Electric

Electric Cars at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show

Visitors to the first Chicago Auto Show in 1901 were treated to a new-fangled invention called the automobile, a four-wheeled machine designed to replace the four-legged horse as the most common and accepted form of transportation.

Though only a handful of cars were on display in the old Chicago Coliseum, they came in a variety of "flavors" -- powered not just by gas, but by electricity as well.

The 2013 edition of the Chicago Auto Show not only offers visitors an opportunity to both see and, in some cases, drive the latest in vehicle hardware, it also features vehicles with the same source of power today as 110 years ago -- gas engines and batteries.

Today’s battery powered vehicles come in a couple of flavors. Pure electics are cars that run on battery power only. There are also extended-range electrics. These vehicles run on electric power until the battery charge runs out and then a gasoline engine kicks in to extend driving range.

The two most prominent electrics on the floor are the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf. But there are others, each designed to meet a different need.

You can find the following concept cars on display at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show or at the Vehicles on Display section of the auto show Web site.