automotive history

EMILIO DE LA CUADRA

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emilio de la cuadra albiol

Emilio de la Cuadra: The Artillery Captain Who Built Spain’s First Car Factory He brought electric light to a Spanish provincial city, founded the first automobile manufacturer on the Iberian Peninsula, hired a Swiss kid named Marc Birkigt, lost everything inside three years, and finished his career running a government stud-horse depot. Along the way … Read more

LOHNER-PORSCHE

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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