Baker Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of

Brass Era The Brass Era is an American term for the early period of automotive manufacturing, named for the prominent brass fittings used during this time for such features as lights and radiator (engine cooling), radiators. It is generally considered to ...

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...

s in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio, from 1899 to 1914. It was founded by Walter C. Baker.

History

The first Baker vehicle was a two seater with a selling price of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

850. One was sold to

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

as his first car. Edison also designed the nickel-iron batteries used in some Baker electrics. These batteries have extremely long lives .

1902 accident

In May 1902, Baker took part in a speed trial on a public road on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, New York. The vehicle was built specially for racing, having previously raced in Cleveland, and was a streamlined and enclosed 'torpedo' body with a small conning tower and even smaller

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

window for the driver. A crew of two were carried, one acting as brakesman whilst W C Baker, the driver, steered. Although carrying two people increased the weight, this was a small matter when the car already weighed , mostly of lead-zinc batteries. The intention was to exceed 60 mph and to cover 'a mile a minute' from a standing start, beating the performance of the more powerful gasoline cars and the 1901 electric record by a Riker of 1:08. The Baker was car 39 from the start and set a good time for the first part of the course, but then lost control and slid sideways into the crowd. A number of spectators were injured and two killed. In the aftermath, the Automobile Club of America resolved to stop races on public roads and there was a general loss of confidence in the safety of electric cars.

Early production

The model range was expanded in 1904 to two vehicles, both two-seaters with armored wood-frames, centrally-located electric motors, and 12-cell batteries. The Runabout had , weighed , and had a wheelbase of 58-in. The Stanhope cost US$1,600, weighed , had and three-speed transmission. It was capable of . In 1906, Baker made 800 cars, making them the largest electric vehicle maker in the world at the time. They bragged that their new factory was "the largest in the world" in advertisements. The company also made a switch from producing ''Baker Electric Carriages'' to automobiles. According to the company promotionals; "We employ the choicest materials in every detail of their construction and finish, producing vehicles which in every minute particular, cannot be equaled for thorough excellence." The 1906 Baker Landolet was priced at $4,000. The company also manufactured the Imperial, Suburban, Victoria, Surrey, Depot Carriages, and other new models "to be announced later." One of the most unusual 1906 Bakers was the Brougham with the driver on the outside, in the back. By 1907, Baker had seventeen models, the smallest being the Stanhope and the largest the Inside Drive Coupe. There was also the US$4,000 Extension Front Brougham with the driving seat high up behind the passengers mimicking a

hansom cab The hansom cab is a kind of horse-drawn carriage designed and patented in 1834 by Joseph Hansom, an architect from York. The vehicle was developed and tested by Hansom in Hinckley, Leicestershire, England. Originally called the Hansom safet ...

. Baker also introduced a range of trucks with capacity of up to five tons in 1907. In late 1910, the ''Baker Electric'' was quite luxurious and priced at $2,800. It had a seating capacity of four passengers and was painted black with choice of blue, green or maroon panels. The latest model also offered a Queen Victoria body as "interchangeable on chassis" priced at an additional $300. The Baker of 1910 was the only electric that had a heavy

series-wound motor The universal motor is a type of electric motor that can operate on either AC or DC power and uses an electromagnet as its stator to create its magnetic field. It is a commutated series-wound motor where the stator's field coils are connected ...

of 300 percent overload capacity, with a commutator "absolutely proof against sparking and burning under all conditions."

Special Baker Electrics

* A Baker Electric was part of the first

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

fleet of cars. It was driven by Helen Taft, wife of

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

, and later by Edith Bolling Wilson. * A Baker Electric was bought in 1903 by King Chulalongkorn of

Siam Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It was trimmed with ivory and gold, and upholstered with pigskin seats. * Jay Leno owns a restored 1909 Baker Electric.

Commercial vehicles

The Baker Motor-Vehicle Company, located at 63 West 80th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, specialized in vehicles for the commercial market. By October 1912, the company had a Commercial Car Department and had dealers situated in several leading cities around the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. During late 1912, Baker advertised that the average cost for deliveries over the "steep hills" of

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

, Washington, by Crescent Department Store were four cents a piece, including all operating charges, maintenance, interest and depreciation. By late 1913, the company advertised their new model as "The magnificent new Baker Coupe" and that the car was "just what the public demanded, a genuine automobile, not an electrically driven coach". That year, the car had "increased roominess, full limousine back, longer wheelbase, graceful, low-hung body lines, with both interior and exterior conveniences and appointments which have set a new mark in motor car refinement". Another new feature were revolving front seats which faced forward or "turn about". Baker Motor Vehicle Company Building

Merger

In 1913, Baker was overtaken in sales by Detroit Electric and, in 1914, merged with fellow Cleveland automaker

Rauch and Lang The Rauch & Lang Carriage Company was an American electric automobile manufactured in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1905 to 1920 and Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, from 1920 to 1932. History The Rauch & Lang Carriage Company was incorporated in 1884 ...

to become Baker, Rauch & Lang. The last Baker cars were made in 1916, but electric industrial trucks continued for a few more years. Baker, Rauch & Lang produced the

Owen Magnetic file:1920 Owen Magnetic Touring Car ad.jpg, 1920 Owen Magnetic Touring Car ad, from ''House Beautiful'' magazine The Owen Magnetic was a pioneering American brand of Hybrid electric vehicle, hybrid electric luxury automobile manufactured between 19 ...

under contract. Founder Walter C. Baker's ''Torpedo''

land speed record The land speed record (LSR) or absolute land speed record is the highest speed achieved by a person using a vehicle on land. By a 1964 agreement between the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Fédération Internationale de M ...

racer was the first car to have seat belts. The car was capable of over . Walter Baker joined the board of

Peerless Motor Company The Peerless Motor Car Company was an American automobile manufacturer that produced the Peerless brand of motorcars in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1900 to 1931. One of the "Three Ps"Packard, Peerless, and Pierce-Arrowthe company was known for buildi ...

in 1919.

In popular culture

A 1916 Baker Electric featured in a 1959 episode of

Peter Gunn ''Peter Gunn'' is an American detective fiction, private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens (actor), Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, lounge singer Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from Sept ...

entitled "Love Me to Death". A 1916 Baker Electric was also featured in a 1960 episode of Dennis the Menace.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Baker Motor Vehicle Company
Baker Electric Vehicles
(1907) - Sales catalog featuring specifications and pricing for various models at

Cleveland Public Library The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020. It operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the cit ...

.
My Classic Car Season 10 Episode 14 - Jay Leno's Baker Electric Car

Blog about Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome's Baker electric car restoration
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century 1900s cars 1910s cars Brass Era vehicles Veteran vehicles American companies established in 1899 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1899 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1914 1899 establishments in Ohio 1914 disestablishments in Ohio Defunct companies based in Cleveland 1914 mergers and acquisitions