Early
Electric Vehicles E-F-G
Version 3.1
Electric
car companies of the world, made before 1940, and listed alphabetically by
brand name (when available).
Hobby
cars after 1908 are generally omitted. Most makers of commercial electric
vehicles are included, but not covered in detail.
The
years given each company represent the span of electric car production, not
necessarily the total life of the company. Many were previous horse-carriage,
or bicycle companies, and several continued to make internal combustion cars
post electric.
The
majority of
these listings were prototypes, and never produced in volume.
E
Eagle 1915-1917
Eagle Electric Automobile Co Inc
169 Howard St., 14-18 Elizabeth St., Detroit, MI
1915 22
mph, 75 mile range, drum controller, lever steering,
110” wheelbase
Eastman Electro Cycle 1897
Eastman
Automobile Co, Cleveland, OH.
In 1897, Henry F. Eastman commissioned Hector Jay
Hayes, of the Wilson & Hayes
Manufacturing Co, to make an all steel body for a one seat electric
tricycle. It had three speeds forward and used a motor brake. Powered by a Willard battery. Henry went on to
produce the Eastman Steamer.
The steel bodies proved to be more marketable than
the vehicles, and in 1901, the company became the Eastman Metallic Body Co.
Eaton 1898-1900
Eaton
Electric Motor Carriage Co, Quincy, MA
Howard
F. Eaton electrical engineer
Oct 31, 1898, Eaton completed its first electric delivery
wagon. Several of these were used by B. Altman
& Co. in New York.
1899, Carriages
were made for a client in England.
1900, Bankrupt
by December
The motor was on the rear axle and had two
armatures in the same housing, driving the rear axles by straight cut reduction
gears. The battery was suspended below the running gear on half elliptic
springs; the body was independently sprung.
ECC 1896-1899
Electric
Construction Company Ltd.
Bushbury, Wolverhampton, England
9
New Broad Street, London.
A manufacturer of electric power generating and
distribution equipment: also traction motors.
In 1896 Thomas Hugh Parker, son of the co-founder
of Elwell-Parker, designed an
electric dogcart for the company as a prototype. None of their road vehicle
experiments got past the prototype stage.
Successor
to Elwell-Parker Ltd.
Éclair 1907-1908
SA des Constructions d’Automobiles l’Éclair, Paris
Several gasoline cars and an electric prototype.
Eddy 1885-1910
Eddy Electric Manufacturing
Co, Windsor, Connecticut
Founded August 31, 1885,
with Arthur H. Eddy as president; Arthur D. Newton, treasurer; George T. Briggs,
was the initial superintendent, succeeded by electrical engineer William R. C.
Corson; with Oscar G. Arnurius, foreman. Some designs
by Harry E. Heath
The company built
dynamos, motors, and electro-plating equipment based on the Eddy patents. The
company had a large exhibit at the 1893 Chicago
Columbian Expo. Eddy made the (unreliable) moving sidewalk for the Expo. In
1902, they became affiliated with GE,
and became part of GE in 1910. GE closed down manufacturing at the
Windsor plant in 1928.
William Corson designed
Eddy’s first automotive motor for the Columbia
Mk I, electric car prototype made by the Pope Manufacturing Co in Hartford, CT around September of
1895.
1900 Eddy made two styles of automobile traction motors rated at
1.52-3.34 hp, with 100% overload capability for 30 minutes, or 150% for 10
minutes. Momentary peaks to 500% could be tolerated. All motors were four-pole,
and used twin brushes for every commutator segment.
The square case motors
were designed for two-motor cars, and were supplied with a spur gear at the end
of the armature shaft, to engage a ring gear at the drive wheels. The round
case motors were designed for single-motor cars, they were available with solid
or hollow armature shafts. The hollow armature shaft was for cars where a
transverse motor drove a counter shaft with a balance gear (differential) to
sprockets, for chain drive, or spur gears. The standard voltage was 72, compatible
with 35-40 cell batteries. They would also make motors to the customer’s
specifications. The motors were 79-82% efficient at rated Voltage.
The 1½ hp square type
motor was rated at 37½ volts.
Eddy advertised a
complete rolling chassis, with a snap-action knife-blade controller.
Eddy motors were in the
1896 Columbia MK I, the 1897-98 Mk
III, and the 1899-1900 Olds electric.
Edison Although not a direct manufacturer of electric cars, Thomas
Alva Edison owned many of them, and was an investor in the Lansden Company of Newark, New Jersey, a moderately successful
electric truck company, which made a runabout for a couple of years. Edison was
involved from its beginning in 1904, obtaining controlling interest in 1908.
The founder, and principal designer, John Lansden Jr, left for the General Motors truck division in 1911,
and Edison sold the company in January of 1912.
In 1895, TAE had his staff build an electric tricycle;
it now resides in the Ford collection.
Edison knew what was needed was a better battery,
not a better car. He possibly put more of his time and personal fortune into
developing his alkaline rechargeable battery than the light bulb. The first
version, introduced around 1903, was an embarrassing failure. The later
version, introduced in 1910, was good enough to return his investment, but
neither cheap enough, nor efficient enough, to save the electric car.
Edison Electric 1922
Edison Electric Co. N. Y. NY
This
utility company made some trucks for their own use
Ehrlich 1918-1923
Lambert & Mann Co, Chicago, IL
3½-ton
truck
Ekstrom(er) 1905-1908
Ekstromer Accumulator Co,
13 Walbrook, London E. C., England
Electra 1899-1900
H. Krugen, Berlin,
Germany
Electra 1913-1914
Electra Storage Battery
Power Co, Chicago, IL.
1913-1915 Electra Manufacturing Co.
11 Jones St. San Francisco, CA.
Incorporated at $250,000. Julius E. Haschke, patent holder and superintendant.
1913
Model C 2-pass
Roadster, 750 lbs, with proprietary 2.5 hp Haschke motor, having sectional
windings for speed control, 20-cell Haschke Battery,
Bevel drive, 20 mph, Mercedes type
hood with scuttle dash, on a 90” wb, for $750. Edison battery available
Model D Torpedo
Roadster, 96-inch wheel-base
1914
Model C Roadster,
2-Pass, $750
Model D Torpedo
Roadster, 96” wb, $1,250
Electrette See Lansden and National
Electric Car Co of America 1888-1890
Philadelphia, PA
Rail Cars, George Herbert Condict
(later with EVC)
Electriquette 1915
Osborn Electriquette
Mfg. Co Los Angeles, CA (possibly
Thomas O. Osborn)
Electric Carriage and Wagon Co 1896-1897
66 Broadway, NY, with a garage at 140 W. 39th
St.
Founded by Henry G. Morris and Pedro G. Salom in January 1896. Capital of $300,000, was mostly from
Electric Storage Battery Co owners W.
