First Hybrid Cars
The developer of some of the earliest hybrid cars back in 1902, Ferdinand Porsche, devised a system where the electric motors were placed within the wheel hubs. This early setup was done to eliminate complicated transmissions needed to deliver the power to the wheels. These cars were sold to the public under the Lohner-Porsche brand, and the final design of the cars had the gasoline engine powering a generator, which in turn powered the electric motors when needed. The first golden-age of hybrid cars in the world happened during the timespan from 1890 and 1920, when there were more than 100 makers of electric or hybrid cars in the U.S. and Canada alone. Some of the best known among these were Columbia Manufacturing, Riker Electric Motor Company of America, Electric Vehicle Company, Detroit Electric, Rauch & Lang, Studebaker, S.R. Bailey Co., Milburn Wagon Company, and the Baker Electric Company. Unlike the modern hybrid cars, the earliest hybrid designs used the electric motor for all power, due to the simplicity of the design. The way this worked, was that the engine would charge batteries from which the motor drew power, running only when needed to charge the batteries back up. In addition, the engine would only run at its most efficient speed when charging the batteries.
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