Some Things You Didn’t Know about Hybrid’s History
The history of hybrid vehicles is deeper than we thought it is… There are some significant things that we never thought were included on the colorful history of green cars. We are fed with a lot of hybrid innovations nowadays - maybe it’s time to recall the roots of these magnificent vehicles that changed the face of the automotive industry and changed the system of transportation that surely benefits the environment!
I myself wasn’t aware of the hybrid car’s history, so I decided to spend some time in front of my laptop instead of tiring myself with fixing the old Subaru fuel filter that I have. Anyway, one of the most reliable sources for hybrid cars is HybridCars.com. On their site, they featured the timeline of hybrid cars from the day it all started. Check this out and dig in with these great bits of information about hybrid car’s history back in the 1600s to 1900 brought to us by www.hybridcars.com:
History of Hybrid Vehicles
1665 – 1825
In the middle part of 1665 and 1680, plans were designed for a miniature four-wheel unmanned steam “car” for Chinese Emperor Khang His by Flemish Jesuit priest and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest. In 1769, Frenchman Nicholas Cugnot built a steam-powered motor carriage capable of six miles per hour.
1839
Robert Anderson of Aberdeen, Scotland built the first electric vehicle.
1870
Sir David Salomon developed a car with a light electric motor and very heavy storage batteries. Driving speed and range were poor.
1886
Historical records indicate that an electric-powered taxicab, using a battery with 28 cells and a small electric motor, was introduced in England.
1888
Immisch & Company built a four-passenger carriage, powered by a one-horsepower motor and 24-cell battery, for the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
1890 – 1910
The period of significant improvements in battery technology that specifies the development of the modern lead-acid battery by H. Tudor and nickel-iron battery by Edison and Junger.
1897
The London Electric Cab Company started regular service using cars designed by Walter Bersey. The Bersey Cab, which used a 40-cell battery and 3 horsepower electric motor!
1897
The Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, built around 500 electric cars over a two-year period.
1898
The German Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, at age 23, built his first car, the Lohner Electric Chaise. It was the world’s first front-wheel-drive. Porsche’s second car was a hybrid!
1898
The Electric Carriage and Wagon Company, of New York City, had a fleet of twelve sturdy and stylish electric cabs.
1899
The Pope Manufacturing Company merged with two smaller electric car companies to form the Electric Vehicle Company, the first large-scale operation in the American automobile industry.
1900
American car companies made 1,681 steams, 1,575 electric and 936 gasoline cars. In a survey done at the first National Automobile Show in New York City, patrons privileged electric as their first pick, followed intimately by steam.
