The first electric cars
Before Tesla, there was Edison.
Alex Q. Arbuckle
1880-1920
Electricity is the thing. There are no whirring and grinding gears with their numerous levers to confuse, no dangerous and evil-smelling gasoline and no noise. - Thomas Edison
Electric cars are not a recent innovation. They have been around as long as vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines.First produced in the 1880s, electric cars gained popularity in the following decades for their ease of operation, and for being less smelly and noisy than their gasoline-powered counterparts.With top speeds of only about 20 miles per hour and a limited range, they were primarily used by affluent drivers to get around cities. They were marketed to women in particular, as a quiet, clean car without fumes or a hand crank. Some even came disguised with fake radiators to make them more palatable to the male market.
Sales of electric cars peaked in the early 1910s as more and more homes became wired for electricity. In the United States, 38% of cars were electric at this time.
However, the popularity of electric cars cratered as numerous developments — expanded road infrastructure, petroleum discoveries, the invention of the electric starter and the muffler — made gasoline-powered cars a more affordable and practical option.
Now it is possible for an owner of an electric to install his own charging plant in his stable. - New York Times, c. 1910
