Who killed the Electric car - the Awesome story of how the electric dream died

[@richardwalton3406]

Thank you Bob, I have learnt more about the history of the electric car in the last 15 minutes than in 50 years!! thank you, keep up the great content.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Cheers Richard, more to come!

[@Save_Andhra]

Bob forgot to mention Nikola Tesla, he was the first inventor of electric car

[@altond511]

@@Save_Andhra He was?

[@jcordeirocordeiro3117]

@@BobFlavinVideo Great Jobs Mr Bob Flavin, Execelent Pointer for Many People Remenber this Fact araound the World... Time for Brokem the Paradigmas araound the World.... Welcome to Brazil Mr Bob Flavin... Time UP for Chang the World... Welcome Hyperloop to Brazil... Welcome to Brazil Mr Elon Musk... D'not exist Crize, So We have Many oportunitt for Start UP big Diferent Bussines Togther About Electricar Also Solar Fotovoltaic Energy Stant UP Mr Bob Flavin.... Again You are Welcome to Brazil... Think about my Invittation... God Bless you and family...

[@johhny711]

Coronavirus has Released the filmmaker Bob Flavin on the world, these latest videos are brilliant.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Haha cheers Johnny!

[@st4849]

You've a real talent for making documentaries Bob. These are very good, keep them coming please.

[@jdavison8551]

15 mins of thoughtful, thought provoking, educational , optimistic yet realistic material , very well produced and with personality A perfect KZbin video. Many thanks Bob.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks very much J, means a lot!

[@RealEngineering]

Great video Bob!

[@dizzypeasant1632]

Thank you Bob, you've really moved on to another level with these documentaries. Excellent fun and I learned some things I didn't know.

[@GoGreenAutos]

Excellent video Bob.

[@patrickkeane83]

Great video Bob, it takes something like this for people to sit back and take in all the good that's around us and the stuff we use on the daily and take for granted

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Well said Patrick!

[@GerrysDiy]

Excellent Bob.....Better than the BBC. Great video, have it going on a few devices here in the house 👍👍 Cheers Gerry

[@MrTayto63]

Good review bob. Good info about history of electric and Ford

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks! 👍

[@WilliamJones-Halibut-vq1fs]

Ford also seems to have tried the route of Hemp Fibre reinforced plastics (which were themselves may have been made out of hemp derived plastics, not sure but like flax it could be made into a linoleum like plastic) and he tried developing ethanol based biofuels. I believe in the 1800's it was common to ferment excess or substandard crops into a fuel (mainly for lamps blended with other fuels but alcohol taxes made it too onerous for farmers. Oil's derived from trees also were used as fuel. I think pineol is an excellent 100 RON gasoline, it was usually obtained from paper pulp, I think about 5 gallons/ton for pine tree pulp. As late as the 1980s Finland and Sweden cooperated in making cars that ran of Hesselman engines that were fuelled with pine tree oil. A few thousand Hesselman multifuel Talbots and SAABs were made. Some tax revenue hungry socialist government came along in Finland and made the pine tree fuel tax the same as petroleum taxes and it wasn't worth it anymore. The Sweddes were more interested in Fischer-Tropsch kerosene to run their Hesselman engines rather than pine tree oil. Sweden didn't have coal or oil but the Fischer-Tropsch coal to fuel process worked with peat and they did have peat.

[@patlydon519]

Thats the most educational piece i have ever seen on the birth of the motor car as at 1900 to 1914. Just one note, edison had an electric car based on a horse carriage. There were many used in new york city, mainly by women, as they had no starting handle, steered with a tiller.( jay lenos garage has a good vid on this.).very impressed with this video and presentation.some research there.

[@MichaelCarton76]

The best car related video I've seen this year, well done Bob👌👏

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Michael, I hope it won’t be long before another one!

[@mikelynn33]

Tip top quality Bob, two out of two, love the research, journalism and your delivery, some of your best output 👍👍👍

[@daghammar4385]

What a great, informative video. Many thanks for producing it Bob

[@andrewbeever4564]

More of this sort of stuff please Bob.

