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Lack of infrastructure didn't stop the adoption of internal combustion engine vehicles. The infrastructure was built as demand for it increased. Anyway we hav

Lack of infrastructure didn't stop the adoption of internal combustion engine vehicles. The infrastructure was built as demand for it increased. Anyway we have most of the infrastructure we need for electric vehicles already, it's called the grid. All that is missing is the connection points. And for many people that is also not a problem because we can plug the car in at home. So electric vehicles have a massive advantage at this stage of the process compared to what ICE vehicles had at the beginning of their adoption.

Angostura 8y ago
There was a demand for the internal combustion engine because it was a massive step-change from horses. Electric vehicles represent a marginal gain for people who aren't primarily concerned about the environment. To be clear, I would like an electric vehicle, but I lack off-road parking so I don't see myself getting one for a decade.
- nojvek 8y ago
  I happen to have a number of gas station owners cousins. Their sentiment is, if there is demand for something, they’ll supply it. Charging stations, replaceable batteries, whatever. If there is profit to be made, they’ll do it.
  - Angostura 8y ago
    As long as they can recharge in under 10 minutes, I'm happy.
ohhellno 8y ago
The original cars were electric and gas won out as a better solution because it was more portable and less dangerous in the event of an accident. Those things are still true today. Edit: why the downvote? Sources cited below. HN, you judge too fast.
- StevePerkins 8y ago
  Source? I'm curious, as I don't know much about the state of rechargeable battery technology in the late-1800's.
  - ohhellno 8y ago
    "In 1884, over 20 years before the Ford Model T, Thomas Parker built the first practical production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high-capacity rechargeable batteries." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car
    - mpweiher 8y ago
      Hmm...the Ford Model T wasn't exactly the first car with a combustion engine. Credit to that generally goes to Carl Benz, who got his patent in 1886. There were earlier self-propelled vehicles.
      - lloeki 8y ago
        > I don't know much about the state of rechargeable battery technology in the late-1800's This link has some info about rechargeable batteries in the context of electric vehicles. Basically in 1881 key improvements to the original 1859 lead-acid design made batteries practical on board a vehicle at an industrial scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle#First_practical_electric_cars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicl... > Credit to that generally goes to Carl Benz, who got his patent in 1886. The above link reiterates the date of 1884 for a production vehicle by Thomas Parker, two years before the Benz patent. Also, earlier than that, a tricycle was successfully demoed along a Paris street in April 1881, following a 1867 two-wheeled prototype that did work but wasn't quite drivable for production use. EVs got a slight head start to ICEs but they subsequently developed alongside each other from the late 19th to early 20th.
        mpweiher 8y ago

Angostura 8y ago

There was a demand for the internal combustion engine because it was a massive step-change from horses. Electric vehicles represent a marginal gain for people who aren't primarily concerned about the environment. To be clear, I would like an electric vehicle, but I lack off-road parking so I don't see myself getting one for a decade.

nojvek 8y ago
I happen to have a number of gas station owners cousins. Their sentiment is, if there is demand for something, they’ll supply it. Charging stations, replaceable batteries, whatever. If there is profit to be made, they’ll do it.
- Angostura 8y ago
  As long as they can recharge in under 10 minutes, I'm happy.

ohhellno 8y ago

The original cars were electric and gas won out as a better solution because it was more portable and less dangerous in the event of an accident. Those things are still true today. Edit: why the downvote? Sources cited below. HN, you judge too fast.

StevePerkins 8y ago
Source? I'm curious, as I don't know much about the state of rechargeable battery technology in the late-1800's.
- ohhellno 8y ago
  "In 1884, over 20 years before the Ford Model T, Thomas Parker built the first practical production electric car in London in 1884, using his own specially designed high-capacity rechargeable batteries." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car
  - mpweiher 8y ago
    Hmm...the Ford Model T wasn't exactly the first car with a combustion engine. Credit to that generally goes to Carl Benz, who got his patent in 1886. There were earlier self-propelled vehicles.
    - lloeki 8y ago
      > I don't know much about the state of rechargeable battery technology in the late-1800's This link has some info about rechargeable batteries in the context of electric vehicles. Basically in 1881 key improvements to the original 1859 lead-acid design made batteries practical on board a vehicle at an industrial scale. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle#First_practical_electric_cars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicl... > Credit to that generally goes to Carl Benz, who got his patent in 1886. The above link reiterates the date of 1884 for a production vehicle by Thomas Parker, two years before the Benz patent. Also, earlier than that, a tricycle was successfully demoed along a Paris street in April 1881, following a 1867 two-wheeled prototype that did work but wasn't quite drivable for production use. EVs got a slight head start to ICEs but they subsequently developed alongside each other from the late 19th to early 20th.
      - mpweiher 8y ago