The popularity of mass-produced electric or hybrid cars is recent, but the idea behind using electricity as a power source for cars is more than 100 years old. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will explore the history of the electric car from the early 20th century to the present in a new display as part of the “America on the Move” exhibition opening Oct. 27 through January 2012.
“Electrifying Cars” showcases two cars – a 1904 Columbia electric runabout, the best-selling car in the United States at the turn of the century and a 1913 Ford Model T touring car, a gasoline car equipped with an early type of electric starter and electric headlights. The cars, along with a battery charger for General Motors’ EV1 and images of additional electric models, car owners and power sources, follow the historical, cultural and physical development of the electric car.