Just where did a hybrid car get it’s start? Read on to find out. Hybrid cars are very popular for modern car buyers and there are many reasons why that should be. But before you even think about choosing a hybrid car to purchase, you might want to know a little about the history of the hybrid first.
Surprisingly, hybrid cars were around even before gas-powered cars. Back in about the year 1665, a Jesuit priest by the name of Ferdinand Verbeist began plans for a certain type of vehicle. That vehicle would be very simple, nothing complex, or intricate. Simple was all he wanted.
So Ferdinand planned out a car that would have four wheels and would run only on steam. It took about fifteen years of work for Ferdinand to go through with his plan. He laboured to perfect his dream car. But no one knows if he ever finished because there is no evidence that his concept ever came into existence.
Then in 1769, a man by the name of Nicholas Cugnot developed a carriage that was driven by steam. This carriage did in fact work, and it could go at six miles per hour. This project was great, but it was difficult to get the amount of steam needed that would allow the car to go any significant distance.
The real break through in hybrid car development finally came in 1839 when Robert Anderson developed an electrically powered car. It was the first of its breed and was built in Scotland.
This type of electric car was a highly applauded innovation of its time. But, the only problem was that it was very difficult to replenish the car’s battery. Some pioneers did come after Anderson, but they had the same problem of getting the battery recharged easily.
Then there was another outstanding break-through, in the year 1898, Porsche brought out an electric and fuel combo combustion engine that was the first of its kind. The car was named the Lohner Electric Chaise and it could travel for up to 40 miles using only its batteries.
Within a short space of time, pioneers combined both gas and a battery powered engines to become what would turn into today’s hybrid vehicle. In 1999, Honda made a leap into the US market. It brought out the Honda Insight, which was a lightweight two-door hybrid vehicle. Since then, hybrid vehicles have been evolving and improving into what we see on the roads these days. Hybrid cars are no longer just for the techies who think it’s cool to combine battery and liquid fuel to get them where they need to go. Hybrid cars started out simple, and they still are quite simple today.
These days hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular as people understand them better. In the 21st century, hybrids saw a boom in sales when the Toyota Prius came out on the market. It was the first hybrid with four doors that was marketed in the USA.
Soon afterwards, the Ford Escape hybrid became the very first SUV hybrid vehicle ever made. And so there it is in a nut shell, the history of the hybrid car – today’s most modern on road, mass-produced vehicle.
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