1912Staver Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Just a few days ago there was a news story that caught my attention. A man in Ontario Canada with a 2017 Hyundai Ionic E.V. { small crossover type vehicle } needed a new battery. Just barely past the 160,000 K.M. warranty. { 100,000 miles } Taken to the local dealer for repairs. The battery replacement quote will knock your socks off, just slightly over $50,000 Canadian. Approx. $36,500 U.S.D. And this is for a 6 year old vehicle with only about 100,000 miles. I sure hope vintage- ish cars keep serving my needs for a long time ! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plymouthcranbrook Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Our Chinese friends have a company where you buy the car and rent/lease the battery. When you get low you go to one of their stations and in a very short time the robots swap out your battery for a new one. Supposedly they are losing money on each car and or battery. And the Chinese government is making up the difference. Though I have only heard about the subsidy part and have not concrete proof of that being true. https://www.scmp.com/video/scmp-originals/3168635/chinese-smart-battery-swap-stations-can-change-ev-batteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 I think these stories are "click bate". Not to say that a dealer wouldn't quote something like that. There was a story a year ago about a similar charge that was actually paid to replace the battery in a Chevy Volt. In general battery replacement costs are similar but a little higher than an engine rebuild...which basically means by the time you need it, the car won't be worth enough to justify it. Also, I have heard of clever people replacing cells, not the whole battery. There is an ongoing education process around EVs and some are ahead of others.... I do want one but I think we are in the "pre-Model T" time period on EVs just now. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 37 minutes ago, 1912Staver said: Just a few days ago there was a news story that caught my attention. A man in Ontario Canada with a 2017 Hyundai Ionic E.V. { small crossover type vehicle } needed a new battery. Just barely past the 160,000 K.M. warranty. { 100,000 miles } Taken to the local dealer for repairs. The battery replacement quote will knock your socks off, just slightly over $50,000 Canadian. Approx. $36,500 U.S.D. And this is for a 6 year old vehicle with only about 100,000 miles. I sure hope vintage- ish cars keep serving my needs for a long time ! The poor gentleman has learned the hard way that this scheme is all about getting you out of your car, any car, period. 😉 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 EV batteries are being repaired now more often also.....DIY change out the one bad cell for $150 from wrecker car etc........the young guys are wiz with playing with them too 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 With all the great strides in battery technology, why do i still wince over a 4-pack of Duracell AA's price? 🤪 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 i do agree it will be a painful transition to EV if we are forced in the name of saving the planet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 7 minutes ago, Leif in Calif said: I think these stories are "click bate". Not to say that a dealer wouldn't quote something like that. There was a story a year ago about a similar charge that was actually paid to replace the battery in a Chevy Volt. In general battery replacement costs are similar but a little higher than an engine rebuild...which basically means by the time you need it, the car won't be worth enough to justify it. Also, I have heard of clever people replacing cells, not the whole battery. There is an ongoing education process around EVs and some are ahead of others.... I do want one but I think we are in the "pre-Model T" time period on EVs just now. My 1976 Oldsmobile has never had a rebuilt engine, heck, the carburetor has never been off the engine! It still has it's complete exhaust including it's Cat. 47 years and 116,000+ miles. Tell me how that adds up?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, Pfeil said: My 1976 Oldsmobile has never had a rebuilt engine, heck, the carburetor has never been off the engine! It still has it's complete exhaust including it's Cat. 47 years and 116,000+ miles. Tell me how that adds up?? I doubt many modern cars are going to be on the road when they are 50 years old, there are too many circuits, no matter whether it's gas or electric. I just looked at my local Craigslist and there were 220 Teslas for sale and about a third of them were over 100,000 miles. I sure they are not there yet, but don't think EVs are going to be much different than IC cars in ultimate longevity, but they will be much cheaper to operate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfeil Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 2 minutes ago, Leif in Calif said: I doubt many modern cars are going to be on the road when they are 50 years old, there are too many circuits, no matter whether it's gas or electric. I just looked at my local Craigslist and there were 220 Teslas for sale and about a third of them were over 100,000 miles. I sure they are not