W. Gibbs and Isaac L. Rice. The purpose was to build and run electric taxicabs based
on their Electrobat II.
Directors; Issac L.
Rice, William Warren Gibbs, William Halls Jr., Richard B. Hartshorne, P. Lewis
Anderson, Henry G. Morris, & Pedro G. Salom.
The little fleet had a dozen Hansom cabs and one
Brougham, built by the Charles S. Caffrey
Co of Camden, New Jersey. Each used an Electric
Storage Battery Co Chloride battery, and a pair of Lundell motors. They had
rear-wheel steering, and front-wheel drive, with wire wheels. They announced
the opening of business in January of 1897 with two vehicles ready for service.
These cabs were run with some success in Lower Manhattan from March of 1897
(after a delay related to city licensing) fielding 12 cabs with drivers and a
staff of six at the charging station. Rice took over on September 27, 1897 and
re-named it The Electric Vehicle Co; He
added 14 new cabs of more robust construction, with metal disc wheels.
Hansom Cab 2,500 lbs. two 1½ hp Lundell motors drove
inside-toothed ring gears at the front wheels by spur gears on the motor
shafts, with three-speeds forward and one in reverse, up to 15 mph. A 70
Ampere-hour ESB battery weighing
800-900 lbs was boxed in a slide-in case, which made automatic connection with
contacts in the body. 43 & 32-inch wire wheels, with steel rims and
pneumatic tires, riding on ball bearings. The much smaller rear wheels were
used for steering, with offset axles so that the pivot center was directly over
the wheel center. This allowed a very tight turning radius and very little
road-shock feedback though the steering lever. The doors could be opened and
closed by the driver from his seat high up behind the passengers. Communication
between passenger and driver was by means of a speaking tube. To get the
drivers attention, a whistle, blown by a rubber squeeze bulb, was mounted in a
plug at the end of the tube. The road at night was faintly illuminated by
incandescent carriage lamps, as was the passenger compartment. An electric bell
was mounted under the footboard to alert pedestrians and cyclists without
frightening horses.
Brougham Put
into the fleet August of 1897. The driver sat over the battery, which sat over
the front drive wheels. It was propelled by two 2-HP Lundell motors running at up to
900 rpm. The two passengers sat to the aft in a nice glassed in compartment,
with doors, featuring drop-down windows, at either side. The motors were
mounted to the axle at one side, and suspended by springs from the body on the
other, driving 36” wheels, with 3-speeds forward. Carrying 44 ESB cells, it
would go 15 miles at 15 MPH. It seems only one was made, and it must have been
very popular in the rain.
Electric Carriage & Garage 1902 England
Electric Landau Co. 1909
Magara, Westminister,
London, S. W., England
Electric Motive Power Co Ltd 1909
Magara,
Westminister, London S. W., England
Electric Vehicle Company
1897-1899, 100 Broadway New York, NY
1900, Office & Factory, 1 Laurel at corner of
Park St. Hartford, Connecticut
Cab
Companies: franchised for entire states.
New York Electric Vehicle Transportation Co. sales
& show rooms, 541 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. NY
Pennsylvania Electric Vehicle Transportation Co
250-256 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA
Illinois Electric Vehicle Transportation Co, 173
Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
New England Electric Vehicle Transportation Co, 541
Tremont St. Boston, MA (New England States)
Washington Electric Vehicle Transportation Co.
Panorama Building, Fifteenth St. & Ohio Avenue, Washington, DC
New Jersey Electric
Vehicle Transportation Co, 100 Broadway, New York
Mexican Electric Vehicle
Co, Juan de Latran No.7 Mexico City, DF
The
Electric Vehicle Company (EVC) was Isaac Rice’s new name for the Electric Carriage and Wagon Co, after he
took over in September of 1897. Rice was running the Electric Storage Battery Company (ESB) when he bought out the rest of Morris & Salom’s nascent New York taxi business. This put him on
both sides of negotiating the battery contract between ESB and the EVC. As he
was the principal owner of the EVC,
and only had a small stake in the ESB
Company, the contract favored the EVC with
a price ceiling locked in. He grew the company with 87 more cabs, using Westinghouse motors.
The business cartel, which came to be known as the
“lead cab trust,” controlled the Electric
Storage Battery Co, with the intent of dominating battery electric streetcar
and motor cab business’. They were forced to buy Rice’s EVC for the “sweetheart” battery contracts EVC had with ESB. In late
1899, they made Rice a very generous offer, buying shares that had recently
been valued at $20.00 each for $140.00.
Rice remained as President of the ESB Company for
a while. He spent some of the money buying the Electric Launch and Navigation Co. (Elco),
Electro Dynamic, and the Holland
Torpedo Boat Company, to form The
Electric Boat Company, a submarine maker, which eventually became General Dynamics, a major defense
contractor.
The group controlling EVC & ESB, were Wall St. financiers William Collins Whitney,
Anthony N. Brady, and Thomas F. Ryan in collaboration with Philadelphia
financiers Peter A. B. Widener, and William L. Elkins, et al. These men had
become very wealthy forming monopolies, including; coal-gas
utilities for lighting, tobacco, and streetcars. They hoped for similar success
by creating a motorized taxicab monopoly, first in New York, then in all major
cities.
In 1898 electricity seemed the best choice for
cabs: electric motors were powering their streetcars with brilliant success.
The ESB Company held the American rights
to the C. Fauré, C. Payen,
A. Marcheney, and C. Brush battery patents. These
encompassed worldwide rights to the pasted plate lead acid cell, which had
little competition in terms of capacity. ESB
was suing other battery companies over infringement. They intended to buy out,
or stamp out, all competition. Woods cabs,
with Willard batteries, helped keep
them from total monopoly.
EVC held stock in the cab
operating companies they licensed in various cities, with active management of
their flagship “Electric Vehicle
Transportation Company” of Manhattan. They also acquired A. A. Pope’s Columbia Motor Carriage Company, and
several others, to make the thousands of vehicles they thought they would need.
1898 April,
EVC secured a lease on the old Armory
at 1684 Broadway, and hired George Herbert Condict to
design and manage this new headquarters for the cab business, in anticipation
of quadrupling fleet size the next spring.
1899 Beginning January, 100 new cabs were put on
the streets of New York
February
21, the Electric Vehicle Transportation
Co was established as the operating company for EVC cabs in New York.
April, EVC
merged with Pope’s car division, Columbia
Motor-Carriage, as the Columbia
Automobile Company. In May it was reorganized again as the Columbia and Electric Vehicle Company.
June, 100 cab bodies were ordered from Studebaker, of South Bend, IN.
August 17, Isaac L. Rice resigned from the
presidency of ESB, turning it over to
George Day (from Pope).
