Electric Car 1914 Detroit Electric

[jason4485]

Unbelievable how back in 1914 they realized the advantage of electric cars...yet we still drive gas powered cars today.

[SAnselmino]

What was the song that you guys used in this video?

[EdisonExploratorium]

@SAnselmino Its generic royalty-free music from a big collection sold to video editors, so no particular title.



[kae4466]

Thanks for posting this. I remember reading in a , of all things , a trolley car book where some motorists who would put up a trolly pole and run the car off the voltage from the streetcar wires.

[papavalium]

Electric car in 1914....if Edison and the governments worked on electric cars for the last 50 years right now, we would be flying on hover cars...or hover boards from Back to the future. lol

[rsnalavade]

why is it jumping while starting to move?

[randomunavailable]

@rsnalavade Torque!

[corvandewater]

@rsnalavade The jump is likely because the "starting resistor" is burned out, so the electric motor must be connected straight to the battery, giving a quick acceleration from start. Old Electric cars did not have fancy electronic motor control like we have today, they used a drum with contacts that allowed a few different speeds and in between they used a starting resistor to smooth the transition and allow the motor to adjust speed and avoid sudden acceleration. I was wondering the same.

[KenMacMillan]

I always wondered why they never made a hybrid back then. I suppose it was too expensive.

[darrenrodd]

@KenMacMillan porsche made a range extended electric in 1909...gas and electric hybrid..first hybrid patent

[davidajgp]

piece of crap give me something petrol powered!

[McLarenMercedes]

@davidajgp

Well unfortunately petrol won't last forever so bark all you want doggie.

[davidajgp]

@McLarenMercedes no biggie just run it on pure vodka ;)

[voicetube]

I LOVE it.. the phone was louder than the car!!!

Great video; thanks for posting!!

[CrazyNoob221]

niggers stealed it

[pheenix42]

Bill! What did I tell you about driving your car in the house?? =)

[sovietvorshtain]

this car better than LADA

[JRSchmuke]

My father drove electic Bread Trucks for Wonder Bread in the late 20's and early 30's. They worked fine in the summer, but usually had to be towed in with a gas rig in winter. Cold weather and ice really knocks performance/charge life down. Interestingly, the new Volt still has a bad winter endurance problem.

[woodchuck2222]

This just shows electric cars have not died, just the evolution of the batteries has been very slow or restricted. It should not have taken 100yrs to build a better battery IMO.Think about it, we can put a man in space yet cannot build an electric car for everyday use???

[powerfulSubtlety]

I think this is a cooler classic than the Model T. Now we're thinking of electrics as possibly the future, some high technology that will change everything, yet here's a perfectly functional car that runs on electricity from a century ago.

[katakisLives]

That is an awesome looking car! it makes you think of a parallel universe with thousands of electric model T Fords rolling of the production line.

[slipshodcoqbgg]

The Oil companies are trying their best to stop free energy ideas from spreading to common ppl.

We need to put an end to this corruption ,start generating your own electricity now.

Visit LT-MAGNET-MOTORdotCOM and get the blueprints . Join the Revolution!!

[macula30380]

Interesting video. I was wondering what the push-button on the steering tiller is for? The driver is seen pushing a button with his thumb when starting the car -- does it need to remain depressed while the car is in operation?

[nashtwin8]

@macula30380 This is just a guess, but I think that button is what puts the car into reverse. On some electrics you pushed the speed lever forward to go forward and pulled it backward to back up, but in this car he seems to push the lever ahead to accelerate whether going forward or backward.

[lionelnut69]

its got style its quiet its cool wouldnt mind owning it but theres nothing like the feel of a gas sucking air pluting V8 got to love it

[Megapsychobabble]

Battery technology doesn't seem to have come very far, considering this vehicle was advertised as capable of 80 miles between charges . In one test conducted at the time, a Detroit Electric ran 211.3 miles on a single charge. A hundred years later, the the Nissan Leaf claims 100 miles between charges and the Detroit Electric was probably a much heavier car.

[nashtwin8]

@Megapsychobabble You've hit the nail on the head; this is the real reason electric cars failed in the market a century ago. They were not killed, they died a well deserved death. While a gas car of the time could travel at least 150 miles on a tank and then be refueled in 5 minutes, the electric that could go 80 miles on a charge took all night to recharge. Add to that the lower speed and excessive weight and they were pretty well confined to large cities with paved streets not found elsewhere.

[nashtwin8]

@Megapsychobabble Thomas Edison, while working on an electric car design himself, advised Henry Ford to stick wih gasoline, as it had so many practical advantages over electric power at that time. Keep in mind that most of the country didn't even have electricity back then. Tires were not very good, and a heavy electric car (the batteries weighed a ton, literally) that ventured off the pavement would have had flat tires all the time, when it wasn't stuck in the mud. They were clean and quiet!

[sylvur]

Go torrent the movie "Who killed the electric car". Why torrent? BECAUSE YOUR SHITTY US GOVERNMENT HAS BANNED THAT MOVIE ON DVD CAUSE IT SHOWS THE TRUTH ABOUT HOW THE US GOVERNMENT KILLS ELECTRONIC CARS CAUSE THEY WANNA SELL OIL!

It's freaking sad... I'm glad I'm canadian. I'd hate living in a Government that doesn't give two shits about population and only cares about greed and being millionaires off oil!

[EdisonExploratorium]

@sylvur Actually it still sells and is on Amazon.com, the US government is no different than any other major economic power's government, travel outside the "north american bubble" and you will find problems everywhere. but first you may want to try Quebec, a tiny government of 300 power elite families that own everything from Seagrams to Quebec toxic strip mining and logging interests...

[ElginPocketwatch]

@sylvur lol dumbass you got schooled. btw, your government is just as shitty, if not worse.

[johnson1095]

@sylvur

Actually, they just showed it on Planet Green

[rapmaster]

And it looks great with the Yakima pennyfarthing rack.

[Nichen]

That's what I call good quality

[canadarideforclimate]

I bet it will by 2014 ... 100 years later that every other car on the road will be pure electric. ... I hope so :) ... anything is possible :)

[boxa888]

i really wish i had that!! i was almost able to by a real electric vehicle from the 80s but a car collector bought it before me, it really hurt because the car was only 1500 ! that was incredible for what the vehicle looked like, it was mint.

[Odziz]

Me too!