Summary of the Burden of History

Summary and Critique Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Summary and Critique For a very long time, electrical industry especially manufacturers of electric vehicles have failed to live to the expectations of the consumers of its products. History paints a picture of innovations that not only are inadequate but incommensurate with the expectations of the consumers of their products. While some scholars hold the view that significant progress has been made in many of the technologies that constituted electric vehicle system, others think otherwise. Analysis and assessment of the existing literature is therefore necessary to ascertain the veracity of the authors’ varying arguments. In this paper I will provide a summary and critique of an existing literature through a detailed analysis and assessment of the text. Summary of the Burden of History Demand for Better Battery Energy storage technology is one of the innovations that bothered the actors in the electric industry as well as the consumers of their products. There was an increasing need for better or improved energy storage especially for vehicles. The yearning for technological advancement particularly on battery storage technology is traced to as early as 1880s and 1090s (The Burden of History, 2019). The consumers expected the industry to come up with innovative ideas that could translate into better energy storage for vehicles. In 1902, lead-acid battery was the widely used energy storage. However, there was increasing demand for alternative of the lead-acid battery. Consumers continue to yearn for powerful and durable alternative to lead acid battery. The industry responded to the market conditions and started manufacturing electric vehicles. These vehicles however did not meet the expectations of the consumer. Instead, internal combustion vehicles witnessed improvements that had never been seen before. Electric vehicles on the other hand did not deliver on the expectations of the consumer (The Burden of History, 2019). Later, Exide and Exide Ironclad design inventions improved the battery performance. It was an improvement on the first-generation vehicle batteries which were lighter and durable. However, in a nutshell, the improvement did not deliver on the ultimate promise of technological advancement. Consumer expectation plays a critical role on the advancement and spread of technology. Economic historian, Nathan Rosenberg argues that there is a relation between inventive activity and spread of new technology especially during the period of technological advancement. It is difficult to invest on new inventions and innovation if there is a fear of that technology becoming obsolete in the near future. As such, expectations of the consumer shape the success of innovation. Hamilton Watch Company is the perfect demonstration that expectation plays an important role on technological advancement. The company manufactured the first digital wrist watch which cost $ 2100.Despite the demonstrated technological improvement, the company did not make significant returns as envisaged. The reason is because consumers were willing to wait for a year or so for the price to fall by a factor of 10 or 100. This is due to fear of technological obsolescence. Subsequently, no company in the United States was willing to manufacture digital wrist watch afterwards. Electric and Internal Combustion Vehicle The demand for electric vehicle continues to be shaped by its changing capability when compared with internal combustion vehicle. In 1900 there was no significant difference in the performance of electric and gasoline vehicles. However, in 1910 electric vehicle had undergone significant improvement. Its performance could only be compared to the internal combustion vehicle which was also fast-evolving. The industry had made great strides due to improved technology, design and manufacturing. The only challenge was that the passenger electric car was less commercially viable compared to the 1902 model. By contrast electric vehicle was best for touring unlike the internal combustion vehicle. Despite the challenges, electric vehicle continue to witness significant improvement which equally boosts its reliability. Evidence indicate that Electric vehicle hardly break as a result of power failure. Ideally electric vehicle had undergone fifty times improvement on the rate of battery failure between the year 1897 and 1912. Comparatively, internal combustion vehicle was giving electric vehicles real competition. Unlike in 1897 when its reliability on commercial services was questioned, it was more appealing in 1912. Even though early electric vehicles did not meet expectation, their target was motivated by the success of the internal combustion vehicles. From 1960 onwards, electric vehicle faced challenges that were unique to the one experienced...