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The Electrobat's rapid acceleration and quiet ride posed some unforeseen challenges.
電池車能夠快速加速并安靜行駛，但這帶來了一些意想不到的挑戰。
In May 1899, cab driver Jacob German became the first automobile operator arrested for speeding after whizzing down Lexington Avenue at 12 miles an hour.
1899年5月，計程車司機雅各布·杰曼因在萊辛頓大道以時速12英里“疾駛”，成為第一位因超速駕駛被捕的汽車駕駛人。
A few months later, an electric taxi fatally struck real estate broker Henry Bliss as he stepped off an Upper West Side streetcar.
數個月后，一輛電動計程車撞死了剛踏出曼哈頓上西城有軌電車的房地產經紀人亨利·布利斯。
The first pedestrian killed by an automobile never heard the Electrobat coming.
這位史上第一位被汽車撞死的行人完全沒有聽到電池車行駛過來的聲音。
Morris and Salom decided that rather than sell their vehicles, they would lease them, on either a monthly or per-ride basis.
莫里斯和薩羅姆決定，與其賣車，不如改為提供月租或單次租車的服務。
Across New York City, their cab service -- the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company -- took off.
他們的計程車服務--“電動車與貨車公司”--在紐約市各地迅速興起。
Their taxi fleet expanded from a dozen cars in 1897 to more than a hundred in 1899.
計程車車隊規模在1897年有12輛，到了1899年已經擴增到超過100輛了。
With their business growing, Morris and Salom imagined a grand future for their car.
隨著業務的壯大，莫里斯和薩羅姆也開始為他們的汽車想像遠大的未來。
They found new backing from wealthy investors, notably New York financier William Whitney, known for his success in electrifying the city's streetcars.
他們得到了富裕投資者的支持，尤其是紐約金融家威廉·惠特尼，他以成功電氣化紐約市有軌電車而聞名。
Under Whitney's ownership, the group also purchased a leading battery manufacturing firm, aiming to control the majority of the electric vehicle market nationwide.
在惠特尼的掌控下，這個團隊還收購了一家居領先地位的電池制造公司，目的是掌控全美國大部分的電動車市場。
The Electric Vehicle Company swiftly expanded its taxi operations to major cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston, eventually becoming the nation's largest automobile manufacturer.
電動車公司很快就將計程車業務擴展到費城、芝加哥和波士頓等重要城市，最終成了全美最大的汽車制造商。
However, its rapid expansion proved unsustainable. Operations outside New York were poorly run, and investors felt swindled when an 1899 New York Herald investigation revealed the Electric Vehicle Company had fraudulently secured a loan.
然而，這么快速的擴張并不持久。除了紐約以外，其他地方的運營狀況都不佳，而且1899年《紐約先驅報》還做了一項調查，揭露電動車公司以詐欺手段取得貸款，投資者因此感到被蒙騙了。
The company's stock fell, and the enterprise's finances grew strained by 1902.
于是，公司股價開始下跌，到了1902年時，他們的財務狀況已經變得很吃緊。
The company's collapse sent shockwaves through the investment community and cast a dark shadow over the formerly bright future of electric vehicles.
電動車公司的倒閉在投資界掀起巨大的波瀾，也為電動車原本光明的未來蒙上一道陰影。
"The thing that killed it is not really the idea, the technology, or the business model," Albert says. "It was the shadiness of the wheeler-dealers behind it."
艾柏特說：“真正導致失敗的并不是這個概念、技術或商業模式，而是那些投機分子背地里的行為。”
A devastating fire destroyed a significant portion of the fleet, and then the Panic of 1907, a nationwide financial crisis, caused car production to plummet, dealing a final blow to electric cabs in New York City.
一場大火摧毀了車隊中的許多車輛，接著發生了稱為1907年大恐慌的全國性金融危機，導致汽車產量暴跌，這是對紐約市電動計程車最后的致命一擊。
But gasoline-powered vehicles were gaining momentum in the market. In 1907, local businessman Harry Allen introduced a taxi service with 65 gasoline-powered cabs imported from France.
不過汽油車漸漸在市場上崛起。同年，當地商人哈利·艾倫從法國進口了65輛汽油車，并推出計程車服務。
Within a year, his fleet had swelled to 700 vehicles. It seemed New York would never look back.
不到一年，他的車隊已經擴充到700輛。看來，紐約似乎不會再回頭了。
The EVs' days were numbered, especially after the affordable, gas-powered Model-T debuted in 1908.
電動車時日不多了，尤其是在1908年，價格實惠的汽油動力T型車問世之后。
Electric cars hung on until the 1920s, while the internal combustion engine grew ever more popular, going on to drive the next American century.
電動車茍延殘喘到20世紀20年代，而內燃引擎車則越來越普及，引領了下一個世紀的美國。
But electric cars would make a comeback. When 25 all-electric taxis began operation on the streets of New York in 2022, the car of the future arrived -- again.
但是電動車將會卷土重來。2022年，25輛全電動計程車開始行駛在紐約街頭，“未來的汽車”再度回歸。
