEVs it
requires.
In response, automakers developed electric
models, including the Chrysler TEVan, Ford
Ranger EV pickup truck, GM EV1 and S10 EV
pickup, Honda EV Plus hatchback, Nissan lithium-battery
Altra EV miniwagon and Toyota RAV4 EV.
The automakers were accused of pandering to
the wishes of CARB in order to continue to
be allowed to sell cars in the lucrative Californian
market, while failing to adequately promote
their electric vehicles in order to create
the impression that the consumers were not
interested in the cars, all the while joining
oil industry lobbyists in vigorously protesting
CARB's mandate.
GM's program came under particular scrutiny;
in an unusual move, consumers were not allowed
to purchase EV1s, but were instead asked to
sign closed-end leases, meaning that the cars
had to be returned to GM at the end of the
lease period, with no option to purchase,
despite leasee interest in continuing to own
the cars.
Chrysler, Toyota, and a group of GM dealers
sued CARB in Federal court, leading to the
eventual neutering of CARB's ZEV Mandate.
While all the bumps and problems of the electric
vehicle industry in the second half of the
20th century helped show the world the promise
of the technology, the true revival of electric
vehicles didn’t happen until around the
start of the 21st century.
The first turning point many have suggested
was the introduction of the Toyota Prius.
Released in Japan in 1997, the Prius became
the world’s first mass-produced hybrid electric
vehicle.
In 2000, the Prius was released worldwide,
and it became an instant success with celebrities,
helping to raise the profile of the car.
To make the Prius a reality, Toyota used a
nickel metal hydride battery -- a technology
that was supported by the Energy Department’s
research.
Since then, rising gasoline prices and growing
concern about carbon pollution have helped
make the Prius the best-selling hybrid worldwide.
Nearly 18,000 units are sold during the first
production year.
By 2006, Tesla Motors would publicly unveil
their sporty Tesla Roadster at the San Francisco
International Auto Show in November.
The first production Roadsters would be sold
in 2008 with a base price listing of $98,950.
Tesla Motors, would start producing a luxury
electric sports car that could go more than
200 miles on a single charge.
In 2010, Tesla received a $465 million loan
from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs
Office -- a loan that Tesla repaid a full
nine years early -- to establish a manufacturing
facility in California.
In the short time since then, Tesla has won
wide acclaim for its cars and has become the
largest auto industry employer in California.
By this time, Not only are electric cars becoming
more powerful, they also look like they’re
going to be paving the future for the automotive
industry.
By 2010 The Nissan Leaf was introduced in
Japan and the United States.
It became the first modern all-electric, zero
tailpipe emission five door family hatchback
to be produced for the mass market from a
major manufacturer.
As of January 2013, the Leaf is also available
in Australia, Canada and 17 European countries.
From 2010 onwards the path for electric was
clear.
With Tesla releasing electric vehicles such
as the Tesla Model S, Model 3 and Model X,
as well as planning to release a few other
electric vehicles.
Other major electric vehicles released in
this time included the BMW Brilliance Zinoro
1E, Chery eQ, Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen e-Golf,
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive, and
Venucia e30.
Even now we are seeing even better looking
electric vehicles by major car companies who
are beginning to embrace it even more and
more.
If the right path is taken and electric vehicles
are made to become even faster and more efficient
in a few years, electric could take over a
major chunk of the vehicle market worldwide.
Anyway, thanks for watching.
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