Before Tesla... 1960s/70s Electric Cars (EVs Part 1)

You might not think it, but the 60s and 70s were a hot bed of innovation in electric car design. Environmental and political events collided that got people questioning our reliance on the internal combustion engine and thinking about alternatives. So why was so much effort put into electric cars when so few people bought them, and how close did we come to perfecting hybrid and EV technology?

#Amitron #Electrovair #Electrovette

[jamesengland]

The Electrovair may be one of the best looking electric cars ever. Side note: it was the second generation Corvair, with improved, , safe suspension. They had amazing handling and interior packaging

[ChrisG]

I've looked through tons of 60s and 70s concept cars, and man there were some gorgeous futuristic looking cars even by today standards.

[faramarzkarimi]

unfortunately i can't send any money to supporting but i enjoy to see your clips you are best youtuber i ever seen, very polite with a little sense of humor but you are not pretending or screaming to add subscribers and i enjoying every seconds of your clips

[Nemoticon]

I drove a Roberts 1895 on its 100th birthday (and on my 13th birthday), though it was better described as an electirc horseless carriage. The glass tank of acid had been replaced with 6 car batteries, thankfully, especially when you realise the tank was also the bench you sit on. Also it didn't have a steering wheel but a front mounted 'rudder arm' like you get on a boat, lol. She was a wonderful thing!

[usaverageguy]

I thought I knew the history of the electric car pretty well. I was wrong. I have never heard of many of these attempts. Thank you for a brilliant video.

[DrBIeed]

Isn’t it strange how when a car becomes electric the body style turns into something gnarly?

[simonm]

It would be really interesting to retrofit such a vintage EV with a Lithium Ion battery and a modern electric motor with a inverter.
Lithium Ion batteries are exactly what was missing in the 70s, lightweight batteries with a lot of cycles and now they are increasingly getting cheaper.

[elia_]

The car in the thumbnail is the ancestor of CyberTruck

[amchoo_]

Everyone says the first gen. Mercedes A Class looked like a cheese wedge.But when i saw the CitiCar, boy thats the closest we've come to a car that looked like a cheese wedge.

[Perplexer]

14:18 Now I finally know where they got the Johnny Cab in Total Recall 1990.

[Sacto]

Completely correct. While the GM EV-1 worked, it was essentially a rolling battery pack on wheels, given the large number of nickel metal hydride battery packs need just to get around 110 km (68 miles) of range. It's only in the last seven years that lithium-ion battery technology finally caught up, and now electric cars can go around 500 km (310 miles) or more per full charge.

[MrSwj]

Nice overview of EV tech back in the day. The culmination to the amazing yet short-lived GM EV1.

[PoeRacing]

What an absolute phenomenal gem of a YT Thank you for this great content. Your videos are well researched, high quality works of art!

[austinbartose]

Actually we had electric car long before petrol.

[ricktimmons]

as most workers in the deep south drive to work downtown where the auto sits in sunshine for 8 hours. none of these are acceptable unless the car can use solar panels built within the parts of the car! Also it would be real nice for the interior not to burn hand on steering wheel or burn your butt on hot seats and the air temp over 100 inside could cause people to black out. nice if the smart car could turn on air conditioner at 4:30 to cool the insides so that the owner will want to get into a prepared temperature vehicle.

[wyndhamcoffman]

Now I wish I could get an electric car that is just a car. I don't need a fancy infotainment display, or other such features that only raise the cost and deplete the batteries faster.

[marcraygun]

Tesla should put "the tech that won 1898 land speed record" on adverts

[BigCar]

Thanks for letting me know about them!

[tparker]

I've just binged watched all your videos, fantastic format, calm and relaxing to listen to. I can see this channel exploding if it carries on the way it is now (here at 9, 832 subscribers)

[myfavoritemartian]

1970 thru 1989, Jet Industries, Houston, Texas. They bought "gliders" from Ford and Chrysler, to convert them to all electric power. I still own a converted 1982 Escort. It uses a 25HP Prestolite motor and 18-6 volt golf cart batteries plus one 12 volt battery for lights. It uses a 4 speed transaxle with a clutch.