–  My Take  –

To begin let us return to the 19th century:

In 1885, German mechanical engineer, Karl Benz designed and built the world’s first practical automobile to be powered by an internal-combustion engine. On January 29, 1886, Benz received the first patent (DRP No. 37435) for a gas-fueled car. It was a three-wheeler; Benz built his first four-wheeled car in 1891. Benz & Cie., the company started by the inventor, became the world’s largest manufacturer of automobiles by 1900. Benz was the first inventor to integrate an internal combustion engine with a chassis – designing both together.

Henry Ford (1863-1947) invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyor belt-based assembly line in his car factory in Ford’s Highland Park, Michigan plant, around 1913-14. The assembly line reduced production costs for cars by reducing assembly time. Ford’s famous Model T was assembled in ninety-three minutes. Ford made his first car, called the “Quadricycle,” in June, 1896. However, success came after he formed the Ford Motor Company in 1903.

Back to the Future – 2010.  So the first gasoline combustible engine was developed around 1885.  Let’s do the math; 2010 – 1885 = 125.  So we’re correct if we say that the automobile industry has been using pretty much the same technology to power their product for over 125 years, since 1885!   What’s wrong with this picture?

Think a minute about the progress we have achieved since 1885!   I mean this is too hard to believe.  We went from horse and buggy to landing on the moon in less than 85 years.   Don’t worry, I’m not going to start listing everything.  (Technically I couldn’t do it anyway; I only have 600 GB of space allocated by my web host…)

Other than upgrades to the same engine design, the only real advancements to the automobile have been thanks to the computer and electronics industries.

Well we could be about to finally ‘get out of neutral’.  Check this out:

This, friends, is the electric vehicle that your garage has been waiting for. Designed by North Carolina’s own Li-ion Motors, the downright stunning INIZIO is being hailed as the world’s first all American-made electric super-car, and while the Roadster is definitely peppy, it ain’t got nothing on this. Using the company’s own lithium-ion battery technology and management system, the car can purportedly cruise for up to 250 miles on electricity alone, and it can hit a top speed of 170 miles per hour without breaking a sweat.   ( Of course the price needs to come down a little, like a hundred thousand or so..)

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