Electric Cars

Cars that do not run on gasoline are considered part of the electric car family.  These usually require electricity or some other form of energy to run.  Like the solar car, this uses photovoltaic (PV) cells to capture natural sunlight to make the engine run. Today, hybrid vehicles are steadily becoming popular for those who want to conserve the earths’ energy. Hybrids run on both gas and an on-board battery pack that has to be charged at a charging station.

Though it is uncertain who exactly invented the electric car, names like American inventor Thomas Davenport, Dutch inventor Sibrandus Stratingh and Scottish inventor Robert Anderson are credited for making early models that dates back to the mid 1800’s in Europe.  These models were mostly prototypes not for known consumer use.

However, in the early 1900’s, Henry Ford of Ford Motors was credited for making improvements to the electric car and in some cases, was considered a better buy than the popular Model T,  a large sedan with a manual crank engine that took fuel gas. While the electric model had less vibration, smoother acceleration and less fumes compared to vehicles that ran on fuel, the downside was that the electric car took a lengthy amount of time to start in cold weather and were priced slightly higher than fuel engines.

Electric cars were gradually phased out as the price of gas went down, longer roads were built and the crank engine would eventually disappear until the late 1960s, when an interest was sparked in conserving our planet.  As more roads and freeways were built across America and cars in general became more affordable, our air would become polluted from fumes, This is also known as smog and can be found in highly populated cities such as Los Angeles and New York,

While many prototypes were built throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it wasn’t until the 1990’s that the California Air Resources Board began pushing for low-emission vehicles that got good mileage and were easy on the wallet. In response, major players like Ford and Toyota made electric versions of certain popular models available in various parts of the world.

By the 2000s, the once-popular sports utility vehicles (SUVs) of the 1990s were phased out as a result of a recession that would bring more demand for cars that were smaller and more efficient on gas.  Since then, almost every auto manufacturer has come out with at least once hybrid model to appeal to the “green” consumer.  Hybrid models such as the Ford Fusion and Toyota Prius are popular alternatives, though these are still slightly higher in both costs and maintenance.

No-emission electric vehicles like the Tesla Roadster and Nissan Leaf are slowly gaining popularity due to tax rebate programs offered in certain U.S. states as an incentive to get drivers to convert. With the rising cost of gas and most traditional jobs being outsourced or eliminated entirely, it is uncertain to say what the future will hold for electric cars.

(links on this page are sponsored affiliate links, the owner is not a bonafide user of this product)