there yet, but don't think EVs are going to be much different than IC cars in ultimate longevity, but they will be much cheaper to operate. Count the number of IC cars on the road today. There will never be enough EV's to replace them because there aren't the resources to do it, plus environmental concerns and this is a known fact. That was addressed at Davos this past summer, but as Schwab said, EV's were never intended to replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Dobbin Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Be CAREFUL WHAT YOU READ AND BELIEVE! I read that billionaires are investing billions in a Elon Musk company that is making the "Forever Battery" that recharges in minutes, is recyclable, has a 1000 mile range and will outlast the vehicle. When there is a market for change and improvement, it will come over time. Hopefully sooner than later. However I still drive gasoline powered vehicles and am not planning on changing in this lifetime. But that could change too. My gas powered utility cart uses a gallon of gas a month and electric to charge a 72 Volt cart would cost more than the gas. Buying new batteries every 5 years would cost even more. (The 72 Volt cart is much faster, but I don't need speed in these mountains) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 I am not a fan of EVs .....yet anyways.......but my bud bought a used tesla just for fun $800 ........old and high milage.......and it is amazing and in our climate also of -35 in winter costing him about $3 to go 120 miles.....i wondered about the heater using battery power......but tesla uses heat pumps off the motor and battery and it has ample heat not using battery up.......like using a cell phone a long time it gets hot...............$3 charge is cheap when not using the free charging stations in Canada........another person i know has a new one and loves it....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 (edited) fun fact......in USA in 1917......there were more electric cars and steam ......than gas cars.......including big huge trucks too and every farm had a windmill..........maybe we are just angry.......cuz we were there and well on the way.....and the planet would be in fine shape today............but we blew it ? Edited November 23, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 7 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 Edison invented the iron nickel battery 1901.....especially for electric cars back in the early days......and they could last 100 years [SERIOUSLY] and tough batteries ....the electrolite didnt last as long [20 years and can be changed].......and although slower to charge .....only needed to charge at 2 volts......and a Detroit electric car made 200 miles on a charge .......maybe more ........[ probably everybody fell asleep waiting ]........Edison was disappointed the iron nickel battery didnt go into wider use......but the iron nickel battery were made into the mid 1970s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted November 23, 2023 Author Share Posted November 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Leif in Calif said: I think these stories are "click bate". Not to say that a dealer wouldn't quote something like that. There was a story a year ago about a similar charge that was actually paid to replace the battery in a Chevy Volt. In general battery replacement costs are similar but a little higher than an engine rebuild...which basically means by the time you need it, the car won't be worth enough to justify it. Also, I have heard of clever people replacing cells, not the whole battery. There is an ongoing education process around EVs and some are ahead of others.... I do want one but I think we are in the "pre-Model T" time period on EVs just now. This was off the mainstream Canadian news media and included shots of the quote on a dealer written form and a quote from Hyundai Canada saying the dealer was in error for not refering the matter to Hyundai Canada. But not that the price quote was wrong, just that it had been handled incorectly and that Hyundai would have offered the vehttps://globalnews.ca/news/10103753/electric-car-shock-50000-battery/#:~:text=A Stoney Creek%2C Ontario man,says made no economic sense.hicle owner a attractive trade in value against a new E.V. The owner had already sold the E.V. for scrap before Hyundai Canada got involved. { some weeks after the dealer gave the repair quote }. 6 year old E.V. going for scrap because of battery cost ? Not really saving the planet is it ? Global news is a mainstream { top 5 in Canada news network} Click bait ? I dont think so. Just the facts . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 The question I’ve never seen answered, if we’re all EV, what do we do with the gasoline produced? Gasoline is a by-product of making, among other things, oils and grease and propane and butane and fuel oil and bitumen, the last being an ingredient of asphalt. We still need those. Where does the gasoline get used? 