Description
Book SynopsisExplore the fascinating, evolving world of electric vehicles, from the first EVs in the Victorian era to their rapid expansion today—and beyond. In
The Electric Vehicle Revolution, automotive journalist Kevin Wilson provides a thorough, engaging overview of where EV technology is today, how it got there, and where it’s going. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, EVs have gone from wonky who-cares vehicles like GM’s EV1 and early Teslas to every manufacturer's must-have future.
Electric propulsion preceded fossil-fuel cars by decades and even vied for prominence in the early twentieth century auto industry against both steam power and internal combustion engines. From Electrobat (an early New York taxi fleet) through Columbia—which had built 1,000 electric cars before either Henry Ford or Ransom Olds had built a single gasoline car—viable business start-ups in the early auto age were as competitive and
Trade Review“The book is a comprehensive survey of EVs…broadly illustrated with archival photos and period advertisements, and full of stories and evidence of obscure marques—from Detroit Electric and Baker to Tropicana and Enfield—whose bizarre histories will delight you.” * Car and Driver *
Table of Contents1 First Sparks
Electric propulsion vies with steam power and internal combustion for prominence in the early auto industry.
2 Gilded Age Status
Automotive pioneers probe battery power, but electrics remain the province of wealthy, urban consumers—as Ford’s Model T begins to change the world.
3 Success into the Shadows
Despite EV successes, the early auto industry evolves to favor gasoline cars and forges a partnership with the oil industry.
4 An Idea That Won’t Die
As the internal combustion engine establishes dominance in the interwar years, a select few electric visionaries persist.
5 Fifty Years in the Shade
Irrelevant in the marketplace, the idea of the electric car regularly resurfaces among hobbyists and those concerned about the oil industry’s viability.
6 Oil Shocks
Space Age technological advances and the oil crises plant a seed that will take decades to germinate.
7 The Pivot Point
How GM’s EV1 happened, why it faltered, and how it became the basis that culminated with the first Tesla Roadster.
8 Halfway There
The proliferation of hybrids, especially the plug-ins, familiarizes the industry and public with electric propulsion.
9 Tesla Rising
A clear-eyed view of Tesla Motors and the responses of the conventional auto
industry, rival start-ups, and regulatory agencies.
10 The Dam Breaks
The rush to electrify has nations and companies declaring the end of internal combustion, but this radical transition isn’t as easy as throwing a switch.
