We Could Have Had Electric Cars from the Beginning
We also could have had steam powered cars. Jay Leno once said that he got pulled over on the freeway for breaking the speed limit in his Stanley Steamer from 1906-ish. Darn thing has a top speed of 127mph.<p>My 2018 motorcycle tops out at 110mph, to give you a comparison.<p>Why don't we have steam cars?<p>Because in the early 1900's steam cars they couldn't compete with the elegance of ICE vehicles. The engines were big and heavy, the fuel was hard to manage, they took a long time to warm up, etc etc. The internal combustion engine was just a way better tool for the job.<p>Same reason electric cars didn't win: The ICE was just a way better tool for the job at the time. This is now changing, but very slowly.<p>Tesla, for example, still doesn't have an official Nurburgring lap time because it simply isn't able to drive at racing speeds for long enough without the battery overheating and reducing power output to avoid damage. Yes racing electric cars exist and they're awesome, but even Formula E swaps cars in the middle of the race because a single car can't last long enough.[1]<p>It does look like VW's electric supercar currently attacking the Nurburgring lap record. Already holds the absolute record for Pikes Peak. Exciting times we live in :)[2]<p>[1] <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-time-clocked-in-by-Tesla-Model-S-in-N%C3%BCrburgring" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-time-clocked-in-by-Tesla-M...</a><p>[2]<a href="https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/05/vws-record-breaking-electric-car-takes-on-worlds-scariest-racetrack-nurburgring/" rel="nofollow">https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/05/vws-record-breaking-ele...</a>