On this day 125 years ago

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Carl_Mary

Member
1st Year Member
Dec 1, 2022
16
41
The first gasoline-engine automobile was sold in the United States.

I was bored a few nights ago and Googled “What were people saying about the first automobiles?” I found an article by Alexander Winton, the first person to sell an automobile in the United States, in The Saturday Evening Post, February 8, 1930 titled, “Get a Horse! America’s Skepticism Toward the First Automobile.”

I learned that the first automobile was sold in the United States 125 years ago TODAY, March 24, 1898 for $1,000 (roughly $36,000 today).

I also realized that I am re-living history as the auto industry moves to electric vehicles and people are embracing or rejecting the EVs as they did 125 years ago when the horseless carriage was proposed as a replacement for the horse and carriage. People’s skepticism, the lack of infrastructure, and the rapid pace of innovation are the same today as it was back then.

Winton wrote this article about “the wild early days when even promoting the idea of a self-propelling machine would make you the object of ridicule.” Winton was known as “the fool who is fiddling with a buggy that will run without being hitched to a horse.” His banker told him, “You’re crazy if you think this fool contraption you’ve been wasting your time on will ever displace the horse.” As we know today that statement was an incorrect prediction.

As for people’s argument about the lack of electrical charging infrastructure for EVs, Winton faced the same issues in 1897 when he drove from Cleveland to New York City to attract potential investors. He writes, “In those days there were no gasoline stations, and the only place the fuel could be purchased was in a drug store. If, by chance, the druggist had a gallon of it, we were happy. Seldom were we able to buy in such large quantity and usually we had to be content with a pint or a quart.” They used an average of 6 gallons of gasoline a day during the two-week trip. They must have stopped at every drug store that they drove by. Now look at the prevalence of filling stations!

There are numerous other historic tidbits in the article making it a very informative and easy read. The article can be found here.

So why am I writing this? I believe that EVs are inevitable and eventually will provide the same convenience as ICE autos being sold today. Eventually innovation will overcome the range and charging concerns. Battery technology will advance to provide capacity and safety improvements. Charging stations (or new, unimagined charging systems) will reduce the time required to “fill” the batteries. We just need patience and time. If limitations in EVs are too great for one to buy an EV today then stay with an ICE “horse” and wait. If you are an early adopter, then purchase an EV. However, let us be civil to each other and acknowledge each other’s position in this transition journey. We will all arrive at the same place eventually, as did the people over 100 years ago as transportation transitioned from animal power to fossil fuel power.