[@LogieJames]

Amazing stuff! What a brilliant little documentary. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

[@johndavies1912]

So glad I watched this. Keep the documentaries coming Bob. You've obviously got great research skills and then the ability to turn that research into a captivating story. "Please Sir, can we have some more?"

[@Dave-in-France]

Hi Bob, I would just like to congratulate you on the quality, content and general interesting nature of this documentary. I have followed the personal transport debate for many years and I found that there were gaps in my understanding of the very early years and it was great to plug some of those gaps. Thank you very much for the time and obvious effort put in, to make this video happen.

[@donalshanaghy6381]

That was excellent Bob and extremely well presented and produced. Very educational and I look forward to seeing more from you. Thank you very much for your enlightening videos. Well done Bob.

[@peterwilliamson1825]

Excellent video Bob. Loved it, you have really don't your homework with this one. I'd love to see more videos like this from you.

[@flyboyflash3184]

Bob, I think you found you’re calling with documentaries. Superb! Keep up the good work.

[@flyboyflash3184]

*your

[@TheKhirocks]

Broadcast quality! Learning a lot from your video's. Keep em coming

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad you like them I'll keep making them!

[@walterk8602]

Funny, I noticed the birds and the bees in 2012 when I retired. Maybe we are just taking the time to enjoy them. I am however, definately noticing a reduction of the dirty brown smog drifting south from Sydney when there is a north east breeze, and like it. Excellent video Bob.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Less people moving around = less air pollution which is also dust in the air. Thanks for watching

[@0utcastAussie]

In the mid 70's I used to go to school up in Kalamunda (Western Aus) because our district (Forrestfield) had no High School. (it was still being built then) Kalamunda is up in the Darling Ranges ie: Up a BurLuddy great hill. After school we would descend that hill on the school bus and you could see the smog cloud all over the Perth District that we were going into and we all thought "Ugh, look what we're going down into - Disgusting" ! Yet we all dreamt of getting a thundering GTHO, 6 pack, Xu-1 or Monaro. Saturday nights in Perth was very exciting watching all the Kewl dudes in their V8's chucking laps around the City. I now live back in "ol Blighty". When fuel reached £1 per litre I decided to start commuting to work on a pushie (I'm a night shift Truckie) which is pretty damned knackering at my age. Twas about 10 years ago whilst struggling against the wind a little ol lady came breezing by me full of the Joys of life on an eBike and right there and then I decided to buy one. Yup, I have had one 10 years now (Vastly upgraded the motor & battery though). Great fun down the old bike routes to work. Like having 14 year old legs again and... Most importantly, I'm allowed to charge it at work for free ! That works out about £1k per year fuel saving on the work commute. We Night Trunk (food) an overall route distance of about 360 miles per per night (220 litres of diesel). That's do-able on electric power provided a "Quick release battery change" is possible on our return for the Day Shift to complete the Delivery cycle. A trucking company's biggest sole overhead is... FUEL ! Going electric - Should recoup the initial outlay rapidly on our 1k vehicles. Imagine how much saving a Supermarket group would make moving over to fully electric ! You've probably guessed my age group (I'm 59) and we are in just as exciting times as we were in the Mid 70's but with the latest tech. Loving it.

[@kingoneeyed3433]

Great work Bob, would love to see more.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

More to come, Tesla and Elon is under my beady eye now

[@kingoneeyed3433]

@@BobFlavinVideo I was just thinking Bob, what about casting your eye forward to where you think this may lead in the next 10/20 years. What about smaller cheaper electric vehicles for running around town or commuting to work. Why do electric vehicles need to be like I.C.E. cars, maybe a whole different genre can exist just because we changed our mindset.

[@Dave-in-France]

@@kingoneeyed3433 You know that you can now buy Citroen electric town cars brand new for 6000€ - how cheap do they need to be?

