Why Electric Cars Failed 100 Years Ago

[@JackScarlett1]

So... shall we do a steam car next? 😅

[@templeofleila]

yes

[@t1n4444]

No. Straight to a couple of years in the future. Hydrogen fuel cells.

[@DavidKnowles0]

It never going to happen. A film about the hydrogen revolution that never happened might be interesting in 5 years time.

[@t1n4444]

@@DavidKnowles0 Keep dreaming. We'll be seeing BMW's appraisal of their hydrogen fuel cell cars' world tour long before that.

[@sIightIybored]

External combustion is an excellent addition to any project.

[@mrdanforth3744]

An often overlooked point is that electricity was only available in towns and cities in 1901 and not all towns at that. Some rural areas did not get electrified until the fifties and sixties. So the electric was confined to urban use, which is where it shone. It was gas cars that put the country on wheels.

[@TheHenirik]

And before petrol became widespread steam would be what you want If you wanted to be sure about being able to refuel.

[@76horsepower]

@@TheHenirikYep. There’s a reason that all the early tractors were steam-driven.

[@alanmay7929]

@@TheHenirik steam was mostly for much heavier/heavy duty applications like trains, agricultural machines, mining and even industrial needs.

[@TEverettReynolds]

@@76horsepower > There’s a reason that all the early tractors were steam-driven Henry Ford mandated that the Model T be able to run on Ethanol because the farmers could make it themselves if needed. He sold a car for the common man and the average farmer.

[@bobbrinkerhoff3592]

@@alanmay7929 then how do you explain the several steam powered cars belonging to Jay Leno ?

[@lesliefranklin1870]

Note that horses normally walk up to 30 miles in a day. So, a car that would drive 60 miles on a charge would have been great.

[@no1DdC]

For long distance journeys, people would switch horses.

[@oatlegOnYt]

​@@no1DdCThat is more or less like change the vehicle or swap the battery. In a "what-if" scenario where Earth was lacking fossil fuels, we would use electric vehicles directly. They were far superior that the animals. Well... A world without coal would have needed more innovation on metallurgy to allow the industrial revolution happening using just renewable energy.

[@ryanthompson3737]

​@@oatlegOnYtI mean, steam cars are and were a viable solution back then.. it definitely wasn't a technological limitation, but a battle of political and monetary influence.

[@petefluffy7420]

@@no1DdCthat would have left many lonely horses hanging around.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

It's nicer than a horse, but that wasn't the competition. The competition was ICE. The problem was that lead acid batteries just weren't energy dense enough to compete.

[@bugsygoo]

An electric car held the world speed record of 105kmh in 1899. It's on display in the car museum in Mulhouse.

[@rendezone]

🤯

[@alexc7857]

Down hill or on a flat

[@hitreset0291]

​@@alexc7857 under water 🤪

[@SniperSnake50BMG]

Wasn't that the car Nicola Tesla made? But Nicola's did 150kph...

[@joeabad5908]

​@@alexc7857Those who thinks electric cars are slow have not driven one..

[@mattnordsell9760]

My great grandma died back in 1995, right before turning 102 years old. She was around from the beginning of the automobile. My dad told me a story about when he picked her up one time in his new pickup truck and he was telling her about all the features it had and she said how they were happy when they were able to have a windshield in front of them. That was back in 1980 that that happened.

[@loreicmaster]

How many Tesla's will still be running in a 100 years after theyre produced......now that funny. 0000000000000000000

[@gsp49]

There are many cars like this in the Tallahassee Auto Museum.

[@The_Normal_Comment]

The intro is Doug obviously

[@WolfHeathen]

@@loreicmaster That depends on if they still make cars I would assume.

[@utha2665]

@@loreicmaster Probably just as many Waverley Model 22's. Not that many, but I guarantee there will be a few, not that I'll ever be able to prove it 😂😂

[@billdale1]

Correction: you stated 9:40, that obviously the original batteries would not last 120 years. That's a reasonable assumption. But Jay Leno's 1909 Baker Electric is still running on its original nickel iron battery, and apparently still has a range of something like 100 miles. Genuinely amazing. But it was obscenely expensive, and had a top speed of 15 MPH.

[@retrobilly1986]

Obscenely expensive, so the electric cars today aren’t

[@jrherita]

Was wondering if someone had a still running Nickel Iron battery - amazing!

[@17kcotsdoow86]

I went to an electric vehicle show in Vancouver BC back around 2007, and there was a Baker electric there. The owners had just recently changed the original nickel iron batteries due to tiny pin holes starting to develop.

[@fixman88]

His was the one owned by Henry Ford's wife. Nickel-Iron batteries are also known as Edison Batteries.

[@THESLlCK]

@@retrobilly1986 they average over 35 grand.

[@matthewfensterwald1853]

The B footage of you guys driving is just gold.

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

Golden age moment.

[@andreass.3444]

Little known abroad, in Switzerland also existed an electric car manufacturer in those early days. The 'A. Tribelhorn & Cie, Fabrik elektrischer Fahrzeuge' (factory for electric cars) existed from 1906 - 1922. Tribelhorn delivered a wide range of electric vehicles, such as doctor cars, hotel buses, transporters and trucks in different sizes. Tribelhorn also set up the probably worlds first network of public charging stations at that time. Eventually he got an order for a large number of 3-wheeled electric delivery vehicles for the Swiss post, so in 1918 Tribelhorn opened a new larger factory in Zurich-Altstetten. But after manufacturing of these vehicles, the number of orders fell and with the upcoming depression of the 1920s and the competing ICE cars, he was unable to cope financially with the oversized factory.

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

Exactly, self propelled purpose built for transporting people vehicles were built by many different inventors as early as 1801. Mercedes Benz has done a great job perpetuating the myth that Karl Benz was first. He wasn't.

[@yossiallen3316]

Wow that's interesting. 😊

[@hagerty1952]

4:30 The "shock absorbers" are actually the friction between the leaves of the leaf springs. That's why they were used on wagons.

