The History and Benefits of Electric Cars Essay - 1237 Words

The History and Advantages of Electric Cars Early electric vehicles may have appeared as early as 1830. Scottish inventor Robert Davidson constructed the worlds first prototype electric vehicle in 1837, but historians generally credit J.K. Starley, an English inventor, and Fred M. Kimball of Boston with building the first practical electric cars in 1888. Later in the in the decade, William Morrison of Des Moines, Iowa, constructed his version of the electric vehicle in 1891. His vehicle required 24 storage battery cells, took 10 hours to charge, and could run for 13 hours. It could carry up to 12 people and had a 4-horsepower motor. His car could reach speeds up to 14 miles per hour. Morrison, however, never mass-produced his†¦show more content†¦It is quite possible. However, that an electric storage battery will be discovered which will prove more economical, but at the present the gasoline or naphtha motor looks more promising. It is only a question of a short time carriages and trucks in every large city will be run on motors. Thomas Edison seemed to predict the future. Even so, in 1904 one-third of all the cars in New York City, Chicago, and Boston were electrically powered. By 1912, there were 20,000 electric cars and 10,000 electric busses and trucks were on the road in the United States. Only a handful of manufactures, notably Baker and Detroit Electric, made it into the 1930s. Former President Woodrow Wilson owned one of the most elegant cars of the period, a 1918 Milburn Electric. In the 1960s and 1970s a handful of electric car manufactures started to reappear because of the increasing concern about air pollution and a depleting supplies of petroleum. In the late 1970s and 1980s, manufactures started developing electric cars called hybrids. These cars have all the components of the electric cars plus an internal-combustion engine. In the late 1980s, one of the most e technologically advanced electric cars was the Sunraycer, developed by General Motors Corporation. This experimen tal car used solar energy to recharge its batteries. More recently, in 1996, General Motors Corporation announced the first modern, mass-produced car designed specifically as an electric car. Also in 1996,Show MoreRelatedI Search : Going Green1418 Words   |  6 Pagesmillions of Americans. Before industrialization, people relied on short distance transportation for their individual freedom. Cars put the user in control and broke down the travel barriers of the steam powered train. Americans could now travel alone, which encouraged their level of independence. This independence brought along responsibility in the form of upkeep. Car users now had to maintain fuel levels with the hazardous liquid â€Å"gasoline†. As more Americans hit the road, more gasoline filledRead MoreCalifornias Ten Percent Electric Car Requirement: Should it be Implemented?1231 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Californias ten percent electronic car requirement: Should we implement it in our state? Introduction As the chief policy analyst of state XYZ, it was with great interest that I read of Californias recent proposal to reduce mobile-source emissions by requiring that 10 percent of all new cars in the state be electric. Although this policy only applies to the state of California, given our location, it is inevitable that there will be some spill over effects upon the local economy both inRead More History of the Electric Vehicle Essay examples1615 Words   |  7 PagesHistory of the Electric Vehicle The History of Development: In general the automobile was invented to transport people. Horses were the main mode of transportation and a self powered vehicle seemed to offer many benefits. We have looked at the automobile history and seen how this innovation occurred. The United States in the 19th century had been developing a very successful metal-working industry, which included firearms, sewing machines and machine tools. Not only did this push technologyRead MoreThe Marketing Strategy Of Renault1742 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Renault(based in Paris,France) and Nissan(based in Yokohama,Japan) are both automobile manufacturers founded over a century ago. During this time the marketplace for cars has become far more competitive and has become concentrated into only a handful of very large manufactures. The remaining profitable brands were being subsumed by larger entities seeking economies of scale in manufacturing. Until 1990 Nissan was large enough to remain efficient on its own but beyond this financialRead MoreCar Manufacturers And The Automotive Industry1750 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract Car manufacturers and the automotive industry as a whole have been shifting gears towards producing more electric and hybrid vehicles due to the harm fuel-engine vehicles are causing to the people and environment. This research report describes and clarifies how electric vehicles work as well as comparing them to fuel-engine vehicles. The report lists key metrics for electric vehicles (advantages, disadvantages, effect on the environment, etc.) in addition to sharing the different viewsRead MoreTaking a Look at Electric Cars1825 Words   |  7 Pagespowered cars we use today attribute to about 25% of the worlds carbon emissions (Agassi, Shai Agassi: A new ecosystem for electric cars). This is a giant concern, but the car industry may find themselves a little more concerned with the depleting oil that is burned away daily by drivers. It’s unavoidable, there needs to be a change made sooner than later, and hybrid isn’t solving our problems fast enough. The best alternate choice seems to be a full conversion to electric cars. These cars replaceRead MoreThe Impact Of Electric Vehicles On The Automotive Industry1380 Words   |  6 PagesIII. History of Electric Vehicles The steady increase in electric vehicles over the past 10 years is a result of gasoline scarcity. Many believe this reason plus environmental factors are what forced scientist to develop an alternative. The idea of a vehicle running off of electricity without a combustion engine sounds very extreme and futuristic. The majority of people fail to realize the electric car was originally introduced in the late 1800’s, but was eventually put to rest with the conveniencesRead MoreTesla Ford s Influence On American Innovation Essay1567 Words   |  7 Pages Abstract Tesla Motors was established in 2003 by entrepreneurs Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Today, Tesla Motors provides power train components for car producers, including Daimler and Toyota, designs and manufactures Model S, the first world ‘s premium zero-emission sedan that became the third best-selling all-electric car in the U.S. The company is worth more than $25 billion and has one of the highest growth rate in U.S. This success of the company is contributed to Elon Musk, theRead More Electrical Vehicles and Benefits to the Environment Essay1700 Words   |  7 PagesElectrical Vehicles and Benefits to the Environment      There is a serious problem facing the world right now.   It is air pollution.   The number one contributor to this epidemic is automobile emissions.   We have all heard of the issues that are involved with air pollution including the depletion of the o-zone layer, the green house effect, and acid rain.   The problem has been scoped from every imaginable angle, and now it is time to solve the problem.   I propose that each of the ‘Big Three’ (FordRead MoreHybrid Cars1069 Words   |  5 PagesMKTG 396: Assignment #1: The Prius Leading a Wave of Hybrid Cars Question #1: Company: Within the company there are a few areas to look at regarding Toyota s introduction of the Prius. Areas such as financing, research, development, as well as others. When introducing the Prius, Toyota started early with its promotion of the hybrid. Spending US$15 million out of the US$190 million is spent on marketing in the 2002 year. Toyota informed its potential customers threw informative emails, TV