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif in Calif Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 44 minutes ago, 1912Staver said: This was off the mainstream Canadian news media and included shots of the quote on a dealer written form and a quote from Hyundai Canada saying the dealer was in error for not refering the matter to Hyundai Canada. But not that the price quote was wrong, just that it had been handled incorectly and that Hyundai would have offered the vehttps://globalnews.ca/news/10103753/electric-car-shock-50000-battery/#:~:text=A Stoney Creek%2C Ontario man,says made no economic sense.hicle owner a attractive trade in value against a new E.V. The owner had already sold the E.V. for scrap before Hyundai Canada got involved. { some weeks after the dealer gave the repair quote }. 6 year old E.V. going for scrap because of battery cost ? Not really saving the planet is it ? Global news is a mainstream { top 5 in Canada news network} Click bait ? I dont think so. Just the facts . As I said before don't doubt that it happened. By Click Bate, I mean an sensational story which may or may not reflect what's actually going on. The same dealer might want $20K for a new gasoline engine. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalowed Bill Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 I guess anyone can find anecdotal proof to substantiate almost any preconceived negative situation. Fortunately this is not indicative of reality. Here in Western Washington we live in the real world of EV. This is not a hypothetical world of the future, one that seems decades away. The proof of the viability of the technology surrounds us every day. We couldn't avoid it if we wanted to. If the negatives for EV were the norm, believe me we would hear about it, but we don't hear even a whisper. As an aside the recent spike in the thefts of Kia and Hyundai's made realize that I never see an EV stolen. I wondered if that was the case or had just been missing something. I googled a question regarding the thefts of EV's. The answer I got was that for some unknown reason EV's are almost never stolen. In our dynamic world I'm sure that will change, but for now this is part of the rest of the story. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 4 hours ago, 1912Staver said: ...Just barely past the 160,000 K.M. warranty. { 100,000 miles } Taken to the local dealer for repairs. The battery replacement quote will knock your socks off, just slightly over $50,000 Canadian. Approx. $36,500 U.S.D. And this is for a 6 year old vehicle with only about 100,000 miles. Planned obsolescence is nothing new. But sounds to me like we're headed back to the days when a car was completely worn out at 100k miles. If not worn out, cost-prohibitive to repair. Hyundai Canada knows bad PR when they see it, especially after the decades it took Hyundai to leave their crapbox reputation behind. I expect that dealer is catching some heat from Hyundai Canada over this incident too, especially since it went mainstream. Still say the people pushing all this invariably live in urban areas where public transportation is available and short trips are the norm, and EVs make sense. I live twenty miles from anywhere and the electric service here is unreliable enough I'd hate to depend on it to keep my vehicle at the ready. If I had my time to do over again not sure I'd have converted the house to all-electric. Plus, if an EV's battery fails or otherwise requires replacement, and the cost of replacement is more than the value of the vehicle? Forget it. It's going to the scrapyard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modela28 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 4 hours ago, arcticbuicks said: fun fact......in USA in 1917......there were more electric cars and steam ......than gas cars.......including big huge trucks too and every farm had a windmill..........maybe we are just angry.......cuz we were there and well on the way.....and the planet would be in fine shape today............but we blew it ? What is the source for this statistic? Please share it. No offense, but I don't believe it. There were very few electric car manufacturers in total and very few left by 1917. Model T Ford production in total was already over 2.4 million by the end of 1917 and that does not include all other non-Ford makes. Stanley and White were the largest manufacturers of steam cars and they were not high production. I doubt there were 100K electric cars produced in total by all electric car manufacturers by 1917. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Buffalowed Bill said: As an aside the recent spike in the thefts of Kia and Hyundai's made realize that I never see an EV stolen. I wondered if that was the case or had just been missing something. I googled a question regarding the thefts of EV's. The answer I got was that for some unknown reason EV's are almost never stolen. In our dynamic world I'm sure that will change, but for now this is part of the rest of the story. I am not in the auto insurance or auto theft business so my thoughts are probably way off base, but it seems to me that most auto theft is organized and organized theft is often to supply parts to the less scrupulous auto body repair shops. I know my insurance company’s policy is to require a repair shop to use new factory parts. Speaking with my agent, that policy is to reduce the market for stolen parts. It would not surprise me if many other insurance companies do the same. That implies the market for stolen parts is greater for