[@TheInsultInvestor]

no.

[@rolhen8221]

leaf springs have nothing to do with friction but with elastic deformation of the metal. they are literally just springs, like the name sugggest. a lot of trailers or trucks still use them nowadays, farm equipment, too.

[@ethanlamoureux5306]

@@rolhen8221 Actually, leaf springs do have friction between the leaves. Each leaf is a separate spring, and when assembled, they push against each other. When they flex, they slide against each other. The more they deflect, the harder they press together and the more friction is produced. This friction will tend to keep them from bouncing too much. Coil springs are much bouncier since there’s only one spring and little friction, so shock dampening is much more important with coil springs.

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

@@rolhen8221 nope the OP Is right

[@WeeShoeyDugless]

That, in theory, might in some eyes be true but in reality the 'friction' between the leafs offered little or no shock absorbing effect. All vehicles with leaf springs were subsequently fitted with (1stly) friction shocks and later hydraulic/gas items.

[@carlosorff]

What has always fascinated me is that they were there 100 years ago: electric cars, electric motors, charging, battery swapping, regen braking, 60 miles range almost 100km. However you look at it, this is amazing. I have known about this for ages, but I have never seen one in such detail as this one. Even the name "RW Recreational Vehicle" or something like that. NEO got the idea for battery swapping from this guys.

[@jemma_19988]

but they got wise and realised petrol kicks butt in every respect

[@deanchur]

Depending on how you define a vehicle, it might be worth looking into the first hydrogen vehicle as well, which pre-dates the Waverly by 94 years (yes, 1807).

[@ultort]

Note that today's hydrogen cars use a fuel cell that converts the hydrogen to electricity to turn an electric motor, they do not directly use the hydrogen for combustion, so they are electric cars with an hydrogen battery.

[@TB-up4xi]

Well......sort of .....Isaac De Rivaz built a fully manual engine powered by hydrogen / oxygen. It was essentially 1 very heavy piston that did work under gravity, i.e. the weight of the falling piston could drive a gear that could say move a wheel or drive a pulley etc. The hydrogen was stored in a balloon, when the piston was in the low position air and hydrogen would be introduced to the combustion chamber by manually controlling valves, the operator than pressed a button to generate a spark - the resulting explosion drove the heavy piston the top of the cylinder, it returned under it's own weight. In 1807 De Rivaz fitted one of his hydrogen engines to a modified horse drawn cart, and through a series of gears managed to propel the cart forward about 6 feet each time the piston fell. You can imagine the practicality of having to manually operate valves and press an ignition source every 6 feet of driving - it did not catch on.

[@williamallen7836]

​@@TB-up4xi It did serve as a proof of concept. Which many of the different engine / vehicles at the time were. Not necessarily meant as a production & commercially viable product. There were a lot stepping stones that were literally the shoulder's of giants much of our modern vehicle tech stands upon. It is interesting to see that many of the stumbling blocks of electric cars are still the same problems that will eventually see electric vehicles fail again, or at least be relegated to one option only viable for certain types of customers. There's a reason the UK's ban on gas & diesel powered vehicles has been recently pushed back to 2035, and closer to 2035 it's pretty much a given that it will be pushed back even further. Progressives haven't learned from past mistakes of believing that if they merely pass a law(s) physics & technology will suddenly comply with the law. Lol

[@matthewjbauer1990]

Richard Trevithick built the 1st steam powered horseless carriage in 1803. The Waverley was built in 1904.

[@jamesgibson5876]

​@@TB-up4xiso it was a stored energy ..gravity .. motor ?

[@KevinT3141]

Brilliant video gents, and brilliant production from the whole team as well. Bleeping the guys with Fully Charged Europe ads was an inspired touch. Lastly, thank you so much Mike for making it possible!

[@winfriedtheis5767]

Love this episode! So lovely to know that modern BEVs have not spoiled the advantages of the first EVs: ease of use, lack of noise, and regen breaking!

[@ramblerandy2397]

I also especially loved the analogue Volts/Amps gauges, with the Amps showing negative consumption for regenerative braking.

[@scootergrant8683]

Well, I would like to see how much one could gain from regenerative breaking with the batteries of the time.

[@andrewdawson5281]

BEV charging and range anxiety are not synonymous with "...ease of use,..."

[@TheHenirik]

​@@andrewdawson5281no, especially when most houses and many whole cities didn't have electricity. With a steam-car you could always find somewhere to refuel. And not all of the steam-cars were time consuming or complicated to start and use, but electrics were and still generally is the easiest to start and drive.

[@winfriedtheis5767]

@@andrewdawson5281 I doubt, people had range anxiety back then. Compared to the typical distance the range was probably okay. And charging was possible at the usual destination, and someone else was doing it anyways… Oh, and you had to go to an apothecary to get petrol back then too… So the drawbacks of ICE cars begin last century were similar to the beginning of BEVs. Today range anxiety is not a thing anymore, and charging network is becoming increasingly better and more reliable. And “ease of use” refers to “step in and switch on, go!” Plus there is just one type of electrcity, and I don’t need to check lubricant, cool fluids, AdBlue…

[@flipper_1969]

Well done, Robert & Jack. It's great to see another ancient electric car in use. I've always enjoyed Jay Leno's 1906 Baker video. Back at the turn of that century, about a third of the cars were either electric, steam or gasoline powered...and they all seemed to have their unique pros and cons if you will. You're correct in most facets of this episode - it was the electric starter on ICE cars that set them apart. Combine that with the old lead-acid batteries for electrics (i.e. low power density), the difficulty of charging them back then - few homes had electric outlets yet. The first fill-up gas stations started to appear around 1906...depending upon what state you lived in. I was just shocked that this electric car that you showcased had regenerative braking...back in 1901. Wow!

[@janetcarbone4213]

❤ the Brit sense of humor. Great mix of information, history, and fun!😊

[@CraigRayner59]

Loved the change switching from series to mixed to parallel for the motor. DC technology at its finest. Same as used in electric trams and trains of the period. Brilliant.

