A surprising number of automobile-related firsts belong to William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president. On July 13, 1901, an unscheduled visitor arrived at the White House. Freelan O. Stanley, who would later cofound the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, had driven up to the mansion and invited the president to take a ride. The car was a Stanley Steamer, and the president was apparently unimpressed with his ride. Stanley had told the president, “I venture to predict that within a few years they will be a commonplace means of transportation.” McKinley then became the first president to also be an automotive critic when he offered his view on the subject: “Stanley’s overoptimistic, I think, when he says those things will someday replace horses.”¹

Others were more open to the view that the “horseless carriage” had a future. Consider this excerpt from the report by Roswell Park, M.D., on the use of the automobile as an ambulance at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, later that same year:

The original intention was to have three ambulances, one of each type—electric, gasoline and steam. It was found, however, that none of the manufacturers using gasoline engines made an ambulance, and the Rochester firm which promised a steam motor vehicle failed to keep their agreement. Consequently, the only ambulance maintained upon the grounds throughout the season for our work was that of the Riker system, furnished by The New York Electric Motor Vehicle Company. This was put in commission before the opening of the fair as an exhibit, and, during the season, made many hundreds of trips of various lengths. Not once did it disappoint us in its reliability and constant availability, and while I feel that we are under very many obligations to the company which furnished it, I cannot speak in too high terms of its efficiency.²

Dr. Park’s report highlights two of the main advantages of electric vehicles: efficiency and reliability. Electric motors, even at the dawn of the 20th Century, were far more efficient than either steam or internal combustion engines. The main reason for this advantage is that both the steam and internal combustion convert chemical energy first to heat, and then to motion. All heat engines are thermodynamically limited in their efficiency to Carnot efficiency, which is typically around 55%-60% for vehicle-type engines. Electric motors convert chemical energy directly into electricity and are not subject to the Carnot limit. Electric motors typically achieve over 90% efficiency.

Electric vehicles are generally more reliable than the heat engines since electric motors produce rotational motion directly, while the heat engines typically have to convert reciprocating motion to rotary motion, requiring additional hardware in the form of connecting rods and a crankshaft. Fewer components means fewer potential failures.

Thus, McKinley also would become the first president to ride in an electric vehicle. On Sept. 6, 1901, he was shot twice by an assassin at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. He was transported to the infirmary in the very electric ambulance that so impressed Dr. Park. Although the bullet wounds were not immediately fatal, McKinley succumbed to gangrene eight days later, becoming the third U.S. president to be assassinated.

REFERENCES
1. Click here.
2. Click here.