BONUS: Top 10 Forgotten EVs From Current EV Makers

This holiday season reached for the one butter that never disappoints,

Kerrygold. Made with milk from grass-fed cows on Irish family farms,

it's rich, creamy, and perfect for baking. Whether browning butter for cookies

or crafting the flakiest pie crust, Kerrygold's high butterfat content

makes all the difference in flavor and texture.

Holiday treats will taste extraordinary. As the holidays approach, it's time to

return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter,

and cookies with just the right texture. And one ingredient you cannot compromise

on is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk

from grass-fed cows that graze on lush green pastures

across family farms in Ireland. The result?

A rich, creamy butter with a high butterfat content

that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread

or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie,

Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched,

and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply

divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones

or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice,

and your pies, your cookies, and your cakes. Well, thank you.

So, let's dive deep into automotive history.

Let's start our countdown.

German word Strom, meaning electricity. A nod to the powertrain.

The first generation emerged in 1981, developed in collaboration

with the German utility company RWE. It featured a 27 horsepower electric

motor, 16 gel batteries at 96 volts, some way off the

thousand volt architectures we see these days, and an 18.5 kilowatts

output on the motor. Range was modest at 80 kilometers

and a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Interestingly, unlike

modern EVs with a single-speed transmission, the original

Volkswagen Golf Electric had a four-speed manual box. The second

generation arrived in 1985 on the Golf 2 platform, bringing

improvements, a 31 horsepower motor, and 11.4 kilowatt-hour battery pack.

Range remained disappointing 50 kilometers. The third and final

generation based on the Golf 3 and made from 1993 to 1996.

Did you even know there was an E-Golf back in the 90s?

Was an advancement. Had a 17.3 kilowatt-hour pack and it weighed

300 kilograms, not the end of the world. They split it between the

trunk and under the bonnet, 27 horsepower motor, and up to 90 kilometers

of range. They used lead acid battery technology.

While the city stroma emerged from the early 1970s research into

electric mobility at Volkswagen, accelerated by things like oil

crises and growing environmental awareness, VW built 120

electric golfs for fleet customers and German utilities who used

them for customer visits. The program ultimately ended in 1996.

Lead acid battery technology was too heavy and too inefficient for

widespread adoption, and consumer interest remained minimal

without any government incentives.

Right, number nine. At number nine, we have the BMW E1.

This was a purpose-built electric city car, unlike taking the Golf 1 we

just looked at and putting batteries in it. This was showing

remarkable foresight in design philosophy. It predated the BMW i3 by

over two decades. Developed by BMW Technic in 1990, the E1 was

created in response to California's zero-emission vehicle mandate,

requiring 2% of new cars by the end of the 90s to be zero emission.

The first generation E1 was revealed at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show,

featuring groundbreaking construction, an aluminium space frame

chassis, and recycled body parts made out of plastic, keeping weight

remarkably low, despite the 1990s limitations of battery technology.

The body featured extruded aluminium sections and an outer skin

made from recycled plastic, a sustainability-focused approach that

would define the i3 20 years later.

Powertrain specs were very impressive for the era. The E1 had a permanently

excited rotating-filled AC motor, 32 kW of power on the rear axle,

19.2 kWh sodium sulphur battery, just 200kg, 160km of city driving,

top speed 120kmh, and you'd get to 50kmh in less than 6 seconds.

And when you came to recharge the battery, that would take just 6 hours

from a standard outlet. The second generation E1, unveiled at the 1993 Frankfurt

Motor Show, switched to sodium nickel chloride batteries, a Zebra battery,

fascinating technology, we'll do a bonus about those one day, with 19kWh.

The new battery technology improved service life range and performance,

and enabled regen braking that covered up to 20% of energy

recuperation during deceleration. Tragically, the only first generation

prototype was destroyed in a fire, ironically whilst charging. Despite the

second generation's improvements and successful programs, including field

trials in Germany, BMW never came to put the E1 into series production.

The project ended in the mid-1990s as, ultimately again, battery technology

wasn't felt to be ready. Number 8, the Skoda Ultra. Coming in at number 8

is the Skoda Ultra, a fascinating collaboration between Czech engineering

prowess and Swiss business ambition that produced one of Eastern Europe's

first modern electric vehicles. The Ultra story begins in 1989, when a Czech

constructor competed in electric vehicle races in Switzerland, which is

interesting because it was a home-built electric vehicle with two 25kW DC motors

and eight lead acid batteries. Now, this racer unexpectedly won and so caught the

attention of a Swiss businessman called Bruno Friedes, who requested

delivery of a thousand battery electric vehicles based on the old Skoda

Favoret. However, Skoda, based in Mladow-Bolosev,

initially refused because of problems during the kind of post-communist

transition. Eventually, an engineering division took up the project, developing

a comprehensive conversion using Czechoslovakian components. The

Skoda, the powertrain, used 14 6V 180Ah lead acid batteries with a top

speed of 80kmh and a range of 80kmh. Power output was 85kW at its peak.