1900, June, Capitol stock was raised from $12 million
to $18 million for the purpose of cashing out the remaining Pope interests, and
buying the New Haven Carriage Co. The
whole enterprise was reorganized under the umbrella of the Electric Vehicle Company.
President, Robert McAllister Lloyd; VP, George Day
December, EVC purchased Riker with
$2 million in EVC stock: for his
brand and New Jersey manufacturing plant. Shortly after Andrew Riker joined EVC, H. Hayden Eames left, along with
head engineers Hiram P. Maxim, and William Kennedy. Riker, who considered
himself the new chief engineer, was not easy to work with.
1901 December,
EVC closed the Riker factory.
1902 January,
EVC paid the final assessment of
$580,000 on its holding of the New York
Transportation Co. The operating fleet had grown to 616 vehicles, both cabs
and busses.
By the end of 1902 most
of the regional taxicab operators had failed.
1903 John
Milton Budlong succeeded George Day as President
(through 1907).
The EVC Cabs
1897 Hansom the
first EVC model cab was of more
robust construction then the EC&W
ones, with steel disc wheels. The four-pole Westinghouse
motors were rated at 2.5 HP each. One was applied to each front wheel while the
rear wheels steered (as before). The battery was bumped up to 88 Volts with a
weight of 1,672 lbs, in a cab weighing 3,885 lbs.
1897 Brougham, on
a similar chassis, with the driver out in front of 2-passengers in the enclosed
cab.
For the later cabs, see Columbia.
Electric 1922-1924
Automobile-und Akkumulatoren-Bau
GmbH, Berlin, Germany
Electrical Undertakings Ltd. 1899
Miller
St. Camden Town, London
4-passengers, with a tonneau behind the folding
top.
Electricars 1919-1944
Electricars Ltd. England
Electric
trucks
Electricar 1920-1924
Couaillet
St. Ouen, Seine, France
Electrique Société
Anonyme l’Usines 1909
116 Rue de Gravel,
Levallois-Perret, Seine, France
Electrobat 1894-1896
Morris & Salom, Philadelphia,
PA.
Pedro G. Salom was an
electrochemist and Henry G. Morris a mechanical engineer. They had backgrounds
in battery streetcars, and teamed up to make battery road vehicles. Battery
streetcars were in limited use to extend the range of low traffic trolley lines,
where putting in electrical distribution infrastructure was not profitable. The
first Electrobat (I) was a heavy, impractical test
platform, with center pivot “fifth wheel” steering up front. The Electrobat II was a radical new light design, which made an
impressive showing at America’s first road race, at Chicago in 1895. They made
a couple more prototypes that were too light for practical use.
In January of 1896 they announced plans to build
as many as forty vehicles “for service in parks and delivery wagons,” as they
did not see much potential for pleasure cars, primarily due to lack of electric
power distribution infrastructure. Only limited areas of major cities had central
power.
In 1897 Morris & Salom
built a dozen Hansom cabs and one Brougham, based on the Electrobat
II, as the Electric Carriage & Wagon
Co, before being taken over by Isaac Rice of the Electric Storage Battery Co, who was a backer from the start.
1894 Type I, (called
“Electrobat I ” in retrospect)
Put on the road August 31, 1894
Tonneau Four-six passengers, two on the front bench, and dos-à-dos in back,
4,250 lbs with a 1,600 lb, 60 cell, ESB
Co battery of 100 A h capacity, designed to deliver up to 7.6 kW. The power
was delivered to a 3-hp GE motor
rated up to 300% overload. The 300 lb motor was geared to a countershaft, with
differential, driving the rear wheels by spur and ring gears. They claimed it
went 50-100 miles per charge at up to 15 mph. It had steel tires, on wood
wheels. A steering wheel rotated a 30-inch horizontal center-pivot wheel (with
ball bearings in a ring, like a lazy Susan) that turned the front axle, by
means of a pinion gear engaged with a curved rack. This design had major
problems with steering feedback when either wheel hit an obstruction. Other
than the countershafts and differential, it was mechanically and conceptually
very similar to the Morrison car that was prominent at the 1893 Columbian
Exposition, though he had learned the flaws of center pivot steering with his
first attempt.
1895 Type II, 2 or 4-passengers (removable rear seat). This
vastly improved vehicle weighed 1,650 lbs, including a 669 lb battery. Powered
by two 1½ hp Lundell
motors running on 96 Volts. The ESB Co
battery had a 50-Ampere hour capacity with 48 cells in hard rubber jars, said
to run 25 miles per charge at 20 MPH.
A controller under the seat, turned by a hand
wheel, switched four battery sets from parallel to series, for three speeds
forward and one in reverse.
This model steered by the rear wheels, each of
which had independent coil spring suspension, which was a bit bouncy compared
to leaf springs before shock absorbers (snubbers) were invented. The wheels
were turned by means of what looked like a “D” shaped shovel handle, pivoting
at the floor, which the driver moved fore and aft. The front drive wheels were
of wider track (44.2” vs. 36.1”) and diameter (39.6” vs. 28.4”). The wooden
wheels were shod with pneumatic tires. One of the first motor vehicles so
equipped.
The red and black body was designed and built by
the Charles S. Caffrey Carriage Co,
across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, in Camden, New Jersey.
The Electrobat II won
the gold medal for best “Motocycle” in America’s
first automobile race, on a freezing Thanksgiving Day, in 1895, at Chicago.
Although a Duryea won the race,
averaging just over 7 mph, with a Benz
Velo arriving second. As with the other contestants, the Electrobat II never finished; due to range limits
enhanced by the freezing weather, but the judges were very impressed by how
well it looked and performed.
In 1896, on a dry dirt horse track in Rhode
Island, this same car, and a Riker Electric, beat six of the next generation Duryeas, in a
series of 5-mile sprints. Shorter distances in mild weather favored electrics.
Type III Crawford Road Wagon
2-passengers,
with very little in the way of a body. The car, with battery, weighed 1,180
lbs. It was Built by the Crawford Wheel
and Gear Co of Hagerstown, Maryland. Two Lundell motors drove the front
wire-wheels by spur and ring gears. The entire rear axle pivoted for steering,
the rear axle was held in place by a single reach rod at the center. This
simple center pivot rear wheel steering was used on a later taxi.
Type IV Buggy
Two
motors on the rear axle with pinion gears driving sprocket-like crown gears.
The vehicle was very light, about 800 lbs, with a minimal piano box style body.
It used bicycle technologies such as a steel tube frame and light wire wheels. The
front wheels pivoted at their centers (on the vertical axis). It steered by means
of a vertical lever pivoting at the right frame member. Simple wagon brakes on
the rear tires.
