Exciting times
05/08/2021
It must have been exciting times 110 and more years ago, with new car companies emerging almost daily and innovations and improvements chasing each other in automotive engineering. What was still considered super in 1899 was already completely outdated by 1905. The shapes changed just as much as the technology. One example is the Egg & Egli Rapid patented motor car from 1899. This two-seater could travel at 45 km/h, carried two people (four with a trailer) and had a range of 100 kilometers. The range was not limited by the petrol tank, which had enough space for fuel for 200 kilometers. No, it was the cooling water reservoir (in the rear mudguard) that had to be refilled every 100 kilometers.
Despite certain limitations, the three-wheeler was at the height of its time, but just five years later nobody wanted such a vehicle any more, as there were now faster and easier-to-use four-wheeled cars.
Egg & Egli was just one of thousands of companies (keyword " vanished brands" ) that came and went.
Today it feels similar again. Start-ups or new parts of companies are being founded everywhere in order to be part of the boom in electric cars (and electric motorcycles or scooters).
And just like 120 years ago, technology that catches on quickly creates opportunities for fresh ideas, innovative designs and new entrepreneurs.
I would have loved to have been there in the noughties of the 19th century (1900-1910), but at least now I can follow the "history" of the electrification of the automobile and the motorcycle myself, even if I will certainly shed a few tears for the classic reciprocating piston engine ...
P.S. A comprehensive review of the developments of Swiss car pioneer Rudolf Egg, who also developed the Egg & Egli Rapid, will be published in SwissClassics Revue 3/2021 .