Official collaboration between the Skoda companies began in 1991, but this was a

delay to the original plan. It proved costly. By the time production started,

the Swiss market had changed and had become more saturated by other products.

Instead of the initial plan of 1000 units, only several dozen reached Switzerland,

and the person that ordered them, the businessman Bruno Friedes,

I didn't want the rest. Additional vehicles were sold to Germany, the UK,

where they were called the Skoda ELMO, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Canada.

Around 40 units remained in Czechoslovakia at the time, and the Czech Postal Service

used them. Total production was about 200 units. I could find there was some discrepancy in the

research in the numbers between 1991 and 1994, when production ceased alongside the

favourite. The Altra represents an intriguing what-if scenario. What if the project had been

on schedule? What if the original 1000 cars had been delivered and wanted? Maybe Skoda would have

been much more of an early EV pioneer. These days, they make incredible vehicles under the

guidance of the Volkswagen Group. 7. Citroën AX and Saxo Electric

Of lucky number seven, we have the Citroën Electric City Car Duo, the AX and the success

of the Saxo. Practical urban EVs that served French cities in the 1990s. The AX electric

was 1994 based on the AX Supermini, a DC electric motor at 20kW peak output, 27hp,

and the motor drew power from a 16kWh battery pack, so 46 miles of range, 75km in combined

driving. Top speed was 57mph, 91kmh, the AX weighed 995kg, a variable light weight

amongst modern electric vehicle standards. The Saxo Electric would what would follow in 1997,

and that was Citroën and Peugeot's joint effort based on the 106 platform.

The Saxo featured similar specs, an electric motor with 11kW power, up to 20kW boost mode,

like it, and 20 nickel cadmium batteries from SAFT, each one weighing 13.7kg,

for a total of almost 300kg for the battery. Also, liquid cooling for optimal thermal

management back in the 1990s. It would do 91kmh and a range of 56 miles on 90kW.

From the outside, both vehicles were identical to their petrol, supercar, mini car looks.

Only a charging flap on the front wing and badging revealed their electric nature.

And both cars came with the petrol powered heater to keep you warm, so you would still

need to go and fill up a little jerry can or tank of petrol at the petrol station.

They didn't want to use the electric power to heat the cabin, that would have devastated the

low range already. It cost about 84,000 French francs at the time, and then you had to rent

the battery as well for about $100, equivalent now monthly. Both models addressed urban pollution

concerns and provided practical zero emission transport for postal workers, doctors, local

government officials as well, and they made about six and a half thousand of them.

Alright, before we take a break at number six, the Fiat Panda Eletra. Sliding into number six

is the Fiat Panda Eletra, a groundbreaking vehicle mass produced by a major world manufacturer.

Unveiled in the early part of 1990 in partnership with an Austrian firm Steyer Pusch, the Panda

Eletra replaced the beloved 750 petrol engine with electric propulsion. The initial version had a

9.2 kilowatt DC series electric motor with 13 horsepower. The motor was complemented by 12

six volt lead acid batteries, two in the engine compartment and 10 in a robust steel container

occupying the trunk. Total battery weight 450 kilograms of batteries. They had to

beef up the suspension and upgrade the brakes and oversize the tyres just to cope with the battery.

Performance was modest but looked fine for city use. The Fiat Panda Eletra achieved a 100 kilometers

range and 50 kilometers per hour average speed would give you the 100 kilometers of range.

Top speed 65 kilometers an hour. This was for the city though. In cold climates, once again,

it had a petrol tank for a small petrol burner to heat up the cabin. Not sure I would have fancied

that. The Eletra also retained the standard four speed gearbox and clutch. In 1992 they introduced

the new Panda Eletra 2. This version boosted motor outputs 24 horsepower or 17.7 kilowatts

and replaced the heavy lead gel batteries with new efficient light nickel cadmium units. However,

it was still much much heavier than the Fiat Panda. Fiat aimed to demonstrate leadership in

environmental sustainability and prove that electric urban mobility was feasible in the early 1990s.