Electrocar 1922
Electrocar Corporation, New
Brunswick, NJ
Designed by Joseph A. Anglada
Taxi Cab, five-passengers and driver, sixty to seventy
mile range, quick-change battery system, 112” wheelbase. Two GE motors drove the rear wheels. They looked
like a gasoline town cars, with faux radiators. $2,975
Electrogenia 1903-1905
De Champrobert & Cie Levallois, Seine, France
Hybrid Transmission 1,430 lbs, live rear axle, 75%
power transmission claimed vs. 50% for mechanical transmission.
Electromobile 1901-1920,
Hertford Street, London W1, England.
Most vehicles were built for in-house livery
service,
1901 Greenwood & Batley
Ltd. of Leeds made electrical equipment, including motors, generators, and
lead acid cells. The motors were based on the patents of French inventor Camille
Contal. They made an agreement with the Electromobile Co Ltd. to construct Electric Vehicles
for them to put in service. The works at Leeds made complete running platforms,
which were shipped to the Electromobile works in the borough of Lambeth, where the
bodies were mounted, having been brought in from various coachbuilders. Early
models had an elaborate steering gear devised by Contel.
1903 A
chassis shown at the Crystal Palace
had a single two-pole series motor driving a differential
on a live axle having a two-stage reduction gear set with double helical teeth,
all enclosed. Expanding brake shoes in rear drums, Gallus non-slipping tread tyres, two
electrical brakes, spring-loaded cutout switch, and a 42-cell battery.
1907 The Electromobile Co., Ltd. (managing director Theodore G. Chambers) set up a fully
equipped garage in Mayfair to run a fleet of luxury electric carriages. The
cars were of the outside-drive town-car style, steered by wheel. They were
similar to the Krieger cabs.
There
was a carriage entrance on Carrington Street, and a goods entrance on Brick
Street at Piccadilly, with access to the basement. An entrance on Hertford
Street gave access to the offices. The 350’ x 80’ concrete and steel building
covered about a half acre, with three floors, from the basement to the roof,
which had elevator access. Two hydraulic lifts, on rails, were available to
easily replace the battery boxes slung under the chassis’. The vehicles were
driven to the charging panels at the east end of the building if they were
going back into service. If not, they were sent about the facility on wood
wheeled dollies without a battery. Three hydraulic elevators with capacity for
a vehicle up to 16’ long, could deliver a car to any of the three floors, and
one of them went all the way to the roof, which could be used for washing
vehicles in good weather. Repair & maintenance was done in the basement, which
had a forge. There were thirty mechanic’s pits for access to the running gear. The
basement was also where batteries were charged and washed.
There
were three body types on the same chassis; a Laundalet, Brougham, and Victoria.
Cars could be privately owned, or leased for a given period. At this time only
electric motor vehicles were allowed in Hyde Park during popular hours.
The
company was also selling delivery trucks and ambulances.
1908 British
Electromobile became the British agents for Opel
cars.
1916
Brougham Four
passengers, with two swiveling and collapsible seats for the driver and a
companion. A ventilator was in the roof, and the screened door windows could be
opened. All windows were of beveled plate-glass. The interior had one Holophane roof light, and there was one
cast aluminum taillight attached directly to the number plate. Two head lights
and two side lights were fitted and controlled by switches on an instrument
dash board of polished mahogany, which, In addition to the lamp switches,
carried a flush Stewart speedometer, Stewart rim-wound clock, and a Weston
model 241 Volt-ammeter. A Sangamo ampere-hour meter incorporated a differential shunt
correcting the readings from charge to discharge. When the battery was fully
charged, a switch attached to the main circuit breaker automatically stopped
the charge.
The
pressed steel frame narrowed at the front for a tighter turning radius. The
front axle was suspended on semi-elliptic springs. The rear axle was suspended
by platform springs with double shackles. Transmission was direct to the
differential with double helical gears; ball bearings were fitted throughout.
The motor developed 3-horse power and was of the double commutator series type,
1,600 revolutions per minute at 76 amperes, 96 volts. Speed control was by
combination of lever and foot pedal. The hood and body were made of hammered
aluminum sheets with invisible joints. All the fenders were domed. It was one
of the first cars with a horn ring at the center of the steering wheel.
1917 A
maker of “Buda” type
trucks ½ to 6 tons. Theodore G. Chambers, managing director, H. L. Joly, chief
engineer.
1919 Elmo Limousine,
enclosed body, faux radiator, body by Gill,
8.5 hp motor
Electromobile
Lafayette & Meldrum, Detroit, MI
Electromobile 1902
National Vehicle Co. Indianapolis, IN.
A brand name, see National
Electromobile 1905-1908
The American Electromobile
Co, East Orange, NJ
1908, the American Electromobile
Co, 1567 River St. Detroit, MI
Chas. W. Beaumont general manager, Andrew H. Green
Jr., Frank B. Rae secretary-treasurer. Designed by Frank B. Rae. The enterprise
fell apart after one vehicle
Electromobile 1908, 1909
Electromobile Co Ltd, 7 Curzon, St.
Mayfair, London W., England
Electromotion 1900-1909
Société l’Electromotion,
54 Avenue Montaigne, Paris, France. Hart O. Berg
The
French licensee of Columbia/EVC
Elieson 1897-1898
Elieson Lamina Accumulator
Syndicate Ltd.
Camden Town, London N,
England
Chaimsonovitz Prosper Elieson had some battery patents.
They made an electric bicycle based quadricycle
called the Swan to demonstrate their
battery.
See Swan
Ellis 1900-1901
Triumph Motor Vehicle Co, Chicago, IL
A light open wagon
Elite 1917-1923
Elitwerke AG Zweigniederlassung,
Berlin, Germany
Elmo 1919
British Electromobile Co
Ltd
See Electromobile
Elwell-Parker Ltd. 1882
Wolverhampton, England
Parker
made a few innovative early prototype electrics. Became part of ECC.
Elwell-Parker 1898-1909 &
1919-1998
The Elwell-Parker Electric Co.
1076 Hamilton St.
Cleveland, OH
Established July 6, 1893 in Cleveland by Alexander
E. Brown as a division of The Brown
Hoisting Machinery Co, to make motors and controllers for their dockside
coal loaders, under Elwell-Parker Ltd Patents and methods. E-P merged with the Anderson
Carriage Co in 1909 (maker of the Detroit
Electric).
At the suggestion of
Theodore A. Willard, of Willard Battery,
Elwell-Parker started making
series-wound low-voltage (24-84 Volts) high-current motors for battery-powered
transportation around 1899. Buffalo (Babcock) and Baker were the first Clients. Others included, Columbus, Detroit Electric, Johnson-Hewitt, Parsons, and Strong & Rogers.
