HISTORY of ELECTRIC VEHICLES 1834, Part 2

The decline of the electric vehicle was brought about by several major developments: By the 1920s, America had a better system of roads that now connected cities, bringing with it the need for longer-range vehicles. The discovery of Texas crude oil reduced the price of gasoline so that it was affordable to the average consumer. The invention of the electric starter by Charles Kettering in 1912 eliminated the need for the hand crank. The initiation of mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford made these vehicles widely available and affordable in the $500 to $1,000 price range. By contrast, the price of the less efficiently produced electric vehicles continued to rise. In 1912, an electric roadster sold for $1,750, while a gasoline car sold for $650. Thomas Hugh Parker, son of the founder the company, Electric Construction Company (ECC) was a brilliant innovator and inventor. He showed an early interest in powered vehicles and claimed to have had a battery powered car running as early as 1884. He religiously obeyed the Light Locomotive Act, the red flag law, which lasted until 1896 and set a speed limit of 5m.p.h. on motorised vehicles. Thomas described Wolverhampton, as a hilly town without a single yard of level ground, between his house in Tettenhall and the town centre. During the remaining part of the century he built several other cars, one of which gave over 18 months trouble free service on daily runs to and from Tettenhall, to the works at Bushbury. Thomas is credited with the design and manufacture of E.C.C.'s most famous car, the 'electric dog-cart', which was built in 1896. Reins were used to steer the vehicle because Mr. A. B. Blackburn, who was works manager, enjoyed horse riding and so the vehicle had to be as similar as possible to a horse-drawn one. The operation of the motor controller was by sliding seat.

EV DECLINE and REBIRTH

Electric vehicles had all but disappeared by 1935. The years following until the 1960s were dead years for electric vehicle development and for use as personal transportation. The 1960s and 1970s saw a need for alternative fueled vehicles to reduce the problems of exhaust emissions from internal combustion engines and to reduce the dependency on imported foreign crude oil. Many attempts to produce practical electric vehicles occurred during the years from 1960 to the present. In the early 1960s, the Boyertown Auto Body Works jointly formed the Battronic Truck Company with Smith Delivery Vehicles, Ltd., of England and the Exide Division of the Electric Battery Company. The first Battronic electric truck was delivered to the Potomac Edison Company in 1964. This truck was capable of speeds of 25 mph, a range of 62 miles and a payload of 2,500 pounds. Battronic worked with General Electric from 1973 to 1983 to produce 175 utility vans for use in the utility industry and to demonstrate the capabilities of battery-powered vehicles. Battronic also developed and produced about 20 passenger buses in the mid 1970s. Two companies were leaders in electric car production during this time. Sebring-Vanguard produced over 2,000 "CitiCars." These cars had a top speed of 44 mph, a normal cruise speed of 38 mph and a range of 50 to 60 miles. The other company was Elcar Corporation, which produced the "Elcar". The Elcar had a top speed of 45 mph, a range of 60 miles and cost between $4,000 and $4,500. In 1975, the United States Postal Service (see top image) purchased 350 electric delivery jeeps from the American Motor Company to be used in a test program. These jeeps had a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 40 miles at a speed of 40 mph. Heating and defrosting were accomplished with a gas heater and the recharge time was 10 hours. End part 2