It served government fleets, postal services and utility companies as well. The price at the time,

25 million lira, was three times the cost of a Fiat Panda 750, prohibitively expensive for a

private retail buyer. Production continued until 1998 and several thousand units were eventually

built. The Panda Eletra proved the concept worked but not yet without energy dense battery technology.

We'll take a break, we'll come back, we'll do the top five, stick around.

As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned

butter and cookies with just the right texture. And one ingredient you cannot compromise on

is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass-fed cows that graze on lush

green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich creamy butter with a high

butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread or

browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference. The flavor

is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season,

if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself, reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice

and your pies, your cookies and your cakes will thank you.

As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics. Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned

butter and cookies with just the right texture. And one ingredient you cannot compromise on

is Kerrygold butter. Kerrygold butter is crafted with milk from grass-fed cows that graze on lush

green pastures across family farms in Ireland. The result? A rich creamy butter with a high

butterfat content that elevates every recipe. Whether you're making signature shortbread

or browning butter for a nutty depth in your pecan pie, Kerrygold makes all the difference.

The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings to baked goods is simply divine.

So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just for yourself,

reach for Kerrygold. It's the butter of choice and your pies, your cookies and your cakes will thank you.

I earn a living, so apologies for plugging that every so often.

Right, number five. In our top 10 list of forgotten EVs from current EV makers,

number five, the Ford Ranger EV. Halfway through the countdown, and number five,

we have the Ford Ranger EV, a full-size electric pickup truck that demonstrated American automakers

could build EVs when the law wanted them to, because California's zero-emission vehicle rules,

the Ford Ranger EV was made to accommodate those, or to accommodate itself to those rules.

Lot in 1998, the Ford Ranger Electric ran through to 2022, a lead acid version,

and a nickel metal hydride variant. The lead acid setup was 39, 8-volt batteries on two layers,

850 kilograms, whereas the more superior nickel metal hydride variant, originally available

exclusively for lease in California, used 12-volt batteries, 25 12-volt batteries from Panasonic

in a single layer. These batteries offered a far superior performance, 95 amp-power modules,

delivering 63 watt-hours per kilogram energy, and the pack weighing 950 pounds running at

about a nominal voltage of 300 volts, which is not far below some of the more low-voltage

modern EVs all these years later. And 27.4 kilowatt-hours is actually quite respectable.

They had a Siemens AC induction motor at 90 horsepower, or 67 kilowatts, single-speed

transactional driving the wheels. Real-world performance was really capable, actually,

65 miles real-world range. And that was done in the research I found on highway range testing,

on a flat highway at 65 miles per hour would do 65 miles, EPA at 95 miles.

Top speed was 75 miles an hour, but that was limited, and the 0-60 time, okay, that was 18

seconds, and it was heavy as well. The Ranger EV faced early teething problems because the

batteries wouldn't always charge well in hot conditions, but Ford successfully addressed

these issues. But then they saw the battery dega around 25,000 miles was quite extreme.

California's 1990 emissions rules required, as I say, 2% of vehicles sold by the big car makers

to be zero emission by the end of the decade. And that was 10% by 2003. The cost before any kind

of subsidies that might have been available was $50,000 at the time for the Ranger EV.

Number four, the Volkswagen Electro Transporter. Coming in at number four

is based on the iconic T2 van. This was Volkswagen's first electric vehicle in 1972.

They made it with Bosch, Vata, and the German utility company. The Electro Transporter was

effectively the ID buzz of its day. Powertrain DC motor in the rear of the vehicle,

developing continuous rating of 16 kilowatts, 22 horsepower. That would improve with later models.

The most significant engineering challenge was energy storage, lead acid batteries,

were the only thing around in 1972. The pack was 850 kilograms. That was more than the

beetle weighed in total at the time. They put them in the floor of the vehicle, between the axles,

loads of reinforcement, as you can imagine. It was 2.2 tons. That vehicle. Performance reflected

the limitations of the technology. 47 miles an hour, 75 kilometers an hour. So you couldn't really

take it on the auto bar. Range varied as well, depending on payload. And the Electro Transporter

had a really innovative control system. Changing direction required flipping a switch

forwards or backwards, like a modern electric vehicle. Despite these limitations, the Electro

Transporter actually found its niche. The low top speed and limited range suits urban delivery

applications, postal services, municipal fleets in city centers. Volkswagen built the Electro

Transporter as a production model. Over several years in various body styles, many buses, vans,

and pickups as well. They made about 120 of them in total. The early 1970s, with the oil crisis

and growing awareness of petroleum, reserve scarcity, spurred research into electric mobility.

