4.2 Post World War 2 Hybrid Cars

• In 1969 General Motors produced an experimental hybrid car (GM 512).

• It ran on electric power up to 10 miles per hour, on a combination of batteries and its two-cylinder gas engine from 10 to 13 miles per hour, and above thirteen miles per hour it ran entirely on petrol.

• A year later, in 1970, Volkswagen in Germany produced a hybrid vehicle called the “VW Taxi”, which allowed flexible switching between the gasoline engine and electric motor.

• For information on hybrid cars produced from 1980 to present date see Green Cars, Section 9 (Hybrid Cars).