Morris S. Towson Joined the company in 1895 and
was chief executive from 1907 until he handed the reins to his son around the
Second World War. Towson also designed some electrical and mechanical
components used in Detroit Electric
cars, and some early E-P industrial
vehicles. Towson’s family headed management until eventual liquidation in 1998.
1909 November, Elwell-Parker became part of the Anderson Electric Car Co. As
the two companies had similar capitol value, and management was shared, it was
more of a merger than a buyout. It gave the Detroit Electric exclusive use of
the low speed E-P motors, which didn’t need a second speed reduction as most
others did. E-P returned to independence from Anderson/Detroit Electric when the Company split up in 1919. Although it was proposed that E-P move their factory to
Detroit, and even that Detroit Electric move to Cleveland, the factories
remained independent in most practical terms. The motors, and controllers were
made in Cleveland, and most of the rest was made at the Anderson factory campus
in Detroit.
Between 1910 and 1919,
Elwell-Parker motors were used exclusively in Detroit Electric cars and trucks. Baker and others switched to
higher speed GE or Westinghouse motors, which required a second set of speed
reduction gears (other than at the differential), or a silent chain.
From 1911 to 1998 Elwell-Parker was a significant
maker of electric material-handling vehicles. Clyde E. Cochran was the
principle designer of early Elwell-Parker
industrial vehicles.
EMP 1896-1900
Electric Motive Power Co, Balham, London SW,
England
1896 A
prototype horse carriage conversion
1897 Victoria, 4-passengers, 2 hp motor, solid tires
Dogcart, 4-passengers, 5 hp motor
Tricycle, 2-hp
Empire Electric Vehicle Co. 1914
Wilmington, Delaware
Incorporated May of 1914 with $200k of capital
stock “To manufacture and deal in electric vehicles”
Enegie Électro-Mécanique 1909
2 Rue Delaunay, Suresnes, Seine, France
Evans 1903-05
F. S. Evans, Detroit, MI
Ewbank Electric 1914-1915
Ewbank Electric Transmission
Co, Portland, OR
F
Fabriqué Nationale
d’Armes de Guerre 1901
Herstal, Belguim
Two hybrids designed by Jenatzy,
60 hp engine w/40 hp motor
Fairchild 1912
Fairchild Electric Vehicle Co, Brooklyn, NY
F. K. Fairchild, M. D. Fairchild, and A. E. King . Incorporated at $50,000
Fanning 1901-1903
(F. J.) Fanning Automobile Co, Chicago, IL
Runabout at 1902 Chicago auto show
Fiedler 1899-1900
Berliner Electromobil-und
Accumulatoren-Gesellschaft
Firestone Columbus See Columbus
Fischer 1898-1903 Fischer Motor Vehicle Co
Hoboken,
NJ
A bus and truck maker.
1903 they
made a series hybrid Omnibus and truck, with a
10 hp gas engine driving a 5 kW dynamo wired to a pair of 5 hp motors. They
carried a 50-cell battery. The bus got 2 miles per gallon and featured a heated
passenger compartment.
Fischer 1898-1899
Fischer Equipment Co, 340-342 Dearborn Street,
Chicago, IL
Fischer
built bodies for American Electric, and
then made the Woods electric cars.
They also made some commercial vehicles under the Fischer brand.
1898 Delivery Wagon,
built for the Robert Simpson Ltd.
Toronto, a department store. Two motors driving ring gears on the rear wheels
by spur gears, 14 mph
1899 Three
vehicles for the US signal corps, $8,000 each.
Express Wagon built for United States Express Co.
Fischer
1912-1913
Westautohaus Alex Fischer & Co,
Berlin, Germany
Electric
& Hybrid cars & trucks
Flanders Electric 1911-1915
1911-1912,
The Flanders Manufacturing Co (a part of EMF), Pontiac, MI
1912-1913
Flanders Motor Co (very briefly, the United States Motor Co)
1913-1915
(E. le Roy Pelletier)
7th Floor, Dodge Building, Jefferson
Avenue, Detroit
The New York sales office was at 1932 Broadway,
with W. R. Chandler as representative.
The original company was a consolidation of the Grant & Wood Manufacturing Co
(Chelsea), Pontiac Motorcycle Co, Pontiac
Drop Forge Co, Pontiac Foundry Co, and the Vulcan Gear Works. Capitalized @ $2.5 million, some capitol was
from J. B. Book Jr.
Named after the company’s director, and machine
tool wizard, Walter Flanders.
Flanders set up the tooling for the first model “T” Ford, and was the “F” in the
E-M-F Corporation, which built gasoline automobile platforms for Studebaker.
E. le Roy Pelletier talked Flanders into making an
electric car as part of the Flanders product line. Studebaker was dropping their line of electrics and Pelletier saw a
niche for a new electric, done his way.
1910 British
electrical engineer Warren Noble designed The Flanders Electric in the summer
of 1910.
He
talked Sangamo
into designing a special “Distance Dial” meter with the boxy mercury motor parts
under the seat.
1912 The
car was launched with 200 full-page newspaper ads across the country.
Pelletier hired C. Coles Phillips to illustrate a
masterful two-page color centerfold in Life
Magazine. The side-view fade-away style hid the fact that the car had
virtually no hoods; it was a rather strange looking glassed-in box on wheels.
On August first, a Flanders Colonial was the
Pathfinder car for the Glidden Tour
from Detroit to New Orleans; it made the entire scouting trip under its own
power, without a breakdown.
December 28, Pelletier
and Paul Smith (sales manager) announced they had severed ties with the
Flanders Motor Car Co; recently acquired by the United States Motor Co.
1913 The new owners were not
interested in the electric, so Pelletier took it independent, and kept it going
another year. Before getting Walter Flanders’ permission to use his name, he
briefly called the car a Tiffany. Up
to this point some 600 Flanders had
been sold.
The compound-wound Timmerman designed Wagner motor had the worm gear cut into the armature shaft, the
armature windings and commutator were on a sleeve keyed to the shaft. This was
mounted in ridged alignment to the front of the rear axle at 45º from level.
Flanders bought the British design and methodologies (grinding & heat
treating) for the worm gear drive.
The platforms were made
at the Pontiac Michigan Flanders
factory, the bodies were made entirely of wood, with 18 coats of paint &
varnish.
Flanders
Electrics
were built on a 100” wheelbase; they came with custom Willard batteries using special vent caps.
The Flanders was technically advanced, but too expensive and unusual
looking for market success.
July 17, 1916 Flanders Electric went out of business.
Walter Flanders went on to produce the Maxwell, which led to the Chrysler.
