In the end, electric vehicles all but disappeared by Over the next 30 years or so, electric vehicles entered a sort of dark ages with little advancement in the technology.
Cheap, abundant gasoline and continued improvement in the internal combustion engine hampered demand for alternative fuel vehicles. Fast forward to the late s and early s. Soaring oil prices and gasoline shortages -- peaking with the Arab Oil Embargo -- created a growing interest in lowering the U. Congress took note and passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of , authorizing the Energy Department to support research and development in electric and hybrid vehicles.
Around this same time, many big and small automakers began exploring options for alternative fuel vehicles, including electric cars. Even NASA helped raise the profile of the electric vehicle when its electric Lunar rover became the first manned vehicle to drive on the moon in Yet, the vehicles developed and produced in the s still suffered from drawbacks compared to gasoline-powered cars.
Electric vehicles during this time had limited performance -- usually topping at speeds of 45 miles per hour -- and their typical range was limited to 40 miles before needing to be recharged.
Fast forward again -- this time to the s. In the 20 years since the long gas lines of the s, interest in electric vehicles had mostly died down. But new federal and state regulations begin to change things. The passage of the Clean Air Act Amendment and the Energy Policy Act -- plus new transportation emissions regulations issued by the California Air Resources Board -- helped create a renewed interest in electric vehicles in the U.
During this time, automakers began modifying some of their popular vehicle models into electric vehicles. This meant that electric vehicles now achieved speeds and performance much closer to gasoline-powered vehicles, and many of them had a range of 60 miles.
Instead of modifying an existing vehicle, GM designed and developed the EV1 from the ground up. With a range of 80 miles and the ability to accelerate from 0 to 50 miles per hour in just seven seconds, the EV1 quickly gained a cult following.
But because of high production costs, the EV1 was never commercially viable, and GM discontinued it in Depending on whom you ask, it was one of two events that sparked the interest we see today in electric vehicles. The first turning point many have suggested was the introduction of the Toyota Prius. In , the Prius was released worldwide, and it became an instant success with celebrities, helping to raise the profile of the car.
Since then, rising gasoline prices and growing concern about carbon pollution have helped make the Prius the best-selling hybrid worldwide during the past decade. Historical footnote: Before the Prius could be introduced in the U. The other event that helped reshape electric vehicles was the announcement in that a small Silicon Valley startup, Tesla Motors, would start producing a luxury electric sports car that could go more than miles on a single charge.
In the short time since then, Tesla has won wide acclaim for its cars and has become the largest auto industry employer in California. Toyota Motor has settled a patent-infringement case that has dragged on for six years. The settlement, announced Monday, came the same day the U. International Trade Commission was to launch a hearing on Severinsky's claims. Had the commission sided with the engineer, it could have barred Toyota from importing the Prius and other hybrids.
No one's discussing the settlement, but Toyota insists it developed its Synergy Drive hybrid system independently of any work Severinsky had done. Severinsky, of course, sees things a bit differently. Severinsky , a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Kharkov College of Radioelectronics, in Kharkov, Ukraine, in Eight years later, he earned a doctorate in the same field from Moscow's Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics.
He emigrated, as a refugee, to the United States in In the s, Severinsky spent a great deal of time working on uninterruptible power supplies for computer systems. Patents for gasoline-electric vehicle technology had been awarded before, but the seamless management of drive torque -- the subtle transition that makes a hybrid feel like a normal car and not an on-off switch -- had long been limited by computing power and component costs.
After years of inquiry, and encouraged by the evolution of high-voltage power semiconductors needed, as the Innovation Hall of Fame notes , to deliver "satisfactory energy efficiency and power for acceleration" , Severinsky founded Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engines in On September 6, , the U.
Patent and Trademark Office granted Severinsky a patent for his high-voltage method of powering gas-electric hybrid vehicles. He called it "Hyperdrive. Inexpensive semiconductors, which became available in the late s, allowed Severinsky to build a working vehicle prototype. In October, , he demonstrated his technology in a Cadillac Coupe de Ville and pursued licensing agreements from automakers. The Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil, by contrast, has been forgotten by the general public, though several survive and occasionally show up at antique auto shows.
Without the Elektromobil the Prius would probably still exist, but Porsche and Lohner deserve credit for having an idea that was nearly years ahead of its time. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots.
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