Fugly Fiat
If you thought SmartCars were ugly, meet the Fiat X1/23...
Conceptualized in 1972 and prototyped as an electric vehicle in 1976, this was Fiat's first stab at a City Car, the gasoline-powered descendent of which now dominates their sales worldwide. The electric version had a claimed range of 50 miles, (which is marketing speak for 20 miles -- and you'll have to get out and push for the last two). It was powered by 366 lbs of lead-acid batteries, which you sat on. I'll walk, thanks.
Today, of course, things have changed rather dramatically. Battery technology has come so far in my lifetime that it boggles the mind to contemplate. As our infrastructure slowly catches up over the next couple of decades, electric cars will inevitably claim the majority. By the end of the 21st century, internal combustion engined cars will be museum relics. I realize that seems perfectly normal and natural to 20-somethings, but when this Fiat-thing and other early attempts like it were created back when I was a boy, "electric car" was the punchline to a joke. It was the automotive equivalent of some crackpot with wood-and-canvas bird wings strapped to his arms jumping off the Eiffel Tower: everyone except the crackpot knew it was going to end badly.
Conceptualized in 1972 and prototyped as an electric vehicle in 1976, this was Fiat's first stab at a City Car, the gasoline-powered descendent of which now dominates their sales worldwide. The electric version had a claimed range of 50 miles, (which is marketing speak for 20 miles -- and you'll have to get out and push for the last two). It was powered by 366 lbs of lead-acid batteries, which you sat on. I'll walk, thanks.
Today, of course, things have changed rather dramatically. Battery technology has come so far in my lifetime that it boggles the mind to contemplate. As our infrastructure slowly catches up over the next couple of decades, electric cars will inevitably claim the majority. By the end of the 21st century, internal combustion engined cars will be museum relics. I realize that seems perfectly normal and natural to 20-somethings, but when this Fiat-thing and other early attempts like it were created back when I was a boy, "electric car" was the punchline to a joke. It was the automotive equivalent of some crackpot with wood-and-canvas bird wings strapped to his arms jumping off the Eiffel Tower: everyone except the crackpot knew it was going to end badly.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 14:20
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