Speaking of electric vehicles, everyone must be familiar with it, in fact, as early as the beginning of the last century, electric vehicles and internal combustion locomotives carried out the first battle for the market. At that time, environmental protection was not paid attention to, and electric vehicles were favored by some people with low noise and odorless exhaust. The internal combustion locomotive has an advantage in endurance and extreme speed, but it needs to be cranked by hand every time it is started, which is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also sometimes dangerous.
In 1911, Cadillac introduced the First Class Model 30, which was equipped with the first-ever electronic starter. Such starters utilize a relatively small motor driven at higher voltages and currents than are required for continuous operation, providing enough power instead of a bulky and dangerous hand crank to start the engine. Once introduced, this configuration was loved by a wide range of consumers, and in 1912, due to the innovation in the vehicle's electrical system, the Cadillac 30 was awarded the Dewar Award by the Royal Automobile Club of the United Kingdom.
In addition to the electronic starter, the Model 30 also has electronically controlled headlights. After the engine is running, the starter can also continue to be used as a generator, and a similar solution can be seen in hybrid models more than 100 years later.
Around the same time, General Motors' trucking division began selling all-electric trucks, and it wasn't until 1917 that GM sold about 600 such electric trucks with lead-acid batteries or Edison nickel-iron batteries, making significant early attempts at electrifying cars. However, due to technical limitations and the impact of the war, from the 1920s onwards, internal combustion locomotives completely replaced electric vehicles and became the only choice for consumers to travel by car.