#TBT: The resurgence of electric cars

When the electric car was the future back in 1894. #tbt
Published on
30/1/2020
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Haven’t seen this before? It’s been on the road since 1942.


For cities, electric traction certainly owes its advantage to its cleanliness and practicality, since all items, all household appliances, are now electric. The beginnings of the electric car coincide with those of automotive history. The first one was the Jeantaud in 1894. There were also special designs, like Grand Duke Nicholas’, then utilitarian vehicles, and driving schools for Parisian taxi drivers among others.


Why did the production of electric cars start to decrease and lack popularity in the 20th century? There were several reasons, but it is believed that the main one was that it wasn’t manly enough. The owner of a car in 1900 is the same kind who, today, has a Ferrari, Maserati or Lamborghini. A car was something manly, something to get around in and impress people with. An electric car was silent, it was calm, while a gasoline-powered car made noise, smelled bad and the “male” had to start it with a crank.


For the time being, each of us is familiar with these long lines of cars that are too long, too empty, inappropriate for city traffic. And yet, without being too unrealistic, we can hope that, the electric car will soon provide a solution to all this. Manufactured on a large scale, it could become the ideal second car.


Brut.