Why are they not available yet? There were a couple models that sold about a decade ago. The technology is there. Is it because big oil doesn want us to buy vehicles that actually save us $$$?
They had electric cars over 100 years ago.....
1830s to 1900s: Early history
1912
Detroit Electric advertisement
Before the pre-eminence of
internal combustion engines, electric automobiles held many speed and distance records. Among the most notable of these records was the breaking of the 100 km/h (62 mph) speed barrier, by
Camille Jenatzy on April 29, 1899 in his 'rocket-shaped' vehicle
Jamais Contente, which reached a top speed of 105.88 km/h (65.79 mph). Before the 1920s, electric automobiles were competing with petroleum-fueled cars for urban use of a quality service car.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference">
[13]</sup>
Thomas Edison and an electric car in 1913 (courtesy of the
National Museum of American History)
In 1897, electric vehicles found their first commercial application in the U.S. as a fleet of electrical New York City taxis, built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia. Electric cars were produced in the US by Anthony Electric,
Baker,
Columbia,
Anderson,
Edison <sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="Link needs disambiguation" style="white-space: nowrap;">[
disambiguation needed]</sup>,
Studebaker,
Riker,
Milburn, and others during the early 20th century. In 1917, the first gasoline-electric
hybrid car was released by the Woods Motor Vehicle Company of Chicago. The hybrid was a commercial failure, proving to be too slow for its price, and too difficult to service.
The low range of electric cars meant they could not make use of the new highways to travel between cities
Despite their relatively slow speed, electric vehicles had a number of advantages over their early-1900s competitors. 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, and electric vehicles did not require gear changes. Electric cars found popularity among well-heeled customers who used them as
city cars, where their limited range proved to be even less of a disadvantage. The cars were also preferred because they did not require a manual effort to start, as did gasoline cars which featured a hand crank to start the engine. Electric cars were often marketed as suitable vehicles for women drivers due to this ease of operation.
The Henney Kilowatt, a 1961 production electric car
Acceptance of electric cars was initially hampered by a lack of power infrastructure, but by 1912, many homes were wired for electricity, enabling a surge in the popularity of the cars. At the turn of the century, 40 percent of American automobiles were powered by steam, 38 percent by electricity, and 22 percent by gasoline. 33,842 electric cars were registered in the United States, and America became the country where electric cars had gained the most acceptance. Sales of electric cars peaked in 1912.
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