popular cars that are old enough to be owned by less wealthy people who are trying to get their car fixed on a budget rather than through their insurance. So I suspect that the theft rate on new model cars, both EV and internal combustion, is lower than for ones a few years old. I guess I should see if there are some statistics on that. . . Riffing on the same theme, most EVs on the road are Teslas and Tesla has worked hard to make sure that you can't get the car repaired by anyone but them. That would have the same result as my insurance company requiring factory parts: Very little third party repair meaning very little repair by less scrupulous repair shops and thus low demand for stolen parts. So it would not surprise me if EVs on the road today are not stolen very often. That may change when there are larger number of older EVs from companies other than Tesla. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modela28 Posted November 23, 2023 Share Posted November 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Buffalowed Bill said: As an aside the recent spike in the thefts of Kia and Hyundai's made realize that I never see an EV stolen. I wondered if that was the case or had just been missing something. I googled a question regarding the thefts of EV's. The answer I got was that for some unknown reason EV's are almost never stolen. In our dynamic world I'm sure that will change, but for now this is part of the rest of the story. I'm not sure why anyone would steal an EV. Once you do, then you have to find a place to charge it and they're not on every corner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 I am still trying to figure out when the rest of the first generation Corvairs and going to roll over. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prewarnut Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 4 hours ago, trimacar said: The question I’ve never seen answered, if we’re all EV, what do we do with the gasoline produced? Gasoline is a by-product of making, among other things, oils and grease and propane and butane and fuel oil and bitumen, the last being an ingredient of asphalt. We still need those. Where does the gasoline get used? AV gas, Jet-A, JP-8 (but I don't know the proportions or quantities annually required). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1912Staver Posted November 24, 2023 Author Share Posted November 24, 2023 Myself and most of my fellow Canadians have more or less become used to paying through the nose for nearly everything. Particularly when compared to the normal U.S. price. Does anyone out in AACA land have a connection to a U.S. Hyundai dealer and could provide a U.S. market quote for the same replacement ? It would make an interesting " apples to apples " comparison. Like many things in the U.S. , I have a feeling it will be less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 2 hours ago, modela28 said: I'm not sure why anyone would steal an EV. Once you do, then you have to find a place to charge it and they're not on every corner! and with all the tech I'm sure they can be remotely turned off too. Any additional features you would want to use is an additional subscription fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarNucopia Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 7 hours ago, Paul Dobbin said: Be CAREFUL WHAT YOU READ AND BELIEVE! I read that billionaires are investing billions in a Elon Musk company that is making the "Forever Battery" that recharges in minutes, is recyclable, Why would a “forever battery” need to be recycled? 🤪 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 @modela28 there are quite a few sources,wiki.motor trend,hagerty etc......you can just do quick search to see many in 1917......i would assume they came up with the numbers from licenced vehicles on the road........22% were gas powered....%38 EV......%40 steam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 1 hour ago, CarNucopia said: Why would a “forever battery” need to be recycled? 🤪 Maybe if the vehicle it was in was totaled in an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 6 hours ago, trimacar said: The question I’ve never seen answered, if we’re all EV, what do we do with the gasoline produced? How in the world did this question get left off the bingo card Matt posted? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 9 hours ago, arcticbuicks said: @modela28 there are quite a few sources,wiki.motor trend,hagerty etc......you can just do quick search to see many in 1917......i would assume they came up with the numbers from licenced vehicles on the road........22% were gas powered....%38 EV......