With the near release of the Nissan Leaf and the Chevrolet Volt, both 100% electric driven automobiles, I thought that it would be appropriate to reflect on the history and technology of the automobile. Actually, the Volt also has an internal combustion engine on board, but that engine runs a generator, so both of these cars are exclusively driven by electric motors.
The engine to generator concept is not at all new, as practically all big Diesel locomotives are driven that way. There are significant advantages in using electric motors to propel vehicles, even if they are powered by on board generators. We shall get to that in future.
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