Audi Duo: The Plug-In Hybrid Wagon America Never Got
Audi Duo: the plug-in hybrid wagon Audi built in 1989 and America never got. Ten built, a Prius that sold 123,000 and numbers that don’t add up.
History
Around 1900, electric cars were going toe to toe with gas, and almost nobody remembers. Pioneers, forgotten brands, and every time someone decided to kill the EV.
Henney Kilowatt
Henney Kilowatt: The 1960 Electric Car Sold to the Meter Reader In 1960 you could spend $3,600 on an Oldsmobile 98. Or you could spend it on a French compact with golf-cart batteries under the skin and a charging cord instead of a gas pump. Consumer Guide and Lancaster Insurance both put the Henney Kilowatt’s … Read more
Peugeot VLV: The 1941 Electric Car With No Gearbox and No Differential
Peugeot VLV: the 1941 electric car that weighed 350 kg with no gearbox or differential. 377 were built before a ban ended it. Sourced facts.
La Jamais Contente: The First Car Over 100 km/h Ran on Batteries
La Jamais Contente broke 100 km/h (62 mph) on April 29, 1899, with Camille Jenatzy. It was electric, and it covered the kilometer in 34 seconds.
Woods Dual Power: The Chicago Hybrid That Hung in Henry Ford’s Museum
Woods Dual Power: the 1916 Chicago hybrid with a dynamo and two levers. It cost almost four years of pay, and its patent arrived too late.
Edison and the Electric Car: The Battery He Had to Pull Off the Market
Edison and the electric car: his nickel-iron battery was recalled in 1904, Ford tested it in 1914, and a Swede filed first. The full story.
TAMA E4S-47
Tama E4S-47: The Electric Car That Beat Its Own Spec Sheet in 1948 Here’s a quiz for anyone who thinks battery swapping is a 21st-century invention. In 1910 a power company in Hartford, Connecticut, started swapping batteries on electric trucks. In 1947 a Japanese outfit built a swappable pack into a taxi. In 2011 an … Read more
HISTORY OF THE ELECTRIC CAR
Electric cars aren’t the future — America had them 125 years ago and killed them Here’s a fact that should rearrange how you think about your driveway: in 1900, more American cars ran on electricity than on gasoline. The electric car isn’t a brave leap into the unknown. It’s a comeback. America built it, loved … Read more
LOHNER-PORSCHE
Lohner-Porsche: America Was Winning the Electric Race, Then the Battery Won Here is a number that ruins a lot of dinner-party history. The 1899 US census counted 1,575 electric vehicles built, 1,681 steam vehicles, and 936 gasoline cars. Gasoline came third. In America. New York’s first motorized cab fleet was electric, and the company running … Read more