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I thought people might enjoy this article from the New York Times written four decades ago.
Quote:
INDUSTRY TAKES BOLD NEW STEPS TO DEVELOP THE ELECTRIC CAR
By Susan Pastor Feb. 1, 1981 NYT Section 12, Page 17
The internal-combustion engine may have been king of the road for the last 70 years, but as a result of the gasoline hysteria that has struck the United States twice in the last decade, its chief competitor - the electric car - is again being seriously considered as an alternative.
"A whole new stage is being set for the electric car," said John Makulowich, executive director of the Electric Vehicle Council, a trade association. "Major corporations like General Motors and Gulf and Western are making commitments to electric-vehicle engineering." He attributed this in part to legislation giving financial aid and other incentives to research and development in this area.
Dozens of large and small companies are investing time and money in battery and electric-vehicle development, while hundreds, perhaps thousands, of individuals are tinkering in garages and laboratories to find an answer to America's energy needs in a world of shrinking gasoline supplies. The answer, some think, could lie in the past.
At the turn of the century, at about the time Henry Ford was filing articles of incorporation for the Ford Motor Company, the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford began producing the first commercial electric vehicles. By around 1910, one out of every three cars or trucks on American roads was there under electric power.
But by 1920, Ford had sold nearly 10 million assembly-line-built gasoline-powered cars. They were cheaper and so was the fuel they used. Producers of electric cars slowly disappeared.
It was not until the 1960's that electric cars and trucks were seriously reconsidered as an alternative to the noise and air pollution of the millions of cars on the road. General Motors tried an electric van and the Electrovair, a converted Corvair, and accelerated its battery-research program.
The Electric Vehicle Council, whose members now number 231, was formed in 1967, and legislation calling for a Department of Commerce program of research and development was introduced in the 89th Congress, only to die a quiet death.
But the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74 produced a nationwide panic, which resulted in federally mandated fuel-economy standards for the automotive industry. In 1776, a program of electric-and hybrid vehicle research, development and demonstration was mandated within the Department of Energy.
Our founding fathers were certainly ahead of their time!
The New York Times has to use optical character readers to scan hard copies of their old articles. Sometimes the OCR misreads a number. The battery wasn't even invented untl 1800.
I can't imagine lithium-ion batteries are so high-tech someone couldn't have stumbled upon it in 1981 if they'd worked hard enough on it.
M. Stanley Whittingham discovered the concept of intercalation electrodes in the 1970s and created the first rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which was based on a titanium disulfide cathode and a lithium-aluminum anode, although it suffered from safety issues and was never commercialized.The first prototype of the modern Li-ion battery, which uses a carbonaceous anode rather than lithium metal, was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985,
General Motors EV-1 in production from 1996–1999 initially used 16.5–18.7 kWh lead–acid, later versions and converted to 26.4 kWh nickel–metal hydride (NiMH). The initial version of the LEAF sold as model year 2011 used a 24 kWh lithium-ion battery.
I think most engineers believe it would have been possible to create a LEAF type EV a decade earlier using nickel–metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.
I wonder how much of the challenge has been battery technology vs. oil industry pressure/influence/money.
I can't imagine lithium-ion batteries are so high-tech someone couldn't have stumbled upon it in 1981 if they'd worked hard enough on it.
Former.
Even with modern Li-Ion batteries EVs are mostly running around with the equivalent of 2-3 gallon gas tanks. Batteries suck at energy storage. The basic jerry can for $50 or whatever stores a lot more energy than a state of the art 1,000 pound battery that costs $10,000. That's how much batteries suck at storing energy. So yeah, someone could have maybe come up with such a terribly ineffective method of storing energy in 1970 or 1960 or whatever then rather 2020. It wouldn't have really changed anything. Batteries still would have sucked at energy storage. EVs have other advantages, but the inferiority of batteries is definitely not one of them.
Like the article said around 1910 in the OP said, one out of every three cars or trucks on American roads was there under electric power. In 1898 Ferdinand Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton was powered by an octagonal electric motor, and it reached a top speed of 15.5 mph. In 1899, Porsche developed the electric wheel hub motor. In 1900 Ferdinand Porsche designed the first-ever hybrid car, the Lohner-Porsche Electromobile with this innovation was presented at the Expo in Paris. It reached a top speed of 23 mph. The car weighed about 4400 lbs.