[@johnm2879]

According to the book "The Renewable Energy Transition, Realities for Canada and the World", Ferdinand Porche's first car design was an electric.

[@sergentcolon1]

His version of the Tiger tank was electric drive, but he couldn’t make it reliable, problems with the motors and generators overheating and catching fire.

[@toyotaprius79]

series plug in hybrid

[@toyotaprius79]

​@@sergentcolon1 Voltage too low for the amps needed. Same lesson learned with the 1997 Prius

[@LiquidPinky]

Its hub motor drive system design was also used for the moon buggy many decades later. ;)

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

@@toyotaprius79 Higher voltage brings its own perils and challenges.

[@showme360]

The look on your faces when you two got too close to the camera car, and then quickly followed by the laughter of relief from all as disaster was averted, had me laughing my head off. What a great episode this was and love the car review and the terminology of today on a car made over 100 years ago! Sharing like crazy!!

[@unclemarksdiyauto]

Very interesting video. I didn't realize they could re-GEN back then! And we think that electric cars are all something new.

[@danielzhang1916]

the concept was already there, we just didn't have the technology to actually do it back then, that was the problem

[@patrickwines9551]

The old munitions factory in Idaho falls had electric trucks for in the plant, bought em in 1902ish and finally retired in the 70s. Still had one in the park on display.

[@DezSark]

What park is that? I’d like to see that

[@kirkwagner461]

I'd love to see a show like this, with an example of a vehicle from the same era powered by gasoline and another powered by steam. All 3 together to see how they compared in the day.

[@TheHenirik]

And either low end of high end versions for all, there were quite a bit of difference in functionality, even in the same price ranges

[@acronus]

If you ask Jay Leno really nicely......

[@seumasmackinlay]

Yes, and drag race them like it’s an episode of TFLEV… 😉

[@MAGnetICus_Attractus]

Don't forget prohibition era Ethanol and Methanol fuel.

[@ulazygit]

Victorian Top Gear …

[@donaldlush2822]

I must say I do like an electric car without a massive iPad on the dashboard

[@wilkoone9155]

I'm on my 5th BEV & I detest infotainment screens running third party apps. Keep electric cars simple and cheap I say.

[@موسى_7]

I think there is a Chinese car with a smaller infotainment screen. It is a cheap one. May have been a BYD Seagull or a newer model of Wuling.

[@deany1980]

Lol, just get a 2012 Mitsubishi i-miev with a battery upgrade

[@kirksway1]

I believe the Wuling has a port to plug your phone into and use as the screen. @@موسى_7

[@tubularG]

Or a Seat Mii electric with its "just add phone" solution

[@legofan431]

This was an amazing look back in time, thank you for the incredible presentation! I also really loved the bit at the beginning, adding to the feeling of looking back.

[@theodorehaskins3756]

Wow! Talk about stepping back into time! I am really surprised that it actually works, and that they let you drive it, and so to see you drive it, is quite amazing. Cheers 🥂

[@computerjantje]

Absolutely fantastic. Amazing that a fully function electric car was invented so long ago and even more amazing it lasts already for over 120 years. Thank you for this great video.

[@williamrosenow6176]

This car will maybe never fail because it was built to be better than a horse. No stress on parts or a need for speed. The guy that made it probably thought it would last 100 years. They took pride in what they built and thought of things like this as a legacy.

[@EugeneLambert]

A-mazing! Could well be my favourite episode ever. Thanks to the owner for letting you guys play with this wonderful and historic machine.

[@dorianleakey]

The reason we have better batteries was there was a demand for better batteries for mobile phones, if there was a demand for better battery technology they would have been developed sooner.

[@chrisspain]

Battery life on my phone still sucks.

[@dorianleakey]

@@chrisspain Because now it does more than a gaming PC could do 20yrs ago. I think there should be a market for a nokia 3310 with a modern battery and charging port. It would probably last a month on one charge. EDIT I may be overstating this with the stuff about gaming PCs a bit, but they keep bloating our phones to run bigger and bigger programmes, which we are supposed to call apps now.

[@LifeofBrad1]

@@chrisspain Only a problem with smartphones. I had a Nokia 5310 (2020) and the battery would last a month before needing to be recharged. Admittedly, it spent most of its life on standby, but still, a smartphone's battery doesn't last that long even on standby. I have a Sony Xperia X Compact now, barely use it, have it stamina mode all the time and the battery still needs to be recharged after 3-4 days.

[@vylbird8014]

Also the manufacture of li-ion cells required advances in materials engineering. Just try manufacturing thin films of lithium cobalt oxide and and ultra-thin polymer separator, with an electrolyte of lithium hexafluorophosphate. Or even just forming graphite into thin sheets. In the lead-acid battery this car uses, in contrast, the electrodes are just lumps of lead. You pour lead into a mould, and out pops half a battery. Box two of them up in a wooden box lined with acid-proof pitch, add acid, put the lid on, you have a battery cell.

[@richardw64]

Apart from rainy days, I would love one of these. Really liking the 30 inch tyres, too. They handle potholes more comfortably.

[@KingfishStevens-di9ji]

Those tires are $1000 each to replace.

[@richardw64]

Challenge accepted !😆@@KingfishStevens-di9ji

[@tonylittle3508]

No worse than a horse I guess, on a rainy day.

[@patrickchubey3127]

I remember seeing my Dad start his vintage 1917 chevy. It wasn't that hard, he'd just set the throttle and spark, give the motor one fast flip and baboom, there you go, it ran. That car actually had a floor mounted starter but Dad cranked it by hand to save wear and tear on the starter, presumably because you can't buy parts for those old cars anymore.

[@MCP647]

I'm genuinely unsure if telling Jack to step off for the outro was a gag or not, but hilarious either way. Really great episode! I find turn of the 20th century stuff to be really interesting, especially relating to mobility.

[@tanja2651]

That was absolutely lovely ! Thank you so much for this episode

[@legostud]

There were old batteries at that time that are still around and working. The Edison battery had a very long lifespan and I heard of another one recently that you could replace the electrolytes each year.

