Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans.
The Kilowatt project wasn’t the end of electric vehicles for Victor Wouk. He continued his research and came to the conclusion that batteries as a power source were not practical. Instead, he advocated a hybrid – electric motor and internal combustion engine – as the answer to America’s pressing pollution problems. Wouk’s chance came in … Read more
As the fifties drew to a close another company was preparing to launch an electric car on to the American market. Bankrolled by an ambitious would-be motor magnet, the Henney Kilowatt had a powertrain built by a vacuum cleaner company that was installed in the body of a Renault Dauphine. Quite why the Henney Motor … Read more
Despite Thomas Edison’s exhortations to a young Henry Ford that internal combustion was ‘the thing’, the brilliant inventor hadn’t given up on the idea of the electric car. His first effort, built in 1895, was a single-seat three-wheeler – two at the front and one at the back – powered by two electric motors that … Read more
Belgian civil engineer, Camille Jenatzy, was an early believer in the adage that ‘racing improves the breed’. Camille, who was born in 1865, advertised his electric cars by pitting them in competitions. He made his racing debut in 1898, winning a rain-soaked Chanteloup hill-climb by covering the 1,800m (1.1 mile) course at an average speed … Read more