1911
Colonial Coupé, with worm drive, Wagner motor, and a 24-cell battery. Made the first year in small
numbers as presentation cars, $1,775
1912
Colonial Coupé, seating was
5-6 passengers vis-à-vis. With sash-less French
ground-plate-glass windows. They were painted Napoleon blue with broad white
stripes defining the bodylines. The bright work was triple nickel-plated. The
cars were trimmed in either grey striped Bedford cord, royal blue broadcloth,
or hand buffed leather. The 100” wheelbase chassis was enameled and utilized
Silicon Manganese steel springs in hammock style suspension. The Coupé was
advertised to have a top speed of 24 mph, with a 24-cell 140 A h battery, in
specially designed cases under the seats. A Sangamo Ampere-hour meter was
standard. $1,775
Victoria, 4-passengers, an open version of the Coupé.
1913
Colonial Coupé, 5-passengers, 120-mile range at 12 mph
(4th speed), 6-speeds forward, worm drive, 30 cell battery,
“hammock” suspension. Price of the 1913 model, as of June 1912, $2,250
Victoria, 4-passengers, $2,200
1915
K Colonial Coupé,
4-passengers, lever steering & controller handle, 3 hp Wagner motor rigidly mounted to rear axle, 60 Volt 135 A h Willard battery 20 cells in front and 10
cells at the rear, 75-100 mile range, six speeds to 24 mph, 9.8-1 Worm drive
semi-floating rear axles, 9¾” ground clearance, 100” wb, $1,750. Standard painting had Napoleon blue
panels with black frame elements and chassis.
Ford 1913-1914
Ford Motor Company, Detroit, Michigan
Ford and Edison collaborated on a pair (more are
rumored) of electric prototype platforms (no bodies), built by Samuel Wilson,
with wiring by Alexander Churchwood (from the
automotive electric lamp company Grey
& Davis).
Edsel Ford supervised the project. The results
were not encouraging, as they were neither better nor cheaper than electrics
already on the market.
For Christmas gifts, in 1913, Henry Ford bought
two 1914 model 47 Detroit Electrics,
one for Clara (her fourth) and one for the Edisons.
Foster 1899-1900
Foster & Co Rochester, NY.
Two models, chain drive, 1,000 lbs, 75-100 mile
range claimed.
Fourgon Électrique 1898
Des Sapeurs-Pompiers de Paris
Fire Trucks
FRAM 1906-1911
Società Anomina
F.R.A.M, Genoa, Italy
Fritchle 1904-1917
The Fritchle Automobile and Battery Company
1904-1910,
1449-55 Clarkson St, Denver, CO
1911-1917,
1510–30 Clarkson St, Denver, CO
Oliver Parker Fritchle was
a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University
at Delaware, and Ohio State. He moved
to Colorado in 1899 to work in mining.
Fritchle started making lead
batteries of his own design. In 1903, he set up a full service carriage house
for electric cars, charging the batteries at night and delivering the cars
clean and ready every morning. In 1911 his enterprises were housed in a large
building called the “Mammoth Gardens,”
which had been a roller skating rink.
Fritchle was not impressed by
his customers cars, so he started building his own. The early chain-drive cars
were made almost entirely at the factory, even the motors, controllers, and
chain sprockets. The cars were built to order.
October 31, 1908, Fritchle
drove one of his Victorias from Lincoln Nebraska to
New York; about 1,800 miles over the chosen route, in 29 days, including 9 days
spent stopping to demonstrate the car. There were no mechanical failures; just
one blown tire and the brakes were relined.
About 300 cars were made by the end of 1913.
1904
Torpedo Race
Car, a prototype
1905 Production
began slowly, with fewer than 50 cars made by the end of 1907.
1908
Victoria Phaëton, 44” wide
seat, 80” wheelbase with 50” track, 28-cell 800 lb battery, single chain drive
to rear axle, eight speeds to 25 mph, regenerative braking, hickory reach rods,
100 mile range in third speed, painted blue, unless another color was
requested.
Coupé,
4-passenger,
64 Volts, 60-90 mile range, 84” wb, $2,800
Roadster,
4-passenger,
two under cape top +two in rear, 100” wb, 25 mph, 100 mile range at 3rd
speed, single chain drive, faux radiator, side lever steering, $2,000.
1912
Shaft
Drive, pneumatic tires
Victoria,
28 cells
Torpedo
Roadster, 28 cells
Torpedo
Touring
Coupé,
32-cells
1913
Four
models with proprietary 4-hp motors, 32-cell batteries, and bevel drive. Fritchle used
reach rods between the front and rear axles; allowing full elliptic springs all
around. Five speeds forward and three in reverse.
Roadster
4-passengers, with four doors, two bucket seats in the front and a bench in the
rear.
Runabout,
$2,400
Coupé 94”
wheelbase
Brougham,
new model, 5-passengers, 102” wb, $3,600.
Delivery,
half-ton, chain-drive
1914
Worm-gear
shaft-drive with was put in all vehicles. 32 cell 13-plate battery. Ash frame
reinforced with spring steel. Aluminum clad bodies. Full elliptic springs.
Torpedo
Roadster, 3-passengers with child seat, 96” wb, $2,400
Torpedo Touring Car 4-passenger,
104” wb, side lever steering, leather upholstery, $2,500
Colonial Coupé,
4-passenger, 96” wb, 34”x3½“ tires, patented five speed drum controller, 20 mph,
Weston 240 meter, 2,700 lbs, $3,200
Extension
Coupé 4-passengers, 88” wb, $3,000
Colonial
Brougham, 5-passengers, fore drive, 104” WB, 34”x4” tires, center
headlight and two carriage lights, 64 Volt 150 A h Fritchle
battery $220 replacement, fixed rain shield, Schwarz (Philadelphia) artillery
wheels, $3,600
Delivery
1,000 lb capacity, bevel gear shaft drive, 32 cell 160 Ah proprietary battery
weighing 900 lbs. Armored wood frame with elliptic springs and annular ball
bearings at all wheels.
At the end of 1914 there were 160 Fritchles registered in Colorado, the most of any brand of
electric car. There were 8,418 Fords, 169 Stanley Steamers, and 79 Detroit
Electrics.
1915
Torpedo Roadster,
$2,400
Torpedo
Touring Car, 4-Pass, $2,500
Extension
Coupé,
4-passenger, 88” wb, $3,000
Colonial
Coupe,
$3,200
Colonial Brougham,
$3,600
1917
Torpedo
Roadster
Torpedo
Touring Car
Coupé
Colonial
Brougham,
5-passengers, 2,800 lbs, 104” wheelbase, $3,600
1918
With
patented controller, a key lock shut off the main power, and a battery warmer
was optional.
Victoria Phaëton
Coupé,
4-Passengers
Runabout
Stanhope
Torpedo
Runabout, 2-Passengers
Roadster,
4-passengers
Commercial
Truck, 1,000 lbs.