[@EnhancedNightmare]

Batteries can have amazing life spans if you use them within specified conditions and limits. I have some 20 year old nickel batteries which loet most of their power but still can power clocks and remotes.

[@Gottenhimfella]

Indeed, and I would not be surprised to find that the bulbs in the headlights were the original ex factory items. Prior to about 1920, incandescent bulbs were built to last forever.

[@EnhancedNightmare]

@@Gottenhimfella nah mate they were just under volted because of low quality control. If you run incandescent from today at 25% power with steady electricity and with fewer power cycles they can last ages.

[@EnhancedNightmare]

@@Gottenhimfella ok some of them rust and the old ones had full ceramic socked screw (no idea how it is in English but you get what I mean)

[@NeilBlanchard]

Here's the thing - it took an *electric motor* to "save" internal combustion engine cars. I.E. the starter motor.

[@paulwilliams5013]

..Well the electric motor was invented 42 ish years before the modern ice

[@drunkenhobo8020]

It's like that Ancient Greek fable, where the eagle is slain by an arrow feathered with one of its own plumes.

[@موسى_7]

Yes, but that doesn't mean much, since the use of an electric motor in an ICE vehicle isn't cheating according to any rules.

[@alanmay7929]

​@@موسى_7exactly! And it's with the starter that ICE really took of and built this world in which were living now! Roads, bridges, agriculture, mining.,..

[@NeilBlanchard]

@@موسى_7 ICE engines are totally dependent on electric motors to even function - but EVs don't need fossil fuels. That's the most important "rule" - burning fossil fuel is wrong, and is killing life as we know it.

[@singlesideman]

There were no cars in the 1930s that were $200 that I'm aware of, except for used cars, of course. If you're talking about the Ford Model T, which was responsible for something like 40% of all of the cars on the road by 1925, that's when the Model T's price had been lowered to $260, which was dirt cheap. That's about a little more than $4,600 today. That is incredible. Try to buy a decent car today that will last for a hundred years plus for that amount of money. It won't happen. Model Ts were made of vanadium steel that was really thick and incredibly tough. They're amazing.

[@ArnoSnyman007]

17:48 The question was not if the electric motor will last. The issue with EV's is that when the battery dies, you can just as well throw the car away as the battery back is the most expensive component. Once the removal battery versions come along, I will definitely consider it. Now at the moment, I can't imagine owning an EV.

[@SianaGearz]

Aren't there workshops rebuilding electric battery in a car by replacing the cells? And the cost of fresh cells for a rebuild is almost guaranteed to drop with time, as the manufacturing adjusts to the massively increased demand. So i think if you wanted to you could get one now being reasonably certain the problem sort of solves itself by the time your battery is in need of service. Not that i think you should necessarily want it. Currently, you might pay 15-20 grand to replace the battery, while the car costs 40-60 grand, making for a higher up front cost than an ICE vehicle. I don't see a reason to throw away a perfectly good EV once its battery has expired even with things as they are now. It's not like repairs and added maintenance don't add up in an ICE vehicle to total something on the order of 10 grand over its 20 year lifetime.

[@timfoote2874]

These cars were driven by someone who had the money to do so. Electric Cars (actually all cars) were expensive in 1901.

[@Peter-pv8xx]

And what about the cold weather, all those people in the Chicago area waiting for hours in the frigid cold to use chargers and half of them didn't work then the batteries capacity was diminished, I would suffer from constant range anxiety in one those things wondering if I'd run out of juice before I got to the bloody charger then wondering if the thing would work when I got there, no thank you, I can find a gas station every couple of miles and I don't have to wait five hours to charge up just to go a hundred miles or so.

[@Green_Tea_Coffee]

@@Peter-pv8xx Out of Spec Reviews did a deep dive into what happened in Chicago. A couple of chargers went offline, but the big problem was that most of the cars were driven by people renting them for their rideshare jobs, and because they were rented, the drivers didn't have the ability to use L2 charging at home, and weren't savvy enough to precondition the battery pack before attempting to use a supercharger. Deep cold will cut a modern EV's range by about 20% or so.

[@philiptaylor7902]

That is the best episode for a long time. More Jack & Robert please!

[@rinnin]

So true. Loved it. ☺️

[@sambo7734]

That was wonderful :) I would love to see an episode about electric milk floats - they were very common in my childhood, and I'm pretty sure they were lead acid batteries too...

[@robt2151]

Agreed, having driven one very briefly. They had the ability to move several tonnes of milk and glass bottles around at a speed very similar to that achieved by many city motorists today.

[@jozefbubez6116]

Not absolutely sure but the batteries may have been nickel-iron; so-called NIFE the electrolyte being a solution of potassium hydroxide.

[@shaunw9270]

Listen to a Tesla reversing.. that nostalgic milk float noise .

[@keithterry2169]

I would guess that the range of those old milk floats must have been up to 15 miles, going by the distance that our milkman had to travel from depot and back. That was a journey with negligible gradients though. Dairies kept a few ICE vans to cover the rural runs.@@ryszardlorenc7047

[@holnrew]

My dad was a milkman, sometimes we'd ride with him back to the depot and plug the milk float in. I got up at 3am to help him once, just the once lol

[@nathanbrumbaugh8545]

I grew up, driving horse and buggy. I now drive Chevy bolt, you really made my day! Love your show.

[@erebostd]

How old are you? 😳😁

[@drunkenhobo8020]

@@erebostd He's 19 but grew up Amish.

[@chrisspain]

@@erebostd In rural mid West you got horse and buggy today? Nothing better came along yet to go to town. Truly autonomous, the Horse will bring you back home. And it is the ultimate chick magnet. Always.

