Early electric vehicles outsold gasoline-powered cars in the United States during the first decade of the 20th century, particularly among urban customers who valued the absence of cranking, fumes, and noise. As road networks expanded between cities and gasoline became cheaper and more widely distributed, however, the longer range of internal combustion engines proved decisive. By the 1920s, electric car sales had collapsed.
Which choice most logically completes the text? The passage suggests that the early dominance of internal combustion engines was determined less by inherent superiority than by _______
- A
consumer preference for noise and fumes over quiet operation
- Bcheck_circle
the suitability of each technology to the developing infrastructure and use cases
- C
the deliberate suppression of electric vehicle technology by manufacturers
- D
scientific advances unique to the late 19th century
Explanation
The reversal correlates with infrastructure (roads, fuel) and changing use cases (intercity range), supporting B. A contradicts the urban preferences described; C and D are unsupported.