Gasoline back in the early 1900s was extremely pricey. Also, it was very difficult to start a gasoline engine. You had to turn and turn and turn a crank in the front of the car in order to get the engine to start. They didn't have the technology where you could just turn a key like we do today. Another thing is that vehicles powered by gasoline were extremely noisy and were very smokey. Technology for good mufflers didn't exist so most cars were very, very loud. This is why electric vehicles were such a big hit. They were quiet and easier to start. At one point, there were over 50,000 electric vehicles out on the streets of the United States.

These type of vehicles soon started to get less and less popular though. Gasoline was starting to become the big hit because cheaper ways of making gasoline started to be discovered. Then, someone invented the electric starter which enabled the user to start a gasoline powered motor without having to turn a crank. A gasoline car could drive much farther than an electric car so they soon became the most popular method of transporting people.

But nowadays, we are starting to realize how much more expensive gasoline is compared to electricity.

Electric vehicles don't use or burn gasoline in their engines. Instead, they use electricity which is stored inside of batteries. Some cars can have 12 batteries, 24 batteries, or even more depending on the size of the vehicle.

One of the first modern electric vehicles was the General Motors Impact. General Motors began to call it the ?EV1? in 1997 when they began selling it. This car set a world record when it went over 180 miles per hour.

These electric vehicles are always made to be very aerodynamic because they don't have as powerful of engines as gasoline powered ones. Being aerodynamic, they can still reach the same speeds and even greater speeds than gasoline powered motors can.

To charge an electric vehicles batteries, one must plug the car in at night. Houses are equipped with special charging units but not all electric vehicles need these to be charged. Some electric vehicles need to be plugged into a larger outlet like the ones that stoves or dryers are plugged in to.

There are some electric vehicles that are made by small auto companies and there are some that are made by very well known companies. One of the more well known companies, Toyota, made the Toyota Rav-4 EV (EV standing for electric vehicle). There are also some hobbyists that build their own electric vehicles or convert gasoline cars into electric vehicles. A lot of times, all a person must do is install a large number of batteries and take out the gasoline motor. These people either retro-fit the batteries into the engine bay or put them into the trunk.