EV History

New York Times - July 23, 2006

LONG before the documentary film “Who Killed the Electric Car?” chronicled the rise and fall of General Motors’ futuristic EV1, battery-powered vehicles provided a backdrop for decades of curious plot twists. Many times through automotive history, ambitious inventors and optimistic investors introduced electric alternatives to gasoline — only to sputter to a stop against the practicality of internal combustion.

The EV1, whose hopeful beginnings and much-lamented demise were depicted in the recent film, was a daring battery-powered vehicle that G.M. leased, but did not sell, in California and Arizona in the late 1990’s. Customers were required to have home-charging stations to keep their EV1’s fueled; charging stations were also set up in shopping centers and office buildings.

The car gained a passionate following among most users, but when California backed down on its mandate for zero-emission vehicles, G.M. withdrew support for the two-seat coupes. The cars were ordered back to the manufacturer for crushing, much to the dismay of a vocal group that fought to keep them on the road.

The short life span and tightly controlled distribution of the EV1 will make any that remain rare treasures in the eyes of collectors, much like Chrysler’s turbine cars of the early 1960’s, another experimental model that was never sold to the public — though a few of the Chryslers have made it to market over the last 40 years.

G.M. was not the only automaker to cancel production of battery-electric vehicles so it could focus on hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells; with each cancellation, the chances of success for a mass-production battery-electric car seemed less likely.

That was not the case 100 years ago, when there was not yet a clear leader in the race for the most viable method to propel an automobile. Steam, electric and internal combustion all vied to power horseless carriages, and decades after it all seemed settled, the debate is resurfacing with a spate of new battery-electric cars announced in recent months by independent makers.

Electric cars were built by dozens of manufacturers until the early 1920’s. Their reputation for providing reliable, quiet and efficient transportation made them attractive. Doctors making house calls appreciated that electrics were ready to go when charged, eliminating the long starting process of steam cars or the tricky hand-cranking required for gasoline cars. One popular model was the Detroit Electric, made by the Anderson Carriage Company of Detroit. Available in several body styles, including an upright design often called a doctor’s coupe, the brand had its best sales years in the late 1910’s and early 1920’s.

The invention of the electric starter for gasoline engines made cars easier to use and more accessible to those without the physical strength to crank their vehicles to life. The self-starter effectively sealed the fate of the early electrics as roads improved and people drove longer distances.

A new breed of electric autos emerged after World War II. Many independent manufacturers tried their hand at building an electric that could operated cheaply and travel farther on a charge. But the battery weight and a range that was still lacking remained problems.

Some of these companies were already in the auto industry, including Kish Industries of Lansing, Mich., a tooling supplier. Its jaunty Nu-Klea Starlite — advertisements showed one with a clear bubble top — was only a short time away from production, according to letters sent to prospective purchasers in 1961. Priced at $3,950 without a radio or a heater, the car promised “a well designed body and chassis using lead acid batteries to supply the motive energy, a serviceable range of 40 miles with speeds on the order of 40 miles an hour.”

By 1965, another letter from Nu-Klea told a different story. “We did a great deal of work on the electric car and spent a large amount of money to complete it, then ran out of funds, so it has been temporarily shelved.” The Nu-Klea was not heard from again.

The Henney Motor Company of New York used a Renault Dauphine chassis and body to build its $3,600 Henney Kilowatt electric car in 1959. A Kilowatt described as being in good condition sold at a 2005 auction in Branson, Mo., for $5,194.

Reworked Renaults are a recurring theme among American electric-car builders. The MARS I and MARS II vehicles produced by Michigan-based Electric Fuel Propulsion were Renault Dauphines and R-10 models respectively. In 1967, the MARS II was the impetus for a string of five fast-charge stations at Holiday Inns just off of Interstate 94 between Chicago and Detroit.

The 1979-80 Lectric Leopard from the U.S. Electricar Corporation of Athol, Mass., was based on a Renault R-5 or Le Car, as it was known in the American market.

One of the best-selling electrics was the CitiCar, built from 1974 to 1976 by the Sebring-Vanguard Company in Sebring, Fla. Basically a golf cart with horn, lights, turn signals and wipers, the CitiCar featured an enclosed cabin with optional heater and radio, and rather tight accommodations for two. The CitiCar was succeeded by the Comuta-car, an identically styled two-seater. At a recent auction, a 1975 CitiCar model in fair condition sold for $920.

Solectria, a company based in Woburn, Mass., claims to have built more than 1,000 electric vehicles. Perhaps the best known is the Solectria Force, based on the General Motors Geo subcompact. In the 1990’s, Solectria won the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s American Tour de Sol rally numerous times.

This writer has owned two CitiCars and a Henney Kilowatt and now have a Comuta-car and a Zagato Zele, an electric made in Italy and sold in the United States in the early 1970’s.

The driving experience is best described as primitive, reminiscent of piloting an enclosed golf cart. Acceleration is rapid up to the modest top speed, but braking would make only Fred Flintstone jealous.

The best thing about electric car ownership are the startled looks from bystanders watching what appears to be a phone booth on wheels slip silently by. The cars also let you sneak up on almost anyone — the loudest noise is produced by the tires.

Click for EVnut.com_home page