电动车的发展英文文献.docx

电动车的发展英文文献.docx

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电动车的发展英文文献

英文原文：

TheHistoryoftheElectricCar

Introducedmorethan100yearsago,electriccarsareseeingariseinpopularitytodayformanyofthesamereasonstheywerefirstpopular.

Whetherit’sahybrid,plug-inhybridorall-electric,thedemandforelectricdrivevehicleswillcontinuetoclimbaspricesdropandconsumerslookforwaystosavemoneyatthepump.Currentlymorethan3percentofnewvehiclesales,electricvehiclessalescouldtogrowtonearly7percent--or6.6millionperyear--worldwideby2020,accordingtoareportbyNavigantResearch.

Withthisgrowinginterestinelectricvehicles,wearetakingalookatwherethistechnologyhasbeenandwhereit’sgoing.Travelbackintimewithusasweexplorethehistoryoftheelectriccar.

THEBIRTHOFTHEELECTRICVEHICLE

It’shardtopinpointtheinventionoftheelectriccartooneinventororcountry.Insteaditwasaseriesofbreakthroughs--fromthebatterytotheelectricmotor--inthe1800sthatledtothefirstelectricvehicleontheroad.

Intheearlypartofthecentury,innovatorsinHungary,theNetherlandsandtheUnitedStates--includingablacksmithfromVermont--begantoyingwiththeconceptofabattery-poweredvehicleandcreatedsomeofthefirstsmall-scaleelectriccars.AndwhileRobertAnderson,aBritishinventor,developedthefirstcrudeelectriccarriagearoundthissametime,itwasn’tuntilthesecondhalfofthe19thcenturythatFrenchandEnglishinventorsbuiltsomeofthefirstpracticalelectriccars.

HereintheU.S.,thefirstsuccessfulelectriccarmadeitsdebutaround1890thankstoWilliamMorrison,achemistwholivedinDesMoines,Iowa.Hissix-passengervehiclecapableofatopspeedof14milesperhourwaslittlemorethananelectrifiedwagon,butithelpedsparkinterestinelectricvehicles.

Overthenextfewyears,electricvehiclesfromdifferentautomakersbeganpoppingupacrosstheU.S.NewYorkCityevenhadafleetofmorethan60electrictaxis.By1900,electriccarswereattheirheyday,accountingforaroundathirdofallvehiclesontheroad.Duringthenext10years,theycontinuedtoshowstrongsales.

THEEARLYRISEANDFALLOFTHEELECTRICCAR

Tounderstandthepopularityofelectricvehiclescirca1900,itisalsoimportanttounderstandthedevelopmentofthepersonalvehicleandtheotheroptionsavailable.Attheturnofthe20thcentury,thehorsewasstilltheprimarymodeoftransportation.ButasAmericansbecamemoreprosperous,theyturnedtothenewlyinventedmotorvehicle--availableinsteam,gasolineorelectricversions--togetaround.

Steamwasatriedandtrueenergysource,havingprovedreliableforpoweringfactoriesandtrains.Someofthefirstself-propelledvehiclesinthelate1700sreliedonsteam;yetittookuntilthe1870sforthetechnologytotakeholdincars.Partofthisisbecausesteamwasn’tverypracticalforpersonalvehicles.Steamvehiclesrequiredlongstartuptimes--sometimesupto45minutesinthecold--andwouldneedtoberefilledwithwater,limitingtheirrange.

Aselectricvehiclescameontothemarket,sodidanewtypeofvehicle--thegasoline-poweredcar--thankstoimprovementstotheinternalcombustionengineinthe1800s.Whilegasolinecarshadpromise,theyweren’twithouttheirfaults.Theyrequiredalotofmanualefforttodrive--changinggearswasnoeasytaskandtheyneededtobestartedwithahandcrank,makingthemdifficultforsometooperate.Theywerealsonoisy,andtheirexhaustwasunpleasant.

Electriccarsdidn’thaveanyoftheissuesassociatedwithsteamorgasoline.Theywerequiet,easytodriveanddidn’temitasmellypollutantliketheothercarsofthetime.Electriccarsquicklybecamepopularwithurbanresidents--especiallywomen.Theywereperfectforshorttripsaroundthecity,andpoorroadconditionsoutsidecitiesmeantfewcarsofanytypecouldventurefarther.Asmorepeoplegainedaccesstoelectricityinthe1910s,itbecameeasiertochargeelectriccars,addingtotheirpopularitywithallwalksoflife（includingsomeofthe“bestknownandprominentmakersofgasolinecars”asa1911NewYorkTimesarticlepointedout）.

Manyinnovatorsatthetimetooknoteoftheelectricvehicle’shighdemand,exploringwaystoimprovethetechnology.Forexample,FerdinandPorsche,founderofthesportscarcompanybythesamename,developedanelectriccarcalledtheP1in1898.Aroundthesametime,hecreatedtheworld’sfirsthybridelectriccar--avehiclethatispoweredbyelectricityandagasengine.ThomasEdison,oneoftheworld’smostprolificinventors,thoughtelectricvehicleswerethesuperiortechnologyandworkedtobuildabetterelectricvehiclebattery.EvenHenryFord,whowasfriendswithEdison,partneredwithEdisontoexploreoptionsforalow-costelectriccarin1914,accordingtoWired.

