Someone should really write one of those alternative history novels about what the world would be like if cars like the Fritchle took off like gas-powered vehicles did. I'm imagining a lot of sitting around in hot springs and having beautiful women or men feeding you grapes, and not a lot else.
According to the IEEE Power Engineering Society's history, an Ohio-born chemical engineer by the name of Oliver Parker Fritchle made this electric car, producing the first in 1905, making it 104 years of age. And get this -- its battery system lets one travel 100 miles at a time, surviving on overnight charges. Some more history:
Because few parts suppliers were available, Fritchle became noted for manufacturing both the batteries and virtually all of the mechanical and body components for his cars. Fritchle also maintained a repair center and charging station in Denver for the convenience of his local customers. The Fritchle batteries generally lasted for more than 10,000 mi and could be replaced at a cost of US$208. The cars were advertised and trademarked as "100-mile Fritchle Electrics," and they lived up to this claim. Another feature of the Fritchle was a regeneration system in which the motor became a generator when the car was coasting downhill, thereby partly recharging the batteries.
The downside of course was the cars were expensive and eventually lost to the more affordable gas-powered automobiles, which cost about three or four times less. Fritchle didn't give up, though, introducing a hybrid electric/internal combustion car in 1916. Unfortunately sales flopped, but still he kept on, developing a system to generate electricity using farmers' windmills. It was here he made great progress, with over 80 wind-powered electric generators built and installed in about 20 states and several foreign countries between 1918 and 1923. This man was a renegade anarchist!
With wind farming, hybrid vehicles being as popular as they are today, and electric ones looking to soon become more prominent, Fritchle's efforts were not in vain.
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