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Baker Electric 1899-1916 - safe electric motors

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Created in 2008

Text:

Roger Gloor

Photos:

Bruno von Rotz

Gabor Mayer - Courtesy RM Auctions

Bruno von Rotz

Gabor Mayer - Courtesy RM Auctions

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Baker Electric Model V Victoria (1908) - as lot 178 at the RM Auction Hershey on October 9/10, 2014

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Baker Electric Victora Roadster (1908) - in the Transport Center of the Deutsches Museum

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Summary

There have been around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of which have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Baker Electric, which was the market leader in the US electric car market. Walter C. Baker, the man behind the brand, promoted his vehicles by driving record-breaking race models and he always believed that electric motors were safer than the dangerous combustion or steam engines.

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

On the eve of the rebirth of the electric car, it is worth taking a look back at the early days of the automobile. While today a distinction is made between petrol and diesel engines and, at best, hybrid drives, a century ago three fundamentally different drive principles competed for the favor of car buyers: combustion engines, steam engines and electric motors. One of the adepts of the electric drive was engineer Walter C. Baker, who founded the Baker Motor Vehicle Company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1899. He was assisted by the White brothers, who turned their attention to the manufacture of steam-powered automobiles the following year.

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