This is a photo of Thomas Edison taken in 1887 when he began his mission to create a long-lasting, powerful battery for commercial automobiles.
After ten years he gave up.
This year, after decades of trials and errors, the automotive industry at last offers a number of models for sale.
Here are three comments on sneak previews:
Checkout the Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid – now that’s a car! A hybrid I could see myself behind the wheel! – well except for the price tag – yikes! — Kevin McGourty, California Polytechnic State University
I have no idea why you included the BMW concept cars and the Porsche 918 but left out the plug-in Prius and Smart EV? The plug-in Prius has a very short range, but the gas engine and Toyota brand will make it a big seller, and the Smart EV is in production, the range is tight, but it’s a cute little city car. — Pat Bahn, Tgv Rockets
My next car! Ha, ha. I Wish. — Gene Hillegass, Oley Valley Area High School
The book, Otto & Daria: A Wartime Journey Through No Man's Land, was launched on Saturday, September 24. 
Sketches 
Edison is looking pretty good here, for a guy 140 years old.
I don’t know what kind of battery it had, but I do remember seeing at least one electric car on University Avenue in Palo Alto when visiting my grandparents there in the late 1920’s. I think it had a cab with a bench seat for two or three people facing forward with a lever for steering. Perhaps I can find its history on Google.
King townsend – surprise, interest, thanks. For the memories and the current comments.
As far as I can tell the electric car is a dead end and a Bad Idea. When you factor in the environmental cost of the batteries, which are heavy and expensive and full of toxic stuff and have to be recycled every three years, electrics are nowhere near competitive with today’s gasoline engines. I don’t have a better alternative, but I don’t believe in electrics (or ethanol, for different reasons). Edison had a Good Idea when he abandoned his project in 1887 and turned his attention to the movies!
In the Quebec election debate on Sunday night the leader of Quebec Solidaire spoke of a quick move to electric cars. A wonderful idea in a place that under prices electricity for its users. It’s why I heat my house in Quebec with baseboard heaters.
But batteries won’t hold a charge good enough for a long trip in California never mind in a Quebec winter. Maybe some modern Edison will change that.
You skeptics may be right. But if you look up Detroit Electric Car on Google you will see pictures of electric cars manufactured from 1911 through to the 30’s which suggests that though few in number they have hardly ever been off the market. It would be strange if the currently resumed thrust toward improvement of the technology did not eventually produce economically viable practical results.