Fulgura 1907-1909
Bergmann Elektrizitätatswerk
AG, Berlin, Germany
The works manufactured a range of electrical power
equipment; they briefly made electric vehicles.
Cars
& vans
Fuller Electric 1914
Fuller Electric Car Co, 1255 Woodward Avenue, Detroit,
MI
E.
Grand Blvd. & Russell Street, Detroit
Frank
E. Kirby, president; Rodolphus Fuller, designer
Trackless
street cars (omnibuss’), 60 passengers on two decks.
Hybrid, with 4-cylinder engine driving a dynamo, and a motor at each wheel
G
Gallia 1904-1915
La Société L’Électrique, Ste.
Paris, France
Bernard M. Dufresne and
Armand de Gantaut Biron
A
French car very similar to the Columbia outside drive Brougham, with two motors
driving the rear wheels by spur and ring gears.
1908
Landaulet body
by Kellner
Galliette a runabout with a Rothschild body
Gallia Electric 1905-1908
Gallia Electric Carriage Co, 152 W. 38th
St. N. Y. NY
Outside
drive Landaulets with twin motors at the rear wheels. Brewster made some American bodies.
They
had pressed steel frames, a 90” wheelbase, and two-motor drive by ring gears on
the rear wheels, 8 speeds, 4,000 lbs, $5,000
1907 Laudaulet
Victoria
Cab
Gault 1908-1916
Fleming Auto, 8 Dickson, Ontario, Canada.
Car
dealer Eddy Fleming; with Moffat St. Clair
1914 Series hybrid with electric brakes, electric tire
pump & electric vulcanizer. It was said to drive 10-15 miles as a pure
electric. It had a unique two cylinder two-stroke engine running at 600 rpm
driving a 5 kW generator. The 48-volt battery was carried on ether side,
outside of the frame rails. 5,000 lbs, 40 mph. It looked like a typical touring
car.
Garrard & Blumfield 1894-1896
Raglan Works, Raglan Street, Hillfields,
Coventry, Warwickshire, England.
Associated with the Raglan Anti-Friction Ball Co located in the same factory.
Several prototypes
Steel tube platform with a four-passenger body on
coil springs. 24” wheels with pneumatic tires, ball bearings throughout. The
car weighed 1,000 lbs. 13 mph.
Garret 1916-1930
Richard Garrett & Sons, England.
A maker of steam trucks, they also made some
electric trucks and trolleys
GEHA 1910-1917
Elektomobilekabrik Gibhardt
& Harborn
1917-1923
Elitwerke AG Zweigniederlassung,
Berlin, Schoneberg
GEM 1907-1909
Ste’ Generale
d’ Automobiles Electro-Mecaniques.
Pateaux,
Seine, France
General Electric (GE, GEC)
General Electric Co, Schenectady, NY
The
GE we all know was formed in 1892.
Shoe manufacturer Charles A. Coffin put together a
consortium to purchase the American
Electric Co from Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston in 1883. He later bragged
to Walter Baker & others that he had conned the partners out of the company
for a fraction of its value, perhaps he renamed the new company Thomson-Houston Electric to atone.
They then purchased the Bently-Knight Electric Railway Co, the Fort Wayne Jenney Electric Light Co, and, in 1889, the Brush Electric Co.
Also in 1889, Thomas A. Edison, under the guidance
of Samuel Insull, and Edison’s longtime investment
banker Henry Villard, formed the Edison
General Electric Company by merging and recapitalizing, with financing by Deutsch Bank and Drexel-Morgan, various Edison related companies, including, the Edison Electric Light Co, Bergman & Co,
and, later, the Sprague Electric Railway
and Motor Co.
In 1892 Coffin and J. P. Morgan led Wall Street
consolidators to make a near monopoly ($21 million in sales for the combined
companies compared with $5 million for Westinghouse)
by merging Thompson-Houston with Edison General Electric, creating the General Electric Co.
Thomson-Houston had fewer assets than Edison General Electric, but was more profitable,
as they had less research expense, and weren’t saddled by Edison’s $10 million
“worth” of stock in various regional power companies, which was not very liquid
as they produced little profit. Edison’s share of GE was diluted to 5% in common stock, with enough cash to pay off
debts and pursue his newer interests. He kept the phonograph, kinetoscope, battery, and mining companies.
Villard, who went into negotiations thinking they
were taking over Thomson-Houston, was
cashed out for $5 million. The management of the new GE was all from the Thomson-Houston
side of the merger. Only Edison’s personal secretary/manager Samuel Insull was invited to join the team, he declined and became
president of Chicago’s Commonwealth
Edison electric power company.
GE did not manufacture
electric pleasure cars, other than a few prototypes in 1897-1898 called the Lemp (after
professor Herman Lemp), the Thomson Wagonette, and a series hybrid in 1903. They did make the
motors and controllers for many electric car manufactures. Exceptions were Detroit Electric (Elwell-Parker), Rauch
& Lang (Hertner), and several that bought
their motors from Westinghouse. Other
motor makers whose product made it into electric cars included: Crocker-Wheeler, Eddy, Immisch,
Lundell, Postel-Vinay,
Riker, Roth Brothers, and Wagner.
Waverley,
Fritchle, and (early) Woods,
made their own motors. It is hard to sort out some of those who claimed a motor
as their own––as GE, Westinghouse
(and others) would make them to the clients design––from those actually made in
house by their own employees.
1903 A 4-passenger hybrid
made in conjunction with the Grant-Ferris
Co of Troy NY. Built on the GE
steam wagon platform. It had a 4-cylinder gas engine driving a dynamo, with two
electric motors driving the rear wheels, the system delivered 12 hp, 2,600 lbs.
GE planned to make a 5-ton
truck based on this prototype.
1906-1917 The General Vehicle Co, a GE subsidiary took over the Vehicle Equipment Co and became a
significant maker of electric trucks, especially of the delivery type.
As early as 1912, GE became a backer and equipment supplier for the Owen Magnetic. In late 1915, GE invested $2 million in Baker R & L, getting seats on the
board for Anson W. Burchard (VP of GE), D. C. Durland,
and Richard H. Swartout. The GE money was partly used to bring the Owen Magnetic cars into production by the company, with Raymond
Owen as VP of sales. GE made the
motor-generator-transmission for the Owen
at their Fort Wayne factory; the platforms were made at the Baker factory, and most bodies were by Raulang, as Baker Rauch & Lang’s body division
was called.
General Electric 1898-1899
General Electric Automobile Co
408 Bourse Building, N. Fourth St. Philadelphia,
PA
Shops:
2045-2047 N. Second Street
Factory
in the old Inquirer Paper Mill at
Manayunk, PA
Incorporated June 3, 1898 in Philadelphia under
the laws of West Virginia with capital stock of 2.5 million.
