1912 Stanley Steamer

1912 Stanley Steamer

The Stanley Steamer outsold every gasoline-fuelled car

The history of green motoring

It wasn't too long ago that green cars seemed like a futuristic ideal that was unlikely to ever surface among the mainstream car buying public. Yet did you realise that green cars actually predate petroleum vehicles and that electric vehicles were once more popular than their conventional alternatives?

This guide to the history of green motoring will take a look back at how our environmentally friendly approach to driving has developed, examining some of the most memorable green cars along the way.

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How did it all begin for green cars?

During the infancy of motoring, as the horse and carriage was originally phased out, many manufacturers believed that steam was the future for cars as it had been for locomotives. One of the most prolific manufacturers of this era was the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, which produced the Stanley Steamer from 1896-1924.

Between 1832 and 1839, the first crude electric carriage was invented and electric cars soon began to flourish in Europe due to the fact that they ran quieter and smoother than other cars. By 1890 America too had jumped on to the electric car bandwagon and cars built by AL Ryker and William Morrison earned notable recognition.

It was also prior to the turn of the twentieth century that electric cars broke through as commercial vehicles, making their debut as a fleet of New York taxis in 1897.

The peak for electric vehicles

The Detroit Electric Coupe was one of the most popular models of the early twentieth century and was even famously driven by the wife of Henry Ford. It was capable of travelling 80 miles on a single charge and could reach a steady speed of 20mph.

Indeed there were many electric models that earned widespread recognition around the turn of the twentieth century when sales briefly surpassed petroleum alternatives.

However, when Henry Ford began mass-producing petroleum cars beginning with the Model T in 1907, the writing was on the wall for the electric vehicle. They cost half as much and their capabilities far surpassed those of any green cars on the market - they could travel further and could achieve faster speeds. Electric cars effectively died out for several decades.

An alternative to petrol

Diesel engines were designed and patented in 1893 by Rudolph Diesel, but weren't placed into passenger cars until 1933 when Citroen introduced the Rosalie - the world's first commercially available diesel engine.

The concept was quickly expanded by General Motors in 1934. By 1936, Mercedes Benz began building the 260D - the world's first production diesel car. Peugeot followed suit by introducing a diesel edition of the 402 in the same year and at last a popular alternative to petrol was established.

1960s revival of green cars

Green motoring was reborn in the late 1950s and early 1960s thanks to a number of popular models.

First came the Vespa 400, produced from 1956-1961, which sold more than 28,000 models and was the only car produced by the established motorbike company. Then the memorable Messerschmitt KR200 arrived, built between 1957 and 1964, which featured a single-cylinder two-stroke engine.

Several cars with small engines took the spotlight in the 1960s including the Austin Healey Sprite and from 1959 onwards arguably the most famous small car of them all, the Mini.

Electric cars also enjoyed a mini-revival and in 1966, GM introduced the Electrovan. For the most part however, it was one and two-cylinder engines that were the most environmentally friendly and in 1970, the Bond Bug was introduced as a precursor to the Reliant Robin.

Oil crisis creates electric car concept boom

The 1973 oil crisis led to renewed interest in alternative fuels. Once again electric cars took centre stage, but for the most part their futuristic designs and limited capabilities meant they failed to grasp mainstream interest.

There were many hits and misses during this period, including the Electraction Tropicana, built in 1977, and the Zagato Zele which turned its manufacturers' reputation for producing beautiful, lightweight cars on its head with its high and square-cornered design.

1980s and 1990s: green cars get serious

In the 1980s, attempts to develop the green car concept reached new heights. In Switzerland for example, there was an annual race for solar-powered vehicles called the Tour de Sol. This ran from 1985-1995.

In 1991, BMW created a pair of battery powered E1 concepts that failed to get past the concept stage. In the same year, the Citroen Citela was born with a range of 130 miles and top speeds of 70mph. It was seen as the car of the future but relied on assistance from the electricity companies who were not so forthcoming.

Many other concepts came and went including the Fiat Downtown and the Peugeot 106 Electric - the latter actually obtaining some success in its native country of France. GM also introduced its first purpose-built electric vehicle, the EV1, from 1996-1999.

A green car millennium

Since the turn of the millennium the concept of green cars has expanded at a phenomenal rate. No longer are green cars a vision of the future - they are very much part of the present.

This is thanks in part to the expansion of hybrid cars, which effectively plug the gap between electric cars and conventional vehicles. By combining a rechargeable energy storage system (RESS) and a fuel powered source to gain propulsion they are more economical and better for the environment than petroleum alternatives. Popular models include the Toyota Camry, which was once acclaimed as the top-selling passenger vehicle in America, and the Toyota Prius which in 2007 was the number-one selling hybrid vehicle worldwide. The concept has even been introduced into larger vehicles such as the Lexus RX400h, an off-roader. The Volkswagen BlueMotion Polo, which became available in 2007, cut CO2 emissions even further.

Hydrogen fuelled cars arrived in 2006 through the BMW 7 Series, while the Ford Airstream was introduced in 2007 with a lithium battery that was topped up by a hydrogen fuel cell.

Electric cars advanced too and the Venturi Fetish, capable of travelling from 0-60mph in under five seconds, broke the mould of clunky and slow electric models. The likes of the G-Whiz also exploded in popularity thanks in part to its exemption from London congestion charges.

With other legitimate incentives to go green in the form of lower road tax, potentially lower car insurance premiums and of course more economical driving, this latest chapter in the history of green cars is the most significant and successful to date.

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