To many, the hybrid car may seem like a 21st century marvel. A new, cleaner way to drive that our gas-centric ancestors just didn’t know about, but in reality, hybrid cars – and all-electric cars - have been around much longer than many people might have thought.
The beginnings of the automobile go all the way back to the mid-17th century, when a Flemish Jesuit priest named Ferdinand Verbiest drew up plans for the first-ever steam “car” in honor of Chinese Emperor Khang Hsi. As a result, the steamer car became the most popular “motor carriage” for wealthy Europeans until the mid-1800s when a Scottish inventor came out with the first-ever electric car.
Electric cars became the new fashionable means of automotive transportation for the rest of the 19th century, leading to the premier of the Lohner-Porsche Elektromobil in 1900, which was created by automotive legend Ferdinand Porsche. Electric and proto-hybrid cars enjoyed a relatively good run for the next ten years, until the infamous Henry Ford invented his assembly line, which made the previously noisy and odorous gas-engines, cheaper and more streamlined. After that it would take nearly 80 years before the hybrid car became an automotive staple once more.
By the mid-1980s, after a crippling oil-crisis and continued worries about air pollution, the American public was looking for alternative fuel sources. Toyota decided that due to the worldwide interest in hybrid cars, they should be on the forefront of this “new” technology. That’s why in 1997, the automaker debuted the Toyota Prius in its native Japan. The new hybrid became so popular that American drivers were introduced to the car in the year 2000, where it remains the most popular hybrid car on the market to this day.
The green car market has become a worldwide phenomenon since the Prius debuted 15 years ago. It’s no surprise to most though that Toyota continues to lead the industry in this area, with the release of its new fuel-cell car, Mirai. It will be interesting to see where history takes the green car. For now, join the hybrid champions of the past and buy the Prius you’ve always wanted today!
