Baker Electric

Founded in Cleveland in 1899 by Walter C. Baker, the Baker Motor Vehicle Company became one of the leading makers of electric cars in the United States in the early 20th century.

At a time when petrol cars were noisy, smelly and had to be cranked by hand, the Baker Electric won people over with its silence, cleanliness and ease of use. Its batteries gave it enough range for town driving, and its elegant, often closed bodies made it the car of urban high society. Thomas Edison himself owned one. In 1902, a streamlined racing version, the Baker Torpedo, was one of the first vehicles with studied aerodynamics.

The arrival of the electric starter on petrol cars in 1912, followed by the falling price of the Ford Model T, doomed electric cars. Baker merged with Rauch & Lang in 1915. It would be nearly a century before electric cars made their big comeback.