%40 steam Sorry Cant believe this. I agree with Modela28. You said there were more elec. and steam cars than gas. Wiki can put down anything they want in writing but I have to call on the bs meter. Many millions of Model Ts alone were on the road. That would mean there would have been millions of electrics and steam cars. Is it another conspiracy as to why all those millions of ev and steam cars dont exist today? Or so many period pictures, movies, publications, newspaper articles that are predominantly ic? Large trucks as well. They were marketed to businesses that delivered goods in the cities, country use was no good. I just read and article about Ward trucks, makers of an electric delivery truck of various size. Their best year was 1922 and they list just under 400 trucks made. Not to mention how many large trucks were produced for the war effort. I dont think an ev would have been of much use on the battlefields of France? Your original statement looks just like something perpetuated by the typical msn article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modela28 Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 9 hours ago, arcticbuicks said: @modela28 there are quite a few sources,wiki.motor trend,hagerty etc......you can just do quick search to see many in 1917......i would assume they came up with the numbers from licenced vehicles on the road........22% were gas powered....%38 EV......%40 steam I found the following quote from Google: "By 1900, in the United States, 38% of US automobiles, 33,842 cars, were powered by electricity (40% were powered by steam, and 22% by gasoline)". It is interesting that the percentages shown for 1900 / turn of the century are the exact same ones quoted for 1917. I believe those percentages would be accurate for 1900 since electric and steam cars initially were being developed more than gasoline autos. However, by 1917, there is no way these percentages could have held up. For them to be true by 1917, there would have to have been more electric cars sold than all of the gasoline cars sold by all gasoline car manufacturers combined. That is just not true. The math does not hold up. Besides if your stats were true, there would be more electric antique cars around today and I rarely seen them at shows. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 i am not saying i am right ...or wrong.......i wasnt around in that time ......but sure a lot of historical information and articles on numbers......i do agree it is questionable by 1917 that gas cars would be outnumbered Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 13,000 Detroit electric .....is a impressive number.......i am just reading a bunch of articles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 4 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said: i am not saying i am right ...or wrong.......i wasnt around in that time ......but sure a lot of historical information and articles on numbers......i do agree it is questionable by 1917 that gas cars would be outnumbered You just posted twice that they did! Again, wreaks of msnbc misinformation. Should not be perpetuated here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 In 1917, electric vehicles reigned, and Edison charged them General Electric The sudden rush of electric vehicle (or “EV”) developments — from new models being introduced, to breakthroughs in battery technology, to sleek new EV chargers — makes what seems like futuristic technology suddenly within reach of everyday drivers. But the truth is that today’s EV headlines could be ripped from a newspaper in 1917. It’s hard to believe, but 38 percent of vehicles in the U.S. were electric in that year; 40 percent were steam powered and only 22 percent used gasoline. There was even a fleet of electric taxis in New York City. But between the limited range of EVs and a lack of infrastructure to support recharging, the market was crying for a new and cheaper source of auto power, and that came in the form of the internal combustion, gasoline-powered engine. Check out our photo gallery below to see just what cutting-edge EV technology looked like back in Thomas Edison’s day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 The rise of early electric cars During the early years of the “Automotive Age,”—from about 1896 to 1930—as many as 1,800 different car manufacturers functioned in the U.S. While innovators in Europe had been working on battery-powered vehicles since the 1830s, the first successful electric car in the U.S. made its debut in 1890 thanks to a chemist from Iowa. His six-passenger was basically an electrified wagon that hit a top speed of 14 mph. Oliver O. Fritchle stands in front of one of his cars. 10025305, History Colorado By 1900, electric cars were so popular that New York City had a fleet of electric taxis, and electric cars accounted for a third of all vehicles on the road. People liked them because in many ways early electric cars outperformed their gas competitors. Electric cars didn’t have the smell, noise, or vibration found in steam or gasoline cars. They were easier to operate, lacked a manual crank to start, and didn’t require the same difficult-to-change gear system as gas cars. Electric cars became extremely popular in cities, especially with upper-class women who disliked the noisy and smelly attributes of gasoline-powered cars. A New York Times article from 1911 reported, “The designers of electric passenger car-carrying vehicles have made great advances in the past few years, and these machines have retained all their early popularity and are steadily growing in favor with both men and women.” It goes on, even the “best known and most prominent makers of gasoline cars in this country use electrics for driving between their homes and their offices.” The Fritchle Garage full of new electric cars to sell. The building in Denver, Colorado, is now a concert venue. 