[@nathanbrumbaugh8545]

59 I grew up in a group similar to Amish, although different.

[@erebostd]

@@nathanbrumbaugh8545 wow. Quite a different lifestyle to me here in Germany, i guess! Thanks for sharing 😄👍

[@ChrisCooper312]

Just one thing when it comes to "how it works", this video gets it almost right, but it's actually the other way around. Each of those wires going from the controller to the motor actually passes through a resistor, which reduces the power getting to the motor. Moving the level to increase power actually disconnects wires meaning the power passes through less resistors, until finally at full power the electricity is sent straight to the motor. The same form of control was also used on electric trams and trains right up until the 1970s when electronics started to take over. The main disadvantage is that the resistors get hot when in use and this wastes heat and they can overheat and burn out, so most driving has to be done either full power or off. With more than one motor, they can also be switched between series and parallel to allow an additional intermediate power level that can be sustained. If you travel on the Bakerloo Line, the trains still use this system of control, and towards the centre of the motor coaches you can hear the clicking of the switchgear as they accelerate and brake. It's a bit more sophisticated as the driver just selects "shunt" (all resistors in) "series" or "parallel" and the control system automatically cycles through to either full series or full parallel (particularly useful when controlling 4 motor coaches from the front of the train), but otherwise it's the same.

[@StewartMidwinter]

You could argue that we would be way better off as society to have restricted gasoline-powered cars to rural areas and not allow them in the cities. The slow speed of this electric car, and now the new neighbourhood electric vehicles, would have saved countless lives.

[@hueywallop2461]

Lots of fun, but I would have liked to hear more technical info. A solid rear axle, or limited slip? DC motor w/ permanent magnets? How did the speed control work? by varying voltage? Was there a speed governor on the motor? How was the motor cooled and lubricated? Thanks.

[@peerperemans897]

Cooled? It generates little heat so just air cooled I guess.

[@user-rc7dg3np9c]

Just think of battery advances if Mr Ford went battery all those years ago ?

[@OenkePoenke]

9:21 not entirely true. Your friends at Transport Evolved had a video at 26th september 2023 on a 1912 Detroit Electric with nickel-iron (aka "Edison") batteries, which were replaced in 1993(!) - not because they had degraded, but because the cases had rusted through. So, it's all about the battery tech used. They can last hugely longer than the car itself, not only 1.5..3 times longer than today's batteries, when treated okay, can outlive an averagely used current EV 🙂

[@mirandahotspring4019]

Love it! Amazing its lasted so long, but then a motor with only one moving part.. But don't forget that electric milk floats were in continual use in the UK and other European countries for decades and electric forklifts are still in widespread use in factories and warehouses around the world.

[@OKFrax-ys2op]

Well said, those hater’s love their battery powered phones 📞🤔😝

[@Gwydion67]

What a mind-blowing in- and outro! 🤩 Not to talk about all of the facts. Simply great. 😃👍 Thank you, Bobby and Jack!! 🙏

[@InvisibleCitizen]

I went to the Edison - Ford House Museum in Ford Myers and saw the Edison EV and Edison batteries. There are many people in Australia that use Edison Batteries with their Home Solar Systems.

[@stephenbamforth1514]

Me too 🙂

[@stianthomassen6693]

I have a book with news articles from 1896(edit: written by a Wm. Baxter) where the author talks about his meeting with the electric car. He is impressed, especially since it can go anywhere, even on bumpy roads which the petroleum counterparts could not at the time. Range was counted in hours it could drive, can’t remember the number but it was hours. So he just waited for battery swap stations turning up everywhere and this would be the future.

[@林振华-t4v]

😂It seems we going in a full cycle in a century

[@captiannemo1587]

Which book?

[@موسى_7]

Back then, people were betting on Nio rather than Tesla. 😅

[@alanmay7929]

Big lol!!!!! Of course the ICE had a rough beginning which the electric starter solved and it quickly went to revolutionise the mechanisation of the world from agriculture to mining , construction, ships, trains...... and still does it much better today

[@fallingwater]

And then Detroit came along...

[@snowstrobe]

I saw this at the FC Show, and so wanted to look inside it. That is all the speed we need. I actually wish they made cars as simple as this still.

[@matthewgodwin3050]

Yes, absolutely. If the electric vehicle was as light and as simple as it could be, and all the modern day fripperies were stripped away, real world range would be much improved and smaller battery packs could be employed, having a lower impact on the environment. Having 3 tonne plus SUV gin palace EVs is nonsensical. If electric is to be the primary method of propulsion, then light and simple is the way to do it. So far, only Citroen have got that memo.

[@98Zai]

Yes! It would be completely user serviceable and I'm sure it would last forever, with interchangeable "faceplates" like ye olde mobile phones :D But, it wouldn't be lucrative enough for production in this society. I hope I'm wrong though!

[@Gottenhimfella]

Indeed. Also road deaths (including pedestrians) would be massively reduced. At present urban survival depends on your disposable income: in all but name, an arms race. When both vehicles in an urban smash weigh next to nothing, everyone walks away.

[@TherconJair]

There is the Citroën Ami.

[@98Zai]

@@Gottenhimfella I've been thinking about that. Whenever those big SUV's that infiltrated from the US cross my path, I just see them as weapons made to kill. They never go off road in those expensive show pieces, I've never even seen them on a gravel road. The development of society is disappointing.

[@LostsTVandRadio]

Very wise that you didn't drive up the A44 Cotswold escarpment road towards Broadway Tower! The Waverley may have gone into reverse up that particular incline.

[@JeffDeWitt]

Really enjoyed this, but have two quibbles. I would have liked a LOT better look at that controller, it looked like a fascinating bit of turn of the last century tech. The other is you didn't tell us where the car was made? (I looked it up, Waverly, later Pope-Waverly, was in Indianapolis, Indiana).

[@LoneWolf-wp9dn]

There were a bunch of electric cars with lead acid batteries over the years some did move some units... but if im not mistaken Pb batteries you can only draw them down to 50%... more than that and youre hurting their longevity... thats what i heard about some batteries used as backup storage... dont know if it applied to the cars as well... but that would seriously limit the range

[@andrewallen9993]

That is the problem EXACTLY with pb cars. Batteries shouldn't be discharged below 70% if you want your traction battery to last 5 years or so.

