Preface This book is the story about electric automobiles. In anticipation of oil shortages and increasing air pollution in American cities the U.S. Congress passed over a Presidential veto the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research@ Development and Demonstration Act of 1976. By nomenclature the Congress differentiated between battery-powered electric vehicles and those vehicles which might have both battery-power as well as other means of propulsion. This particular book is devoted to the history of the battery-only powered electric vehicle and its components. A second volume is being written that covers the development of the many multipowered electrics including battery-powered plus: a spring@ an internal combustion engine@ a flywheel@ solar cell powered@ and fuel cell vehicles and their unique constituents. As batteries@ controllers@ and electric motors are common to both classes of vehicles@ their development is in this volume only. While probably no person has exact knowledge@ qualitatively speaking possibly equal time has been spent on each of these two paths of personal transportation. Presently intense work is proceeding on battery-only powered vehicles with possibly less emphasis on multi-powered electric cars. Both approaches have a rich background; however@ no one knows which system will be followed in the near and distant future. To many the romance and nostalgia of electric cars and electric carriages have an almost mystical interest. Furthermore@ with electricity being such a clean and versatile fuel that is so widely used@ a perennial question is asked: why not employ it for personal transportation? Because no book chronicles the history of electric vehicles@ the author collected this information and placed it in book form for its preservation. Fortunately@ the author has been@ for more than a third of a century@ an integral part of the emerging electric vehicle industry in conception@ design@ construction@ marketing@ financing@ and interpretation. This book@ in treating the past of this long nascent industry@ is an attempt to bring clean air to metropolitan cities worldwide. Hopefully objective and correct@ the authorship has been a labor of love. Electric cars have resulted from a happy arrangement of mechanical@ electrical@ magnetic@ and chemical laws which@ operating in perfect order@ yield personal transportation. This book describes and illustrates the application of these natural laws to vehicles@ to battery chargers@ to batteries or other sources of energy@ to controllers@ to motors@ to transmissions@ to wheels@ and identifies some pioneers who were responsible for their applications. Considering the range of physical principles embodied in an electric vehicle@ no one can be an expert on all phases of their elements. The present volume can only touch on much of the technology. However@ the serious student should be able to secure an introductory grasp on the principles of electric vehicles from this book and its Notes@ Appendices@ and Further Readings list.