[@markarundel4818]

great video bob great info keep up the good work looking foward to lots more sunday services as well

[@adrianmortimer3369]

Cracking film Bob, really informative and a great history lesson. Keep up the good work :)

[@TheRocky3211]

well made , very interesting , well researched. great video Bob. completely agree what a exciting time to be alive to see the next generation of transport, in what ever form it takes. Also worth a watch : Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006) documentary film that explores the creation, limited commercialisation, and subsequent destruction of the battery electric vehicle in the United States, specifically the General Motors EV1 of the mid-1990s.

[@SamHarrisonMusic]

Wow, not only a brilliant documentary, but you had me tear up a little bit at the end! It feels bleak, but your right, things are changing and what a time to be alive! :)

[@declanwalsh4751]

Second of your documentaries that I have watched and you are two for two, interesting and factual, great stuff

[@ptvfr800]

Make more please Bob, this is a great presentation. Thanks.

[@dalroth10]

Fascinating documentary Bob. I had no idea about the history of Edison building electric cars but I guess that's because his most famous invention took all the limelight ..... I also didn't know that Edison and Ford worked together. It must have taken quite a while to research, get the archive footage and put all of this together but thank you so much for doing so. Really well presented too - you've got a real talent for this! Look forward to seeing more and share your view about nature ...... we really should respect it far more than many do.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Cheers Robert, it takes a bit of digging around and three notebooks so for but it's really good fun. Next up it's Elon Musk under the microscope!

[@dalroth10]

@@BobFlavinVideo I'm sure it does Bob but the end result was definitely worth the effort. I've always considered Elon Musk to be a bit out of the ordinary and haven't managed to work out if he really is a genius or a snake oil salesman ............ so can't wait to hear what you find out!😀 His presentation style is certainly very awkward whenever he's on stage launching a new model.

[@scottdave28]

This was a great little film Bob, i realise this was probably a bit of work to put together but if you can i would enjoy more of these. all the best

[@TheGOF]

Excellent work. You have a real talent for these types of videos. I'm in Florida and a few hours away, in Fort Myers, Florida, is the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. The families would spend their winters there. Always working, Edison had a botanical laboratory here where they studied rubber plants. This was in the 1920’s, and along with Harvey Firestone, they foresaw the looming need for rubber. It’s a fascinating story of really smart and visionary guys. The Estates are a museum now and worth a visit if you ever find yourself nearby.

[@stephenjenkins10]

Just discovered Bob’s KZbin channel and the videos are great. Very informative and he has such a great voice and manner; I could listen all day. Keep up the good work and looking forward to more interesting content in the future.

[@kevinforde1720]

Hi Bob, loving your recent documentary-style videos, they really work for me. Interesting topics and well presented. Like others have said, probably some of your best videos so far. As a bonus, we are all now aficionados of the carparks, road verges and hedges of Portlaoise or wherever it is you reside!

[@MarkGaudie]

Nice video Bob. Really enjoyed this episode. Fully agree that we are living in exciting times at the moment. Can’t wait to see what the future brings.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks Mark!

[@Keplaves]

Great video Bob, really fascinating i will be honest and say alot of that I had no idea about.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad to hear it, there's so much tiny details in there that I could make a whole other film on it

[@oceanfroggie]

Superbly entertaining Bob. Very resourceful filming segments and editing. Studios with a dozen location unit staff couldn’t do as well.

[@woody2020]

Bob I really enjoyed this video. Very interesting and the old footage was fantastic. Above all very thought provoking. My car is due to be replaced next year and I am still on the fence about electric, mainly due to cost and range at present.

[@SteveBirkett]

When considering cost, remember to factor in the minimal maintenance of electric cars, including no oil changes and very little brake disc wear due to regenerative braking. Often, with fuel savings thrown in too, the EV comes out lower in terms of total cost of ownership. Whatever you choose, good luck with your decision.

[@martybaby]

Another super video Bob. Watched it with the Mrs. on the TV and she couldn't get over the super quality. Excellent job, keep it up. Would love you to do one on Nikola Tesla. (There's a statue of him in silicon valley that's a wifi hotspot).👍

[@lutz4423]

Yet another informative post. Especially liked the guided tour of your home town :) So many different location shots. Got a little bit confusing as to where you were. Also noted you nearly got yourself run over on the roundabout . But very interesting. Would seems as though history is repeating itself ?!

