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magazine honoured him with a cover portrait and biographical profile. The elderly scientist/engineer was gaunt though not unhealthy, his hair still a shining black, and he had the same far- away look in his visionary eyes. magazine honoured him with a cover portrait and biographical They flourished in their market niche with a range of formal, profile. The elderly scientist/engineer was gaunt though not often elegant, closed-carriage designs. unhealthy, his hair still a shining black, and he had the same far- The Achilles heel of the electric automobile, however, was away look in his visionary eyes. always the energy density of its batteries, or the lack of it. Batteries were of the lead-acid type, and were heavy and bulky Electric Cars Fall Behind and took up valuable storage space. The excessive weight made At the beginning of the 20th century, the prospects for the elec- for lumbering handling and sluggish performance, even by the tric automobile were bright. Visionaries like Jules Verne had standards of the day. Electric vehicles could not exceed 45-50 anticipated battery-powered vehicles that were mechanically sim- mph (70-80 km/h), as such speed might destroy the batteries in ple, silent, odourless, straightforward to operate and less cantan- mere moments. Bursts of speed to 35 mph (57 km/h) could be kerous than any gasoline-engined car. sustained for only a very short duration, In the petrol-engined automobile, and travel in the 15-20 mph (24-32 one had to pre-set the throttle linkage, km/h) range was typical. The batter- advance the spark control, pump the Department stores made use ies required charging every night and siearantate nese H!2 | of electric delivery trucks. ff sanecniensinn ten needed to turn a key and press the Doctors began making house tric vehicle manufacturer had ever accelerator. Releasing the accelerator in " Tact! installed a DC generator, which would slowed down the car immediately. calls In electrics . have returned a small charge back into In an age of few motor garages, elec- Women took to electric cars the batteries as the vehicle moved, for their ease of operation. tricians could service the simple DC motors if necessary. There was no oil thus increasing operating range. Promises of coming breakthroughs in to change, no radiator to fill, no fuel or new, powerful batteries were made as water pumps to service, no carburettor far back as Edison's heyday but ulti- problems, no exhaust pipe to rust, no mately came to naught. clutch or transmission to service, and no pollution! Grease and oil As the speed and reliability of petrol-engined cars improved, use was limited to two bearings in the electric motor and a num- the electric car fell out of favour, becoming associated with retired ber of chassis fittings. gentlemen and little old ladies. The electric starter on Department stores made use of electric delivery trucks. conventional cars put the final nail in the coffin of electric Doctors began making house calls in "electrics", discarding their __ vehicles. horse and buggy for something altogether easier to maintain. Women took to electric cars for their ease of operation. Since Enter Dr Nikola Tesla electric cars were limited in their range and speed by their batter- In the 1960s an aeronautical engineer named Derek Ahlers met ies, they became popular as town carriages. Petar Savo and developed a long friendship with him. Savo Outside of town, the country roads of America were so primi- would talk with Ahlers during their 10-year acquaintance about tive that they became the preserve of the rapid (and rapidly his illustrious "uncle" Nikola Tesla and his exploits in the 1930s. improving), long-range, internal combustion engine car. Thus, a (Savo was a younger relation of Nikola Tesla and if not actually a sort of golden age of electric vehicles persisted in America after nephew he would customarily refer to him as "uncle"). the rest of the world had begun to discard them. Detroit Electric, In 1930, Nikola Tesla asked his "nephew" Petar Savo to come Columbia, Baker, Rauch & Lang, and Woods were the most sig- to New York City. Savo (born in Yugoslavia in 1899 and thus 43 nificant among a host of manufacturers of this type of vehicle. years younger than Tesla) had been in the Austrian military and — ——— — 3 was a trained aviator, and he eagerly took up the opportunity to leave Yugoslavia (also Tesla's country of birth). He moved to America and settled in New York City. In a series of interviews in 1967, Mr Savo related his part in the affair of the Tesla electric car. During the summer of 1931, Tesla invited Savo to Buffalo, New York state, to unveil and test a new type of automobile which Tesla had developed with his own funds. Coincidentally, Buffalo is close to Niagara Falls—where Tesla's AC hydroelectric power station went on line in 1895, marking the pinnacle of his esteem in the eyes of orthodox science. Westinghouse Electric and the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company had prepared this experimental electric car under Dr Tesla's guidance. (George A 1931 Pierce-Arrow Eight sedan, similar to the Tesla electric test car. Westinghouse had bought Tesla's AC- (Photo courtesy of John Filiss, Serious Wheels) current patents for US$15 million at the turn of the 20th century.) Department stores made use of electric delivery trucks. Doctors began making house calls in "electrics". A 1931 Pierce-Arrow Eight sedan, similar to the Tesla electric test car. (Photo courtesy of John Filiss, Serious Wheels) 38 * NEXUS Women took to electric cars for their ease of operation. www.nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2004 — JANUARY 2005