HistoryPorn

I'm fairly convinced that the reason internal combustion won - even though it would regularly break your wrist when you started it - was that it made loud noises.

Back then cars were a luxury, and if you're buying something flashy you want people to notice you. A gasoline engine sputtering down the road would draw far more attention than an electric motor, so people bought those.

It’s interesting to see this and be reminded that 110 years ago electricity was more readily available than gasoline. It took time for gas stations to become widespread. Even in the post-WWII era it was not uncommon for drivers to encounter signs warning that the last gas station was approaching and there would be no more for another 60+ miles (100+ kilometers, I suppose). It took decades to expand the gasoline distribution network.

In one sense electric vehicles are in the same boat today, at least in the US. From the standpoint of being able to charge at home, electric is more convenient and current models on sale likely have more than enough range for most people’s daily (or probably even weekly) commute. The cost advantage is also still there when charging at home. However, if you’re going on a roadtrip you’re much more likely to face long stretches without a fast charger, and probably no signs on the road warning you. It’s up to drivers to plan ahead to make sure they’ll have enough charge to make the next charger (and potentially have a backup location in case their first choice is full or broken). With the ubiquity of gas stations, and perhaps even more so GPS navigation on our phones, most drivers aren’t used to doing much planning when going on road trips anymore.

What is the title and who is the author of this book?

I remember learning from a teacher that the oil companies basically bought up transit lines and ripped up streetcar tracks as well as killing the electric car. It explains why my city struggles so hard to build subways and street car lines. There must still be lots of money lining pockets to keep the gasoline flowing

Must have been pretty terrifying riding that vehicle! Was red bull a thing back then?

God, imagine the trouble we could've saved if battery technology was less primitive at the time.

Not yet... few more years of climate change and those of us left will welcome the reliability and independence afforded by the horse. We'll get there!

Here, allow me to put that errant apostrophe where it belongs:

*Rogers

*buddy's

You're welcome. I'll take my downvotes now.

It was the same people who made Steve Guttenberg a star.

There's a bit from Clarkson where he compares an old school aluminium-bodied Land Rover to the newfangled SUV things of the same brand. Used to be, switching to 4WD involved pulling a lever connected to a ferry-sized piece of metal going ka-chunk. Nowadays, you press a button and a red light comes on. How is that going to get you out of a ditch?

There's an 80 year old HVAC system in a section of the hospital I used to work at. This thing is just a giant radiator with big clunky fans that blow the heat from it into the unit. To power it on in winter you have to use all those cool old dials and crank it up. That thing I don't think has ever needed any major repairs and will last forever because it's so simple.

I now work in a newer condo building and the boilers and heating system is all digitally controlled and regulated. That thing goes down every other week and needs constant work

The cars were advertised as reliably getting 80 miles (130 km) between battery recharging, although in one test a Detroit Electric ran 211.3 miles (340.1 km) on a single charge. Top speed was only about 20 mph (32 km/h), but this was considered adequate for driving within city or town limits at the time.

From Wikipedia

Well yeah, but an ICE car would've been pretty dirty too. For how light the cars were, they used a lot of fuel, and there was no emissions equipment whatsoever.

We've gotten pretty good at ICE efficiency. It's not as good as EV efficiency, but it's come a LONG way in the last 100+ years.