There's groundwork being laid for VW's modern EVs. The e-craft of the e-transporter and like I

say the ID bars. And so, yeah, lead acid technology was a massive weight penalty and it wasn't ready.

But they were trying. Number three, the Peugeot VLV. The bronze medal in our countdown goes

to Peugeot's Vehicle Leger de Ville, light city vehicle, the VLV. A wartime electric vehicle that

emerged from desperate circumstances. Peugeot were making EVs back in 1941 during Germany's

occupation of France. The VLV represented Peugeot's response to petrol rationing,

imposed by the occupying forces, and built at the La Garen factory near Paris.

The VLV targeted doctors and postal workers who needed mobility but couldn't get around

because of fuel shortages. It was minimalist. It was a tiny two-seat convertible. It was 2.6 meters

long and 1.21 meters wide. The body made from aluminium to minimize weight. A single central

headlight, a manual windshield wiper, and no rear bumper. Total weight, 350 kilograms in total.

And half of that was the batteries. The rear track was no particularly narrower than the front track,

eliminating the need for a differential for the rear wheel drive system. Propulsion came from

an electric motor producing up to 2.6 kilowatts massive, depending on conditions. There were four

batteries. There were 12-volt batteries mounted in the front of the passenger compartment for

four kilowatt hours of capacity. Maximum speed, about 22 miles an hour. But this is okay. This

is wartime. We'll take it. Recharging speed required, well, firstly a special device operating

at 110 volts and took about 10 hours overnight. The VLV's control system had three pedals. One

for the four-wheel drum brakes, another pedal to accelerate, and a special contactor that could

boost speed when needed. Not to escape the enemy, but to climb hills. The convertible fabric roof

would be opened in good weather and folded into the rear. 377 units were made. The VLV

served postal workers and doctors built in 1942. The government banned sales of electric vehicles

to private individuals. More devastatingly to the vehicle, German authorities banned the vehicle

entirely in 1943. And production would cease with 377 made between 1941 and 1945. And some survive

their museum pieces now or in private collections. And they sell for huge prices. They're representing

France's wartime ingenuity and early efforts by a big car maker to go electric. Number two,

the Renault Celtiquatra. The silver medal position goes at number two to the unusual entry of the

Renault Celtiquatra, which I'm not sure I'm saying that right, but not originally designed as an EV.

It became one through special conversion programs in 1937. Renault, back in the 1930s,

were making the standard version of the car in April 1934. Renault's response to Citroën's

revolutionary traction avant. While Citroën gambled on a front wheel drive technology,

Renault stuck with rear wheel drive, positioning the Celtiquatra as a car with experience. They

said a subtle dig at the early reliability issues from their French competition. So where does

electricity enter the picture? Well, in 1937, Renault decided to make 35 electric taxis for the

Paris World Fair, the Exposition Universal Internationale, using the Celtiquatra chassis.

These taxis transported visitors within the exhibition grounds. Specific technical details

of these conversions were pretty scarce, actually, when I was looking this up. But this was Renault's,

almost 100 years ago, first serious move into electric propulsion. Well, why make them for

the World Fair? The 1937 Exposition emphasised tech progress of the 1930s, and modernity,

EVs, were seen as cutting edge. But they were. I mean, the contained environment of the exhibition

grounds were perfectly suited to limited range electric vehicles. Visitors needed to be shuttled

around a lot using short distance transport, and electric was the perfect solution. The

Celtiquatra's conventional gasoline production ran all the way through to 1939, 44,000 units

of them were made. But the handful, the 35 special vehicles that were electric at the time,

a complete experiment, represents an intriguing footnote in Renault's electric vehicle history.

A glimpse into what might have been. And number one, the Toyota RAV4 EV. Taking the top spot at

number one is the first generation Toyota RAV4. That's a vehicle that proved electric SUVs could

do everything that could be practical, desirable, and, heartbreakingly, subject to political whims.

These were produced from 1997 to 2003. The RAV4 emerged from California's 1990 regulations on

zero emissions. Toyota built the electric SUV on the RAV4 platform, a capable five passenger vehicle.