[@peterduxbury927]

When you drop a Pb Battery lower than 10.7 volts, sulphation damage begins....

[@howardsimpson489]

Submarines proved this when forced to remain submerged on batteries for too long. Going below 70% was not too bad if solid charging started immediately, too bad about the bombers cruising overhead.

[@TomoBunyip]

I can't believe how much trust the owner placed in the full charged team. I gather they sedated him before they started to shoot.

[@cactusjackNV]

IMO if you aren't chill enough to share a relic like that, you shouldn't own a piece of history in the first place.

[@mattcbinns]

I’m been a passenger in a Ford model T at the Henry Ford museum, there are a number of cars driving a predefined route around the grounds. And the thing I remember the most is the slick of oil on the roads due to all those cars. What a shame electric didn’t win out back then…

[@CptAngelKGaming]

Electric cars were garbage before lithium batteries so it couldn't have worked back then or even 30 years ago.

[@noscwoh1]

Well, so many cars had total loss oilers, but driving on dusty dirt roads makes that actually a benefit.

[@noscwoh1]

​@@CptAngelKGaming "Garbage" how, exactly? Early electrics did exactly what they were supposed to. They were cheaper than a horse, faster than a horse, and got you into town and back. Lead acid and Edison cells were nearly infinitely rebuildable.

[@matthewgodwin3050]

@@noscwoh1 Probably for the same reason EVs are still plagued in 2023; inadequate charging infrastructure and long recharging times. Much more convenient to poor 5 or 6 gallons of a flammable liquid into a sealed tank with a screw top lid.

[@CptAngelKGaming]

@@noscwoh1 Super underpowered with no range. It's not rocket science..

[@TERRYMCCLUSKEY]

Good stuff. This is where it all began! Thanks for your production guys!

[@brainworksknowhow3339]

The camera expertise is amazing! Loved the sarcasm throughout out the episode. Great video!

[@saginaw60]

For me the real problem was not battery, but controls. Today we quickly pulse power on/off at full voltage, to get desired torque, with little waste. Old autos were cursed with linear torque that could break axles, or they used resisters that created heat, wasting power when less power was needed.

[@danielzhang1916]

yeah we didn't have the technology then, it didn't work until the Prius and hybrids came out, then we were able to switch to EV, it would have been impossible 100 years ago to make it, that's why all the early ones didn't work, why are we still using gas today after all this time, because it was the easiest solution to get the car running

[@martinb.770]

At 8:25 it looks like some "4 bit" power control, but there is no clue if this was solved by some resistor network or by re-arranging the batteries in different configurations of serial/parallel circuits, as indicated by the voltmeter, that shows a range of much more than the 12V lead blocks would deliver.

[@lindsaycole8409]

Another solution that this car might have is to tap the winding of the motor at various points. Essentially you have 1/3, 2/3, and whole of the winding powered and so power and draw from the battery scaling with that as well.

[@vylbird8014]

@@lindsaycole8409 I can imagine ways of achieving power control using some commutator selection as well - you'd need to have multiple ones with different degrees of 'dead space' and select as needed. Plenty of ways. Resistors are just the cheapest option, consisting of nothing more than some coiled-up wire and asbestos supports.

[@lindsaycole8409]

@@vylbird8014 With combinations of solutions through competitive development it should have been possible to get a power-efficient "analog" electromechanical solution with a decent level of fine control probably by the teens. But history didn't go that way and it was all petrol from there on.

[@peterduxbury927]

Electric Milk Floats were the Workhorses in the 60s. The only noise was that the Milk Bottles rattled in their zinc steel crates - as it went along the cobbled streets at 0530 hrs.

[@samhowells86]

Just to add to the original ICE combustion discussion, the first ones needed to have their fuel purchased from a Chemists as there were no Fuel stations. There was an electric grid when these were introduced so electric cars had better infrastructure than ICE ones at the start.

[@ghost307]

Actually, if you went to the oil company they'd give you all the gasoline you wanted for free as they had no use for it.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

NO. There was no grid in 1910. You're talking about the 1930s before there was widespread electrical power.

[@ghost307]

@@grahamstevenson1740 Quite true. Also many rural areas didn't get electric power until after WW2, and it was often less than enough for electric lights and an appliance or two.

[@chrishart8548]

​@grahamstevenson1740 couldn't you have a generator at the property running off an old lister engine.

[@grahamstevenson1740]

@@chrishart8548 There wouldn't have been many of those around back then.

[@andrewfrodo2086]

So where can I purchase the parts to make this as a kit card. This was splendid.....All the acting had me on floor laughing!

[@microhaxo]

Great video. Enjoyed the candid moments when trying to get a feel for the brakes.

[@NoName-ik2du]

I'm disappointed there was no explanation of what the little gear mechanism on the left-front wheel was.

[@ZesPak]

I was wondering as well. From the looks of it... could be some sort of odometer?

[@NoName-ik2du]

@@ZesPak Hmm, could be? In the close-up of it at 4:15, it doesn't even look like it's connected to anything. But given the vehicle's age, it's possible parts of it are missing at this point. Maybe the top bit that's sticking out spins and you could order an optional speedometer/odometer that would connect to it?

[@mickhursey4802]

I love that Robert has dressed in a suit and tie, whereas Jack has his grandads cardigan an trainers🤣

[@StuartAT]

You spoke of electric, steam, and petrol cars, but failed to mention the Ford Nucleon concept car? What could possibly have gone wrong with that idea? Keep up the good work 👌

[@klausstock8020]

The Ford Nucleon never took off (literally) because we knew that we'd have flying cars in the 1970s. And a nuclear-powered VTOL, like the Bell D-1007, would have been huge, maybe 300ft (100m), like the Bell D-1007. But since weight (mass) is an issue for flying cars/helicopters, radiation shielding was inferior to that in ground cars. An estimate is that every hour travelled in a Bell D-1007 would increase the likelihood of getting cancer by 2.5%. So we knew that nuclear-powered cars could never fly. The helicopter engine would have, apparently, heated air to drive turbines. The Ford Nucleon would have had a steam turbine, making it a steam car (plus a second turbine to generate electricity). But I guess it's coming back. In 2009, Cadillac introduced the World Thorium Fuel Concept. Seriously? Seriously. They did choose that name. The Cadillac WTF Concept is also a steam car. They claim that it can run 1,000,000 miles on 8 grams of thorium.

