Electric Cars and History

The DC electric motor for commercial use, originally invented by Thomas Davenport in Brandon, Vermont in 1834 has made many things possible, one of the most enjoyable is the electric car. The following is not a complete history, but features some nice visuals of the history of the electric car.

Leading up to the electric car some components had to be invented:

1821 - Michael Faraday creates the first weak experimental electromagnet
1831 -Joseph Henry builds the first powerful electromagnet (the main component of the electric motor)
1834 - Thomas Davenport develops the first electric motor for commercial use
1886 - Frank Sprague invents the first practical DC motor, it is capable of consistant speed under varying loads and does not creating sparks

1887 - Frank Sprague uses his DC motor in trolly systems
1897 - Electric cars first used in commercial use as taxis in New York City. They were built by the Electric Carriage and Wagon Company of Philadelphia
1900 - 38% of US automobiles are powered by electricity

The Baker Electric Car was produced by Baker Motor Vehicle Company. Based in Cleveland, Ohio, they produced some well perfoming early electric cars. Cleveland's history with the electricity began in the 1870's with local pioneer of electricity Charles F. Brush who created the first city lighting systems in North America using arc lights.

These set of photos are from what is probably a 1903 Baker Electric. Originally we thought it was a 1901 Baker Electric due to documents registering the car to E. W. Rice of General Electric but under the seat there is a GE motor with a 1903 patent as the last date, therefore the car may be from as early as 1903. It is possible this is a 1901 and it was restored in the 1970's using a 1903 motor.

Baker Electric uses a chain drive

Batteries in the front and rear of the car. These batteries are not original. Edison lead-acid batteries were originally used.

Automobile Motor No 116324 Application GE1020 E2WO ??? 26 Volts 48 Speed 1980 Patented July 9 '89 ?? 25, '90 July 8, '90 Nov 10, 91 Oct 22, '95 May 5, '96 Dec 14 '97 Jan 31'99 May 12 1903 General Electric Co. Schenectady, N.Y., U.S.A.

Below: video of this car in action:

 

 

Mercury Arc Rectifier Battery Charger for the Baker Electric's Edison Batteries. That is a slate circuit board.

We will post a new hi-res video of this car driving on the backroads of Vermont! Also we will show close ups of it's parts, and charger. To be posted this summer.

Video of the Baker Electric:

 

 

The Detroit Electric

This is another great early electric car produced by the Detroit Electric Car Company (1907-1939).

This 1914 Detroit Electric Car was owned by Charles P.Steinmetz. He rode inthe back and had a driver use the tiller in the front.

If YouTube has been blocked by your employer than the videos will appear as a blank box. In the video the car is driven out of the Edison Tech Center in Schenectady, and then driven down the city street.

 

The First Hybrid Electric Car 1916:

The hybrid car goes back to the 1916 Owen Magnetic car. The car failed due to the high cost of production and the fact that the car did not save much energy compared to the standard small gas motors of the time. Later In the 1980's computers became powerful and compact enough to be used to control the car's engine and breaking. The computer made it a practical and energy saving invention, see below "The First Modern Hybrid Electric Car".

Electric Cars at GE in the 1970's:

An article about Bob King's research at General Electric, published in the Monogram 1975

The GE Electric Lawn Mower 1970: The Elec-Trak E15 lawn mower came out in 1970. We will have more information here from local owners that still use the Elec-Trak. Check back later for more!

 

The First Modern Hybrid Electric Car:

Dr. Andrew Burke developed the first computer controlled hybrid-electric vehicle in 1982 as part of the "Joint Feasibiltiy Study of the Hyrbrid Vehicle" funded by the US government and GE. When GE couldn't sell the car to the big 3 US automakers, they sold the technology. Toyota later makes it into a profitable technology.

The 1982 vehicle used a computer to control the engine and power system, this enabled great cost savings. Also the breaking system helped recharge the batteries. This was all possible due to the computer finally becoming compact enough and powerful enough to work in a vehicle.

We have interviewed Dr. Burke and will post a video online about the story along with the photo of the car later this year.

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