Electricity vs. Gasoline

Last fall, I was privileged to attend a talk about the history of the automobile. Ever since then, I've been meaning to document one of the more interesting comments made by the speaker; it was something to the effect of:
100 years ago, gas cost $3/gallon, and electric cars were considered cleaner and safer for short-range travel. In fact, Clara Ford drove an electric car (not manufactured by her husband).
When I repeat this trivia in subsequent conversations, many have asked me, "Is that true?" or "where did you hear that?". As the techie credo goes, it isn't true unless you can hyperlink it!

Detroit Electric:









Inflation Adjusted Fuel Prices:












Sources:
http://www.henryfordestate.org/claracar.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit_Electric
http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Gasoline_Inflation.asp