Both three door and five door variants were produced. The powertrain centered on a more

advanced nickel metal hydride battery technology. 24 12 volt batteries from Panasonic were used,

so 27 kilowatt hours. The pack was 450 kilograms and mounted below the floor. These batteries

powered a front mounted AC induction motor, 68 horsepower, and the motor drove the front wheel

through a single speed transmission. Performance exceeded expectations for a 1500 kilogram electric

SUV. Top speed, they limited it to 77 miles an hour. 0 to 60. Okay, that was 18 seconds.

The APA rated it at 95 miles. 95 miles, EPA rated. In the 1990s, 20 years,

latest and compliance EVs weren't getting much better than that. Toyota were early with electric

vehicles. A real world capability was 120 miles in some cases. The RAV4 EV came with a 60,000

battery warranty demonstrating Toyota's confidence in early EV technology. They were durable.

And a decade after they stopped making them, there was still about 500 on the road in California.

So why does the RAV4 top our list? And if you're wondering, long term listeners know that I've

been very frustrated with Toyota's anti EV marketing. Why would I give Toyota the top spot

on a countdown? Because its discontinuation perfectly encapsulates the frustrating history

of electric vehicles in the 1990s and early 2000s created only to comply with the mandate,

not because a car maker wanted to. And big car companies like Toyota were the loudest voices

lobbying aggressively against electric vehicles. When California weakened their mandate in 2003,

Toyota immediately cancelled the RAV4 program the minute they could alongside GM's EV1.

And unlike the EV1, Toyota did sell EVs during a brief seven month window in 2002,

so those that weren't leasing got to buy it and keep it. The cancellation was controversial.

Leases loved their RAV4s. They wanted to buy them, but Toyota, like everybody else, refused

and repossessed them and crushed them. Automakers just treated them like compliance exercises,

rather than a genuine product. And the minute they could take them back and stick them in the

crusher, because the political pressure that was exerted by big car companies that removed the

regulations, they did it the second they could. There are some first generation RAV4s surviving,

they're cherished by their owners, many still go later 25 years on, they're still working.

There's so much promise of what could have been in the 1990s and early 2000s. Now,

Toyota would return to the RAV4 concept with a Tesla powered second generation around 2012-2014,

but that's not a story for today. The first gen RAV4 is our number one forgotten EV,

not because it was some crazy space age technology or groundbreaking design,

but because it was a Toyota that everybody loved, but electric. And isn't that what we

want from the big car companies? How do you make great cars? And Toyota could make great EVs these

days if they wanted to, but you can make more money from selling combustion, where all the car

companies want hybrids or plug-ins or E-Revs. They don't want to go electric, even though

for decades they have been when forced and when they do, the vehicles are really good.

The RAV4 is the road not taken. The RAV4 is the lost decades. We could have been so far

further ahead if money and politics and power and influence hadn't got involved.

How much further along would we have been in cleaning up the air had it not been

for those pioneering vehicles being cancelled? And there you have it. That's our top 10 forgotten

EVs from car makers making electric cars today. From wartime necessity to California in mandates,

from heavy battery packs to some pretty interesting innovation. All faced a fundamental

challenge and that was battery tech isn't ready and battery technology is moving at a crazy fast

speed. And the other recurring theme is regulations. From wartime fuel rationing to California set

mandate, you see that when the regulations change the EVs stop being made. These days though,

the EV genie is out of the bottle. It can't go back again. We only go forward with clean green

great electric vehicles. And that's your podcast for today. See you on the next one.

As the holidays approach, it's time to return to the classics.

Flaky pie crusts, perfectly browned butter and cookies with just the right texture.

And one ingredient you cannot compromise on is carry gold butter. Carry gold butter is crafted

with milk from grass fed cows that graze on lush green pastures across family farms in Ireland.

The result? A rich creamy butter with a high butter fat content that elevates every recipe.

Whether you're making signature shortbread or browning butter for a nutty depth in your

pecan pie, carry gold makes all the difference. The flavor is unmatched and the texture it brings

to baked goods is simply divine. So this holiday season, if you're baking for loved ones or just

for yourself, reach for carry gold. It's the butter of choice and your pies, your cookies,

and your cakes will thank you. This holiday season reached for the one butter that never

disappoints carry gold made with milk from grass fed cows on Irish family farms. It's rich, creamy,

and perfect for baking. Whether browning butter for cookies or crafting the flakiest pie crust,

carry gold's high butter fat content makes all the difference in flavor and texture.

Holiday treats will taste extraordinary.

BONUS: Top 10 Forgotten EVs From Current EV Makers

About this episode

Skoda Ultra

Skoda ELMO

Citroën AX

Citroën Saxo Electric

Volkswagen Electro Transporter

Renault Celtiquatra

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