30001283, History Colorado Like today, one of the challenges for early electric car owners was where to charge them. But by 1910 owners could install their own charging stations on their property, and an increasing number of car-repair shops popped up that allowed electric cars to charge overnight. One of the most eccentric and interesting manufacturers of early electric cars was Oliver P. Fritchle, a chemist and electrical engineer who began as an auto repairman until he realized he could build a better electric car himself. Fritchle sold his first vehicle in 1906 and set up a production plant in Denver, Colorado, in 1908. An advertisement for a Fritchle electric car. Via American-Automobiles.com Fritchle made one of the best car batteries in the business, which he claimed could travel 100 miles on a single charge. He challenged other manufacturers to match his range, and set out on a publicity stunt in 1908 from Lincoln, Nebraska, to New York City in a two-seat Fritchle Victoria model that sold for $2,000. The trip took him 20 days of driving and Fritchle drove the 1,800 mile journey over rough and nonexistent roads with only one flat tire, charging at electric central stations or electric garages as night. After the nationally publicized trip, he and his car returned to Denver by train, triumphant. Fritchle marketed his cars as the “100-mile Fritchle,” and promised delivery 10 days after an order was placed. In Denver and the American West, his high-ceilinged cars reigned supreme with celebrities like Molly Brown driving around town in Fritchles. He was so successful that Fritchle even opened a sales office on Fifth Avenue in New York City, catering to the city’s affluent. Why early electric cars declined The production of electric cars peaked in 1912. Fritchle, for example, built about 198 vehicles per year between 1909 and 1914. And while at the turn of the century electric cars had made up a good proportion of the market, advances in gasoline-powered vehicles meant that electric cars owned a smaller and smaller market share as time went on. When Henry Ford introduced the mass-produced and gas-powered Model T in 1908, it symbolized a death blow to the electric car. By 1912, a gasoline car cost only $650 while the average electric roadster sold for $1,750. In 1912 Charles Kettering also invented the first electric automobile starer. Effectively eliminating the hand crank, Kettering’s invention made the gas-powered auto even more attractive to the same drivers who had preferred electric cars. One of the only remaining Fritchle electric cars is on display at the History Colorado Center in Denver, Colorado. Courtesy of History Colorado Despite Fritchle’s impressive trek across the country in his electric car, most people in the early twentieth century were not so adventurous. As the U.S. developed a better system of roads after the First World War, drivers wanted longer-range vehicles that could go the distance. The discovery of Texas crude oil also reduced the price of gasoline, making both car ownership and car maintenance more affordable to the average consumer. By 1935, electric cars had all but disappeared from the road. It would take decades—and the persistent oil crises of the 1970s—before interest in electric cars once again fueled new technologies. In 1976, Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act to support research and development in electric and hybrid vehicles. But even the electric cars of the 1970s still lagged behind their predecessors; many topped out at 45 miles per hour and some could only drive 40 miles—60 miles less than the 100-mile Fritchle—before needing to be recharged. This pyramid-shaped two passenger vehicle is a Sebring Vanguard, an electric car manufactured in Sebring, Fla. in 1974. AP Photo/File Today, it’s normal to see a Prius pull up at a signal, and the biggest electric car companies are once again household names. Whether Tesla is debuting game-changing solar roof tiles, expanding the production capacity of its electric cars, or doubling its charging network with the rollout of the Model 3, electric cars are big business. But in our rush to embrace this new wave of electric vehicles, it’s easy to forget that today’s cars have their origins in the luxurious, top-dollar designs of the early 20th century. Electric cars might once again be mainstream, but it’s been a long road to get here. A Tesla Model S sits in front of a power facility. Shutterstock Interested in learning more about the Fritchle electric car? Head to the History Colorado Center in Denver to see one on display. NEXT UP IN TRANSPORTATION Does L.A. 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TAKerry Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 DONT BELIEVE IT! Again, just using the Model T, I just did a quick search and it said that 1,362,814 were produced in 1917! Where are the 2 million plus steam and electric cars today? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticbuicks Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 i have to agree with you kerry .....i now question a few articles .....on the 1917.......but up until around 1910 quite impressive .....and before mass model T production 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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