[@LenKusov]

Don't throw too much shade at the lead-acid battery, by the 1990's Ford and GM had managed to get them to hold a pretty respectable capacity for 100+ year old tech. Everybody talks about the EV1 program, but before the NiMH patent scandal, the Chevy S10 and Ford Ranger were available with 20kWH lead-acid packs (only 6 or 7 less than the NiMH ones that came after) for fleet leases in California. Same range as a first-gen Leaf, but in a chicken-tax pickup truck that was useful, dependable, and saved a lot of money on gas. They were so good, a lot of the owners ended up shipping them to Norway when the manufacturers got strongarmed by CARB into recalling them and trying to crush all of them, which means they're still around today.

[@charlotteclarke4665]

How would you get the charge current for these to charge the battery? Was it one of those motor driven DC generators, more or less like an AC motor plugged in to the mains side coupled to a DC generator to send current to the battery?

[@vylbird8014]

You're thinking of a rotary converter - and yet, that might have been used. Though at this point in time, it's likely the local electric company would be supplying DC directly anyway.

[@777Outrigger]

I remember my dad saying that men would sometimes break their arms trying to crank a gasoline engine if they weren't careful.

[@chrisspain]

Even today you are not a Harley driver if you did not at least once broke your ankle.

[@ghost307]

Anything can hurt you if you do it wrong.

[@777Outrigger]

@@ghost307 Well evidently it was easy to do it wrong. But I wouldn't know the details.

[@ghost307]

@@777Outrigger The trick is to use the palm of your hand to push against the crank. Too many people wrapped their hand around the handle (like grabbing a broomstick) when turning the crank. If you do it right any kickback would push your hand away from the crank. If you do it wrong you will have a firm grip on the crank when it kicked back and you'd likely end up with a busted thumb or a broken arm.

[@777Outrigger]

@@ghost307 Interesting. Sounds like you have experience in cranking 1920s cars. Not a skill I need though, especially since I drive a Model Y.

[@sktaylor99]

What a great episode chaps. Someone has really looked after that car for it to still be drivable.

[@RantDuJour]

Aka lots of money to afford not having to use it and not needing the money.

[@spokehedz]

I have not laughed at an upload on youtube quite as hard as I did when Robert had a sudden bit of spontaneous 'acting' happen on his lovely test ride.

[@jacobvidjeskog]

Such a joy to watch! Thank you for the history and knowledge

[@capngloval]

It is interesting. Jay Leno still runs around in his 1909 Baker Electric. He swapped the batteries, and had the woodwork polished, and that's about it. It runs beautifully.

[@jamesengland7461]

It was a true joy to watch this. Well done!

[@aarong9378]

Nice headroom, too! Impressive that it had regenerative braking.

[@Baldy444]

Lovely to see a bit of history linked to our modern day experience. The makers of this car would be so proud and excited to see how EV's are developing nowadays

[@林振华-t4v]

A magical mirror Changing information showing

[@gerryboudreaultboudreault2608]

Hey, build your own car using a stripped mini frame or aluminum, maybe 24V ni-cad batteries, solar panels, LED lighting etc

[@dandahermitseals5582]

So Kool. Phyllis Diller rode around with her dad in her childhood in a modle T looking e car.

[@gregrees9146]

A side note, while you are talking about Henry Ford and the Model T His wife drove an electric car. She didn't like the smell from gas engines.

[@recumbentrocks2929]

What a great episode! And what an amazing car. Loved the history and humour, well done guys and your team.

[@jamesrequa6926]

This is a wonderful video. Thank you for putting in the effort to make it fun as well as informative. Modern battery technology made a big difference as you pointed out, but let's not forget, the early GM EV1 cars used lead acid batteries and were practical cars - good acceleration and 80 mile range.

[@willdatsun]

The AX,Saxo,106,Berlingo,Partner Electrique 1996 to 2005 used Ni-Cd batteries. Some of those batteries that are in my 2002 Berlingo are still at or near 100% capacity, after 20 years. They are not as energy dense as lithium ion but they have much better cold weather performance .

[@jamesrequa6926]

Thank you! I had never heard of it. I just did some research and was pleased to see that Citroen was involved. They were always ahead of most others. This reminds me of the late 1990s when I lived near Peachtree City, GA, a city that had built a network of paved bicycle trails and then permitted golf carts on them. Golf carts replaced cars as the preferred means of local transportation. Almost all were electric, with very few using gasoline. Advanced, mostly foreign, carts were beginning to show up with newer battery chemistries, A/C motors, and dynamic braking. Nobody I knew was thinking cars could be made that way.

[@TheHenirik]

​@@jamesrequa6926That's really interesting, from googling it seems like the have a separate road network for slow-moving vehicles, and that it actually is pretty popular. More cites should have that

[@danielzhang1916]

@@jamesrequa6926 we could make electric carts, but we didn't have the technology until the Prius and hybrids started coming out, then we were able to switch to EV, it was impossible to do it even 50 years ago

[@jamesrequa6926]

Maybe not 50 years but I said EV1 and you said Prius. Either way it's 1997, 26 years ago we could have started moving to electric.

[@MrWingman2009]

Absolutely brilliant! I'm so happy right now, watching this 😊 Also, I want volts and amps in my EV!

[@strohbertl]

Maxus EV 80 has it

[@maxbower3370]

I've met the owner of this Waverley. He's a legendary figure in the UK car world, but also a mysterious one. Some say he's rather like the electric stig...

