A short history of recent plug-in vehicles, courtesy of CalCars

We've been chronicling the world of more efficient vehicles for almost four years now, but we're still the new kind on the block compared to long-time organizations like CalCars and that group's leader, Felix Kramer. At a recent meeting of the Electric Auto Association (of which CalCar is also a chapter) in Palo Alto, CA, Kramer took a look back at what CalCar has accomplished over the last eight years or so and, in doing so, created a slide show of the recent history of the plug-in vehicle movement and industry.

Beginning with an emphasis on plug-in hybrids (as opposed to pure electric vehicles) and then on converting hybrids to plug-in hybrids, Kramer said CalCars has done what it set out to do:

In October, we declared victory on plug-in hybrids! We wanted to put them on the map and we wanted to get them mass-produced -- and it's happening. There are going to be cars on the road. That doesn't mean we don't have a lot to do, but we were really happy to be able to say, after seven years, "We've won!" A small group of people changed the whole auto industry -- that's an incredible accomplishment.

Kramer ended his talk with a short and effective personal message. We recommend reading it here and you can find a PDF of the slides that were accompanied it here.

[Source: CalCars]