F. S. Pusey, president; John M. Butler, secretary
& treasurer. Other directors were John A. Brill (of J. G. Brill Co, streetcar builders), Professor W. D. Marks, Rudolph
M. Hunter & John H. Noblit. Founded to exploit
the basket of patents collected by attorney Rudolph M. Hunter. Many of the
patents were too broad to be enforceable.
Mostly,
delivery wagons were made.
1899 The vehicles
had 44 cell batteries in removable trays under the floor. The batteries were
designed to be charged outside of the cars, or in place. The battery was in
series.
Brougham, outside front drive, very similar to Columbia.
Phaeton, two passengers
G V C 1906-1917
General Vehicle Company Inc.
Originally called the Vehicle Equipment Co.
Borden & Review Avenues, Long Island City, NY
Formed
June 1, 1906 by General Electric.
$450,000 preferred and $450,000 common stock.
S. C. Mitchell, 1st VP; J. Howard
Hanson, 2nd VP; H. M. Francis, secretary & treasurer; Robert M.
A. Floyd, general manager; G. W. Wesley, Superintendent; F. F. Phillips, sales
manager.
This was GE’s
second foray into manufacturing electric trucks on Long Island. They also
bought Daimler from the Steinway
family, making a small number of trucks with Daimler's Connstatt gasoline engine, and
an electric delivery truck. Production of these was just getting rolling when a
fire destroyed the factory in 1907, after which the focus turned to the newly
acquired, and larger, GVC.
GVC became one of the top
five electric truck makers and did not make pleasure cars. Through 1916 they
owned a 1911 Baker for the executives
to drive.
1911 5
truck models from the 700 lb. load, $1,600 model, to the 5
ton $4,500 model, Under slung proprietary battery, with General Electric motors, controllers,
and meters.
Germaine 1900-
Ateliers Germain
Monceau-sur-Sambre,
Charleroi, Belgium
Mostly gasoline vehicles under license, later,
streetcars
1903 A hybrid
Die Gesellschaft für Verkehusunternechmungen
42 Unter der Linden, Berlin N. W.
1900 Break
Coupé, Outside
drive, duplex tube frame, twin motors with spur drive to the wheels, 25-mile
range.
Omnibus,
6-passengers, 2-Siemens & Halske motors, 44 Pollak
cells, 3½ tons, 10 mile range.
Wagonette,
8-passengers, 3,960 lbs, Lahmeyer motor
Gibbs Electric 1903-1905
Gibbs Engineering & Manufacturing Co,
Glendale, NY
Hybrid power wagons for mine haulage. The lead
vehicle had an engine, generator, and a pair of motors; subsequent cars each
had a pair of electric motors powered from the generator.
Gilmore Electric 1904
Gilmore Electric Co, South Boston, MA
Primarily
a motor maker
Gladiator 1896
Gladiator Cycle Co
Exhibited
at the “Salon du Cycle“ in Paris December 1896. An electric carriage with a Fulman battery,
motor mounted on drive axle, rear wheel steering.
GMC Electrics 1911-1917
General Motors Truck Company, Pontiac MI.
John M. Lansden Jr. started the electric truck and
bus department at the Rapid Truck
division of GM after Edison took over his eponymous company (see Lansden, Edison). GMC made electric trucks in nine models from ½ ton to 6 tons, with
three lengths of frame and wheelbase. 173 trucks were made in 1911 with the Rapid name, followed by 509 with the GMC badge.
Goodnow 1905
North
Main St. Natick, MA
An
electric car made by machinist James Belcher
Grazer Waggon
und Maschinenfabrik Aktien
Gest.
1909 Graz, Styria, Austria.
Streetcars
Grinnell 1911-1916
1911-1912, Phipps-Grinnell Auto Co, Detroit, MI
1912-1916, Grinnell Electric Car Co, Detroit, MI
14-16 Atwater St. Detroit (1915)
473 Woodward Avenue (1917) 1515 (current number) Woodward,
the Grinnell Building (1908, by Albert Kahn)
Ira Leonard Grinnell and Clayton A. Grinnell were
piano manufacturers with a very successful chain of music stores.
Joel Phipps came to them with an electric car
design. They took the plunge and started making cars. Within months, Phipps
left to found his own company, but the Grinnells kept
making their car with encouragement from sales manager Henry Goodman, who had
12 years of electric vehicle experience (EVC,
Waverley). Elmer W. Grinnell was manager for a time. Sydney J. Guest was
the general manager from the fall of 1912.
Ironically, Phipps’ new company was out of
business by the end of 1913 while the Grinnells made
cars until 1916.
The company was competitive in Detroit, with sales
similar to Baker, R & L, or Woods, but only 30% that of Detroit Electric.
The cars had crank up windows and used Diehl motors.
1911
Coupé, 4-passengers, Wheel steering, pedal reverse,
drive chain in oil bath
Delivery, same chassis as Coupé
1912 Continuous
torque drum controller. Reverse by foot pedal, locked out when control lever
was engaged. They came shod with solid rubber tires known as “Cleveland Spanish Rollers”
H Extension
Brougham, low slung, shaft drive. $3,000
K Coupé,
Shaft drive with chain reduction, Westinghouse motor & controller, 30 cell
15 plate USL (United States Lead) battery.
1913 “Grinnell” low speed motors and bevel
drive. 30-cell battery.
K Clear Vision
Brougham, New model, 5-passengers, 96” wb, shaft drive, $2,950.
M Brougham,
4-passengers, fore drive, 94” wb, straight shaft drive with no chains, 4.25-1
rear axle ratio, Grinnell motor, Cutler & Hammer controller, 40 cell
13 plate USL battery, 100 “ WB,
$2,800
Grinnell introduced a light delivery
truck chassis. Shaft/bevel drive, 98-inch
wheel-base.
1914 Grinnell changed to a horizontal
controller on the tiller. USL 15-plate
battery, McCue axles.
M Brougham,
4-passengers, 40 cells, 900 rpm 3.25 hp “Grinnell”
motor, $2,950
K Brougham,
5-passengers, 30 cells, Westinghouse
motor, 94” wb, $3,200
R French Brougham,
(new model), 5-passengers, no left side door, more glass, front or rear drive
with unique “unit transfer control” which swung from the front to the rear seat
(blocking where the door would be), 40 cells, 105” wb, $3,400
S Brougham,
5-passengers, 100” wb,
1915 The
cars were trimmed in blue and grey Bedford cord upholstery. The motors had a Grinnell nameplate.
S Coupé,
4-passengers facing forward, rear lever, 100” WB, $3,000
R French Brougham,
5-passengers, dual drive positions, 40-cell 17-plate Philadelphia (Philco) battery 50/50 front/rear, 105” wb, $3,400