[@bellofbelmont]

Great fun. Thanks. Jim Bell (Australia)

[@acefoxuk]

Absolutely incredible! Amazing bit of tech, loved the video, so well executed, love the vintage opening and ending, Robert & Jack are always a pleasure to watch together.

[@rklauco]

Beautiful machine! Thanks for the video.

[@InvisibleCitizen]

There are 100 year old Edison Batteries that still work!!!

[@alanmay7929]

Nope it's not a 100 years old battery lol!!! It's a replacement one.

[@SpiritmanProductions]

@@alanmay7929 They said "there are", not "those are", clearly referring to some other batteries. *LOL!!*

[@alanmay7929]

@@SpiritmanProductions these aren't the original batteries period!

[@SpiritmanProductions]

@@alanmay7929 THAT'S NOT WHAT THEY SAID. THEY SIMPLY MENTIONED THAT THERE ARE SOME *_OTHER_* BATTERIES THAT HAVE LASTED A VERY LONG TIME, CONTRARY TO THE SUGGESTION IN THE VIDEO THAT IT COULDN'T HAPPEN. WORK ON YOUR COMPREHENSION SKILLS, MAN.

[@MeaningFromData]

Very interesting. Loved the ragtime music in the intro!

[@MrCunningham4]

One interesting thing to note that I just thought of, there were musings back in the 1950s about cars that ran on nuclear energy. I think they essentially would have been EVs with power coming from a micro nuclear reactor, now wouldn't that be interesting

[@princecharmingthemerman]

The first speeding infraction in the U.S. was committed by a New York City taxi driver in an electric car on May 20, 1899. The driver was Jacob German who drove for the Electric Vehicle Company, which leased its electric taxicabs an Electrobat, a fully electric vehicle invented in 1894 to be used around New York. He was driving his taxi at a blistering 12mph. The speed limit at that time was 8mph

[@ian-nz-2000]

How did thay mesaure his speed?

[@grepora]

Do you mean the first horseless speeding infraction? U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant was stopped for speeding in a horse driven carriage in Washington, DC and insisted on being given a ticket.

[@TheTonycima]

The only problem with my EV is software. A car without it. Could catch on! 😊

[@theairstig9164]

It’s well within the capabilities of anyone with an internet connection to make their own. There are golf carts running brushed motors and rheostatic controls from industrial systems. A VESC upgrade would really be the only thing needed

[@howardsimpson489]

Problem is multiple lithium cells need precision idiot proof battery management systems, even then they make splendid incendiaries.

[@fetB]

@@howardsimpson489 how so. If the BMS is idot proof, the battery is just fine. Thats like saying you cant trust that gasolin thing because it could just catch a spark somewhere

[@huwdavies6650]

You were talking about Henry Ford and What if. Well Clara Ford owned a 1914 Detroit Electric Model 47 Brougham. I don't think she liked the Nasty, Smelly and Noisy ICE cars.

[@bluepawn]

What a wonderful video !!! I really enjoyed. thanks so much lots of things that I didn't know in this car...

[@Tore_Lund]

Steam cars had coil boilers, that only needed a few minutes to warm up. Remaining range is easy to judge from the voltage on Lead-Acid batteries. You also get a sense of what mood your batteries are in from how much they sag during acceleration. I have driven a few Lead-Acid EVs.

[@johnnyforeigner11]

Having had the privilege to drive this very car, I can tell you that its quite scary because the tiller steering is so imprecise. Fortunately it doesn't go very fast , and the fun factor far outweighs any feelings of fear.

[@nelumsanjay4696]

what happen to the horse, that was funny

[@seanhalldorson1746]

This was great. I love how they started off doing this like a normal car review. lol Also, they have great chemistry together.

[@cvcoco]

From USA Im delighted by this and wish I had one. Assuming its not coming back, we should press hard for laws to allow golf carts (or any homemade device) for city use, no license or registration required. Why cant we?

[@billwilson-es5yn]

Those are available since it's allowed.

[@cvcoco]

@@billwilson-es5yn Where?

[@billwilson-es5yn]

@@cvcoco in Texas and other states. Their DMV websites will say if those need to be tagged like cars.

[@JakeWest-1]

I knew electric cars were around when cars first became a thing, but I had no idea that they could travel 60 miles at that time! I thought maybe 20 or 30 at the most, nope a whole 60 miles! Now days, there are cars that can only travel that long on battery alone. Very impressive and as it was said at the end of the video, electric cars have always been a good idea, its only now that we can properly utilize them. WELL DONE VIDEO!

[@timfoote2874]

60 miles was quite a few miles, to travel away from home, in 1901.

[@fernandoi3389]

You are forgetting that you are not driving on a road of 100 years ago....

[@dijikstra8]

I think there would have been more investment into making batteries more energy-dense earlier if the electric car had been mass produced instead of the petrol car.

[@jamesslick4790]

Perhaps, But the bigger issue with 1901 electric cars has not much to do with the cars themselves, but the times! It was before the 1920s when most of the population was living in rural areas AND most of those areas were without electricity. If you compare a curved dash Oldsmobile from 1901 and this 1901 Waverly their performance was about the same AND the electric car IS easier to USE, but at the time you could only really charge them in the city. Had the entire nation been electrified by 1901 I DO think MORE electrics would have sold but full electrification didn't happen until the 1930s, By then gasoline cars had already long taken over the market.

[@TadeuszCantwell]

Still more affordable than most cars in today's money!

[@toyotaprius79]

Except in China

[@Snerdles]

Including zero safety features!

[@The_Ballo]

You can buy a Hundai (with a stick shift, even) for way less

[@peerperemans897]

Love it! Nothing flimsy about it. The accelerator switch aparently determines wich or how many engine coils will get the electric juice. I once made a series/parallel switch for a battery set to get 2 power modes on an electric lorry. Both methods beat a sewing machine style variable resistor by far in terms of torque and efficiency, not to mention the heat dissipation. There were just no semiconductors to do any pwm job or even go 3 phase and ditch the brushes.

[@jamesellsworth9673]

THANK YOU for making the best ever look at the original electric cars.