The electric car, darling of the 1907 Auto show
If you're at all familiar with the 100+ year history of the electric car, then the fact that there are women in the photo above should not surprise you on whit. If you need a refresher, check out this post on women and electric cars and this one on women and greener driving.
OK, so, what's the reason for brining this up again? It's because of Scientific American's gallery of cars from a 1907 car show. SciAm's post is a photographic supplement to the November 2007 issue, specifically an article on cars in the magazine's "50, 100 & 150 Years Ago" section. In the best recycling fashion, the pictures are from the November 1907 Scientific American. The car in the photo is "A Powerful Electric Touring Runabout." Does anyone know more about it?
[Source: Scientific American]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Riverrat797979 10:25PM (11/16/2009)
The real reason we still drive fossil fuel is simple, follow the money. The government can not afford to have a successful electric car because of the fuel tax dolars. Billions.
The RAT!
XXX
Reply
Joseph 9:42PM (10/15/2007)
Hmmm...well it doesn't look like the famous hub-motor EV from Porsche.
Reply
1CrazyCdn 6:45PM (10/16/2007)
I also know of a 1905 Baker Electric in the Science & Tech museum in Ottawa. Each year they used to drive it all day in a parade and it would run between 30 - 40 mph on three 6 volt Canadian Tire batteries. Odd that over 100 years later we still drive cars that are sucking tax generating fossil fuel faster than a downtown hooker on a Saturday night...
Reply
Kent Beuchert 11:27PM (10/15/2007)
The reason we're still driving gasoline cars is because electric cars are still not viable alternatives. I note that the 1907 Detroit Electric (not the car in the photo) was not very different from the EV-1 : expensive, a recharge times of around 8 hours, a driving range that varied, but could top 100 miles. In 90 years, the electric car hadn't improved much at all -it still wasn't competitive with gasoline cars. If you ain't got a practical battery, you ain't got nothin'. If it weren't for the oil situation and global warming , the electric car would still be solely in the realm for crankpots and eccentrics.
Reply
Mort 2:33AM (10/16/2007)
Kent Beuchert: Whatever.
Reply
Alex Campbell 2:35AM (10/16/2007)
Electric cars are available, people are buying and driving them home. You can too. Enough excuses, electric transportation is a viable alternative. Not a replacement, but a complimentary way of helping save money and energy.
Reply
Domenick 5:31AM (10/16/2007)
Mort: What you said.
Alex: I'm holding out for 4 wheels.
Reply
Domenick 5:33AM (10/16/2007)
Oops...sorry Alex, I meant to include a little happy face (^_^) to indicate good natured ribbing.
Reply
Tim 8:54AM (10/16/2007)
This is impossible. A complete fabrication. We all know that the batteries aren't ready yet!
Reply
Phil L. 1:01PM (10/16/2007)
Yeah, it's been 100 years. Yeah, batteries are a whole lot better. Enough already.
I want to test drive an electric car this weekend!
Hmmm.... Let's see: There's.... Nothing. Not one new EV anywhere near me I can test drive this weekend. Even if I could test drive it, I probably couldn't afford it. I know: There are some exceptions out there. Someplace.
I'm still waiting - and hoping - for the viable, sustainable, affordable EV market to reach me.
Reply
steven 5:02PM (10/16/2007)
So I'll ask again....HOW MUCH does it cost to charge an EV at your house if you drive X miles a day. No BS, no "well charge it overnight when the grid has a surplus", no "well it is free when you charge it at work". HOW MUCH? I think folks are gonna see a new form of sticker shock.
Reply
Phil L. 5:54PM (10/16/2007)
steven -
There are folks who have worked this out; take a look over on the EV discussion list (evdl.org). Most of the numbers I've seen are in the $0.02 to $0.04 per mile range.
Yes, that's cheap. However, it's important to note that, for the EVs I've researched, total *battery* life cycle cost per mile will be higher than *electricity* cost per mile. Based on some numbers I've seen for new EV designs with modern batteries (the Tesla), this is still true. If someone has more accurate numbers, please share.
There will be some sticker shock, but - at least for now - it won't be in the power bill.
Reply
evage2 2:39PM (10/27/2007)
Speaking of old-time EVs, there is a great book out called Internal Combustion that recounts the story of Edison and Ford working on an electric car and a mysterious fire that destroyed 7 years worth of research and a multi-million dollar EV facility in the early 1900s.
Someone said the batteries aren't available. How come GM and Ovonics won't license out the NiMH batteries developed by US taxpayers with the United States Advanced Battery Consortium?
People, the batteries for EVs are here and they're being kept off the market because big oil doesn't want to lose their record profits.
Solution: don't wait for the big automakers, start using electrics today to build economies of scale. Use your economic power, which is the only thing these people understand. If you can't buy a car, buy a scooter or a bicycle and start gas-free driving today.
Reply