Lohner’s reason was the air is “ruthlessly spoiled by the large number of petrol engines in use”.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malloric
So yeah, someone could have maybe come up with such a terribly ineffective method of storing energy in 1970 or 1960 or whatever then rather 2020.
So the fundamental tradeoffs are the same as they were over a century ago. It is unlikely that in another few decades there will be a battery that weighs anywhere near the weight of the euivalent energy density in gasoline.
Battery Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles were killed by the Model T which began production in 1908. The Model T was simply so much cheaper, and it weighed 1,200–1,650 lbs.
Like the article said around 1910 in the OP said, one out of every three cars or trucks on American roads was there under electric power. In 1898 Ferdinand Porsche designed the Egger-Lohner C.2 Phaeton was powered by an octagonal electric motor, and it reached a top speed of 15.5 mph. In 1899, Porsche developed the electric wheel hub motor. In 1900 Ferdinand Porsche designed the first-ever hybrid car, the Lohner-Porsche Electromobile with this innovation was presented at the Expo in Paris. It reached a top speed of 23 mph. The car weighed about 4400 lbs.
Lohner’s reason was the air is “ruthlessly spoiled by the large number of petrol engines in use”.
So the fundamental tradeoffs are the same as they were over a century ago. It is unlikely that in another few decades there will be a battery that weighs anywhere near the weight of the euivalent energy density in gasoline.
Battery Electric Vehicles and Hybrid Electric Vehicles were killed by the Model T which began production in 1908. The Model T was simply so much cheaper, and it weighed 1,200–1,650 lbs.
The introduction of the 1912 Cadillac with electric start also had a lot to do with the decline of electric vehicles. Forgetting to fully retard the timing on a crank-start vehicle before trying to start it would result in a vicious kickback.
Early cars did not have batteries, as their electrical systems were limited. A bell was used instead of an electric horn, headlights were gas-powered, and the engine was started with a crank. Car batteries became widely used as cars became equipped with electric starter motors.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mshultz
The introduction of the 1912 Cadillac with electric start also had a lot to do with the decline of electric vehicles. Forgetting to fully retard the timing on a crank-start vehicle before trying to start it would result in a vicious kickback.
In a sense internal combustin engines did not become usable to the elderly or women until this critical component was electrified. As you pointed out quite a few men ended up with smashed noses or broken wrists.
In August 1888 Bertha Benz drove from Mannheim to Pforzheim in the first intercity trip by automobile. She took along her two sons in the Patent Motor Car built by her husband Carl Benz. The boys would have been necessary for the muscle to start the car and push it out of any ruts it got stuck in along the way.
Sales of hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles seem to have levelled off or are dropping in California and Europe in favor of fully battery electric vehicles. California Air Resources Board specified that six smaller manufacturers (Jaguar, Land Rover, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Subaru, and Volvo) are also required to comply with the Zero Emission Vehicle requirements but may meet their obligation with plug-in hybrids. To qualify as a ZEV a PHEV must be capable of a 50 mile electric only range (which is much further than nearly all models today). The larger automakers can only use 20% of their ZEVs as PHEVs.
Volvo Jaguar, and Land Rover are probably going to meet the requirements with BEVs simply because that is what the market for vehicles of this price would expect, but Volvo has several plug in vehicles anyway.
Despite the sales trend, Mitsubishi, Mazda, and Subaru are all developing plug-in hybrid vehicles Subaru is now a member of the Toyota Automotive Group so they will obviously be using Toyota technology.
Even with modern Li-Ion batteries EVs are mostly running around with the equivalent of 2-3 gallon gas tanks. Batteries suck at energy storage. The basic jerry can for $50 or whatever stores a lot more energy than a state of the art 1,000 pound battery that costs $10,000. That's how much batteries suck at storing energy. So yeah, someone could have maybe come up with such a terribly ineffective method of storing energy in 1970 or 1960 or whatever then rather 2020. It wouldn't have really changed anything. Batteries still would have sucked at energy storage. EVs have other advantages, but the inferiority of batteries is definitely not one of them.
Almost everything you said there is wrong. Most modern EVs can go 250 to 300 miles on a charge which is equal to 10 or 12 gallons of gas.
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