If you have wondered about the origins of the hybrid engine, then you’ll find this, a fascinating post from Auto Time Machine:
Let’s go back in time and learn a little piece of history about hybrid engines and fuel cells during the 20th century. I bet this stuff is older than your Mercedes S430 radiator hose. Anyway, let’s dig in with the details provided by my source!
THE 20TH CENTURY
1904: Henry Ford starts his assembly-line production of “low-priced, lightweight, gas-powered vehicles” and as a result, the Electric Vehicle Company was unsuccessful in the next few years.
1905: American engineer H. Piper records a copyright for a petrol-electric hybrid car.
1913: Steamers and electrics were about to be phased out with the discovery of the self-starter which provided convenience to drivers to start gas engines. Sales of electric cars went down to 6,000 and the Ford Model T sells nearly 182,000 gasoline vehicles.
1920-1965: The period which the mass-production of electric and hybrid cars went stationary.
1966: First bill introduced by Congress with a recommendation to use electric vehicles to reduce air pollution.
1970s: The Arab oil embargo of 1973 brings increased gasoline prices and a new interest in electric and hybrid vehicles.
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