The Electric Car in America, 1890-1922 - A Social History

The electric vehicle seemed poised in 1900 to be a leader in automotive production. Clean, odorless, noiseless and mechanically simple, electrics rarely broke down and were easy to operate. An electric car could be started instantly from the driver's seat; no other machine could claim that advantage.
But then it all went wrong. As this history details, the hope and confidence of 1900 collapsed and just two decades later electric cars were effectively dead. They had remained expensive even as gasoline cars saw dramatic price reductions, and the storage battery was an endless source of problems. An increasingly frantic public relations campaign of lies and deceptive advertising could not turn the tide.

List of contents

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Part I: Pre-1895

¿1.¿Prior to 1890

¿2.¿The Years 1890-1894

Part II: 1895-1900, Electrics Show Great Promise

¿3.¿1895-1900, the Overview

¿4.¿1895-1900, the Cabs

¿5.¿1895-1900, the Industry

¿6.¿1895-1900, the Battery

¿7.¿1895-1900, the Exhibitions

¿8.¿1895-1900, the Motive Powers

¿9.¿1895-1900, the Users

Part III: 1901-1913, Gasoline Cars Advance; Electrics Stagnate

10.¿1901-1913, the Overview

11.¿1901-1913, the Cabs

12.¿1901-1913, the Industry

13.¿1901-1913, the Battery

14.¿1901-1913, the Exhibitions

15.¿1901-1913, the Motive Powers

16.¿1901-1913, the Users

Part IV: 1914-1922, End Times for Electrics

17.¿1914-1922, the Crank Start

18.¿1914-1922, the Industry

19.¿1914-1922, the Battery

20.¿1914-1922, the Users

Appendix: Statistics

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the author

Cultural historian Kerry Segrave is the author of dozens of books on such diverse topics as drive-in theaters, ticket-scalping, lie detectors, jukeboxes, smoking and shoplifting. He lives in British Columbia.

Product details

• Authors: Kerry Segrave
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 18
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 11.04.2019
• EAN: 9781476676715
• ISBN: 978-1-4766-7671-5
• No. of pages: 263
• Dimensions: 178 mm x 254 mm x 13 mm
• Weight: 467 g
• Illustrations: Raster,schwarz-weiss
• Subjects: Guides > Motor vehicles, aircraft, ships, space travel > Car, motorcycle, moped; Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Social & cultural history, TRANSPORTATION / Automotive / History, TRANSPORTATION / Automotive / Antique & Classic, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Motor cars: general interest, Social and cultural history, History of the Americas, electric auto