[@Hell-Hound1]

Another top class documentary there Bob. Irelands answer to the Attenborough's. Easy listening, informative and entertaining. Bravo!

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Loads more on the way thanks for the support!

[@martinnolan4800]

Original, thoughtful, beautifully prepared, cliche free content. Thank you.

[@shaunw9270]

Really great details & chronology. Best video on electric cars I have seen . Thanks 👍

[@144Donn]

Excellent job! Well told and informative!

[@FergusNCasey]

Excellant video Bob. A fascinating insight.

[@byrnedes]

Terrifically interesting film Bob. Kudos. 👍

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Cheers Des 👍

[@SeanPowell]

Nice video Bob, keep it up 🤙

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Sean, will do!

[@ScottRawdin]

Very nice, well researched and nicely told.

[@richardupton19]

Excellent video Bob. Really interesting

[@DaveHammondDublin]

great vid Bob - keep up the good work

[@smartgigi2070]

Hey Bob, just wanted to say congrats for another great video! Not sure you're gonna get alot of views with theese ones, but for what it's worth I do appreciate them very much and truly started appreciating nature and health and the whole ecosystem health in general, so I feel you :) cheers,

[@HarvestMoonRadio]

Another great video from you Bob - very informative - looks like there was some mad driving back then as well

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Yes it was, some of the footage shows how much chaos there really was

[@guitarbackingtracks4386]

Nice video Bob. Many of us are aware of the existence of electric cars way back, but interesting to get a timeline like nicely narrated. Continuing from your “what if”, what if EV’s became prominent back then, what fantastic battery technology we might have now, how many lives might have been saved from pollution and wars seeking oil, they are indeed tantalising questions...

[@damienkearns9922]

Bob a fascinating look into an aspect of motoring I had never heard before..please do keep up the videos.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Damien!

[@robertdoyle7399]

Loved it Bob, brilliant video👌🏻

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad you enjoyed it Robert, great to chat with you!

[@NigelsModellingBench]

Great video Bob. thanks very much..

[@DavidKent0407]

Good history Bob. Very balanced. Appreciate it from New Zealand. Hope you are safe in Ireland.

[@domknill]

Amazing video. Who knew? Keep them coming, Bob.

[@orion789]

This is such an amazing video. Wonderful. Illuminating. Positive. Thank you.

[@dereknorris2376]

Just watched the video Very good story Bob keep up the good work

[@TETAKLAX38]

Thank you Bob for this brilliant content, very interesting !

[@ConquerDriving]

Great video! I wouldn't class steam powered vehicles as cars, they are more like trucks and really for commercial use not for family transport.

[@iantrott9152]

Spot on, great video Bob :) I’ve been saying this to people for a while now. Thanks :)

[@chrismarshall25]

Wow, what an awesome documentary. I thought I new most of the history of EV's, I was very wrong. what great content (and great production). You've picked up a new sub.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Chris!

[@frank260332]

I enjoyed it too. I've also subscribed and ticked like.

[@markturner-smith5309]

Lovely video, real insight into what could have been..... history really is repeating. Nice music too

[@davidbuckley10]

Your best work. Insightful and interesting.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad you think so!

[@fobbieobrien]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. The content was highly informative, the rhythm keep me interested. The duration of the video was excellent as you did not waffle or over discuss any sub-topic. If you are looking for any other documentary topics, I would be interested in your thoughts on: Transport innovation going forward How will bikes, scooters, electric cars and modern transport co-habit What urban changes will be required post Covid-19 for transport to work Keep up the good work

[@tomhickey1207]

Very, very good video bob, keep them coming

[@mickadatwist1620]

I love these videos off the streets of Eire. Great editing

[@31770]

Like the format Bob. A lot of very interesting info

[@dcvariousvids8082]

Excellent presentation, thank you.

