Yet although it is often depicted as an invention that surfaced as a solution to the above problems, it is in fact not at all a new concept. Quite the contrary electricity was the most popular automobile power source from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. This was mainly based on the gear less ease of use of electric vehicles and the lack of the fumes and vibrations that came with contemporary gasoline cars, never mind that these advantages came at the cost of range. However the development of the petroleum car production process and the petroleum infrastructure led to cheaper prices and quicker and easier refueling times of gasoline vehicles, for which the electric car gradually became obsolete.