Hybrid vs Electric vs Gas Cars for Homesteads

How one homestead uses all types of power to get from point A to point B.

By John Moore
Updated on July 3, 2023
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by John Moore

Electric cars vs gas cars, hybrid vs electric — what kind of vehicle is right for you? See how one Texas homesteader answers this question after trying all three.

In the early part of the 20th century, New York City was filled with cars. Electric cars. To power the electric cars, there were charging stations. So many charging stations that maps could be purchased or obtained to find them.

According to the website for the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, “Americans still drove electric cars in the 1920s. The New York Edison Company’s Automobile Bureau published this booklet for electric-car owners. It included a map and address listings for local charging stations in New York City. Stations outside the immediate area, as far as Boston and Philadelphia, were also listed.”

Most people may be surprised to learn that electric cars aren’t a new idea. One hundred years ago, it was actually a close race in some areas as to which way Americans might go with vehicles — gas or electric.

Baker Electric made a vehicle that looked like a phone booth with wheels. It may not have looked like much, but it went about 100 miles per charge. That’s about the same distance the Nissan Leaf provided when it debuted in 2010.

Just as quickly as electric cars appeared, they disappeared. They were overtaken by Henry Ford’s assembly line and cheap oil and gas. The combustion engine and a network of filling stations met the country’s needs, so cars that ran on gas won the race to driving dominance.

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