[@quick247]

This was a great episode. Thanks for the history of electric car, I had no idea that there were electric cars before model T.

[@genestatler2514]

I enjoyed very much the story of the early electric cars, but especially I enjoyed the turn of the century films. they are some of the best I've ever seen. Thank you very much.

[@11cerbera11]

Well done Bob.. I'm learning now :-)

[@meeappst]

Top man, Bob Flavin! Eye-opening stuff. Thank you.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

My pleasure!

[@cabwab]

Great video Bob. Really interesting. I remember reading about the electric cars of the past in a history of cars book. I was shocked to find out they seemed to be so close over100 years ago.

[@06050514]

Great film. Thanks, Bob!

[@Edvard.Munchkin]

Bob, you genuinely need your own TV motor show. The way this is put together and presented is absolutely fantastic, really really interesting video I greatly enjoyed it, although I still prefer ICE! Keep up the great work

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Daniel, very happy with the response to these videos!

[@Edvard.Munchkin]

@@BobFlavinVideo So you should pal

[@panteranegra1552]

Awesome documentary work

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Much appreciated Andre!

[@mechanicjobs]

Great video a Bob. I loved the history lesson. 👍🇨🇦❤️

[@SHARP2026]

Well done Bob. Great video

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thank you kindly

[@slartybartfarst9737]

Most concise history of the EV evolution ive ever seen thankyou....subscribed

[@JohnHKLee]

Really good documentary

[@markx8659]

I'm liking the history angle ,Lifts the interest to the next level in my opinion.....great work.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Glad you enjoyed it Mark, loads more on the way!

[@greglarry11]

The quality of this documentary is very good.

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thank you!

[@LarsPallesen]

That was a really well made piece.

[@B0BHW]

Thank you Bob for this most enlightening history of the electric car. I had no idea that the first car developed by Porsche was ... an electric car! Or that Ford had done such early work to potentially develop and manufacture electric vehicles. Well I never! I'm hoping that the current pause created by the COVID-19 crisis will give the world time to consider opportunities to leave the wasteful and polluting life that we've been living. That greed for ever more growth no longer works if we are to keep this planet in safe and good order. Maybe we will decide to maintain the cleaner atmosphere that the COVID-19 pause has given us. And not go back to the old ways. For example, I'm hoping that the habit of commuting, with the attendant costs of pollution and personal stress caused by travelling to and from city centres everyday, will be increasingly unnecessary. Yes, it's a dream isn't it? But maybe. Just maybe. Thank you for a most thought provoking video clip Bob. I like your research and analysis. I've clicked the 'subscribe' button!

[@petertaylor5901]

Brilliant, just brilliant. Thank you. I have subscribed.

[@jasoncave7991]

Great video again just like the diesel one bob keep up the good work

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Thanks Jason, will do!

[@ScuuBdoo]

Nailed it Bob. Thanks.

[@hughesevents]

Brilliant Bob, well done.

[@electricandlspower]

Thanks for sharing this

[@metalshifter727]

Interestingly enough too Bob, the cars are right hand drive@11.09

[@charlesholland-keen2222]

What a great video and obviously well researched. Thanks for exploding some of the myths like Henry Fords 'Any color you like as long as it'd black'. I would guess that black was the cheapest and therefore the most popular.

[@wilmurph9]

Well worth watching Bob. Really enjoying these pieces you are doing. When Henry Ford was ramping up production so quickly, was there much competition in the mass produced affordable car market at the time?

[@GeordiLaForgery]

Sends a chill down the spine seeing that old footage. Lets hope they'll still be humans in 2150 compiling footage of us dinosaurs. 🖖

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Wow, what a thought!

[@mfundomkhize2337]

They’ll look at our Two Dimensional rectangular 4k, 8k, 16k footage like oh cute 😊

[@ronseal02]

Great review of the history of electric transport. I’m a petrol head, but have become to enjoy nature too.

[@conorsampson]

Brilliant video!

[@BobFlavinVideo]

Cheers Conor

[@seanfallon4580]

Great video Bob and very interesting Love watching 👌 thanks