Yet,itwasHenryFord’smass-producedModelTthatdealtablowtotheelectriccar.Introducedin1908,theModelTmadegasoline-poweredcarswidelyavailableandaffordable.By1912,thegasolinecarcostonly$650,whileanelectricroadstersoldfor$1,750.Thatsameyear,CharlesKetteringintroducedtheelectricstarter,eliminatingtheneedforthehandcrankandgivingrisetomoregasoline-poweredvehiclesales.

Otherdevelopmentsalsocontributedtothedeclineoftheelectricvehicle.Bythe1920s,theU.S.hadabettersystemofroadsconnectingcities,andAmericanswantedtogetoutandexplore.WiththediscoveryofTexascrudeoil,gasbecamecheapandreadilyavailableforruralAmericans,andfillingstationsbeganpoppingupacrossthecountry.Incomparison,veryfewAmericansoutsideofcitieshadelectricityatthattime.Intheend,electricvehiclesallbutdisappearedby1935.

GASSHORTAGESSPARKINTERESTINELECTRICVEHICLES

Overthenext30yearsorso,electricvehiclesenteredasortofdarkageswithlittleadvancementinthetechnology.Cheap,abundantgasolineandcontinuedimprovementintheinternalcombustionenginehampereddemandforalternativefuelvehicles.

Fastforwardtothelate1960sandearly1970s.Soaringoilpricesandgasolineshortages--peakingwiththe1973ArabOilEmbargo--createdagrowinginterestinloweringtheU.S.’sdependenceonforeignoilandfindinghomegrownsourcesoffuel.CongresstooknoteandpassedtheElectricandHybridVehicleResearch,Development,andDemonstrationActof1976,authorizingtheEnergyDepartmenttosupportresearchanddevelopmentinelectricandhybridvehicles.

Aroundthissametime,manybigandsmallautomakersbeganexploringoptionsforalternativefuelvehicles,includingelectriccars.Forexample,GeneralMotorsdevelopedaprototypeforanurbanelectriccarthatitdisplayedattheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency’sFirstSymposiumonLowPollutionPowerSystemsDevelopmentin1973,andtheAmericanMotorCompanyproducedelectricdeliveryjeepsthattheUnitedStatesPostalServiceusedina1975testprogram.EvenNASAhelpedraisetheprofileoftheelectricvehiclewhenitselectricLunarroverbecamethefirstmannedvehicletodriveonthemoonin1971.

Yet,thevehiclesdevelopedandproducedinthe1970sstillsufferedfromdrawbackscomparedtogasoline-poweredcars.Electricvehiclesduringthistimehadlimitedperformance--usuallytoppingatspeedsof45milesperhour--andtheirtypicalrangewaslimitedto40milesbeforeneedingtoberecharged.

ENVIRONMENTALCONCERNDRIVESELECTRICVEHICLESFORWARD

Fastforwardagain--thistimetothe1990s.Inthe20yearssincethelonggaslinesofthe1970s,interestinelectricvehicleshadmostlydieddown.Butnewfederalandstateregulationsbegintochangethings.Thepassageofthe1990CleanAirActAmendmentandthe1992EnergyPolicyAct--plusnewtransportationemissionsregulationsissuedbytheCaliforniaAirResourcesBoard--helpedcreatearenewedinterestinelectricvehiclesintheU.S.

Duringthistime,automakersbeganmodifyingsomeoftheirpopularvehiclemodelsintoelectricvehicles.Thismeantthatelectricvehiclesnowachievedspeedsandperformancemuchclosertogasoline-poweredvehicles,andmanyofthemhadarangeof60miles.

Oneofthemostwell-knownelectriccarsduringthistimewasGM’sEV1,acarthatwasheavilyfeaturedinthe2006documentaryWhoKilledtheElectricCar?

Insteadofmodifyinganexistingvehicle,GMdesignedanddevelopedtheEV1fromthegroundup.Witharangeof80milesandtheabilitytoacceleratefrom0to50milesperhourinjustsevenseconds,theEV1quicklygainedacultfollowing.Butbecauseofhighproductioncosts,theEV1wasnevercommerciallyviable,andGMdiscontinueditin2001.

Withaboomingeconomy,agrowingmiddleclassandlowgaspricesinthelate1990s,manyconsumersdidn’tworryaboutfuel-efficientvehicles.Eventhoughtherewasn’tmuchpublicattentiontoelectricvehiclesatthistime,behindthescenes,scientistsandengineers--supportedbytheEnergyDepartment--wereworkingtoimproveelectricvehicletechnology,includingbatteries.

ANEWBEGINNINGFORELECTRICCARS

Whileallthestartsandstopsoftheelectricvehicleindustryinthesecondhalfofthe20thcenturyhelpedshowtheworldthepromiseofthetechnology,thetruerevivaloftheelectricvehicledidn’thappenuntilaroundthestartofthe21stcentury.Dependingonwhomyouask,itwasoneoftwoeventsthatsparkedtheinterestweseetodayinelectricvehicles.

ThefirstturningpointmanyhavesuggestedwastheintroductionoftheToyotaPrius.ReleasedinJapanin1997,thePriusbecametheworld’sfirstmass-producedhybridelectricvehicle.In2000,thePriuswasreleasedworldwide,anditbecameaninstantsuccesswithcelebrities,helping