1912 Baker Electric Model W Runabout
The Baker Motor Vehicle Company of Cleveland, Ohio was, by 1906, one of the largest electric vehicle manufacturers in the world.
Founded in 1899, Baker built its reputation on engineering advancements such as shaft drive and the use of ball bearings and bevel gears in its driveline, features that helped distinguish the marque in the early American electric car market. Thomas Edison was associated with Baker and owned Baker electrics during the brass era.
The Model W Runabout was the entry point of Baker’s 1912 lineup and the most overtly automotive in character, designed to appeal to what the company called “professional and business men,” with a conventional steering wheel and an open body that set it apart from Baker’s more carriage-like enclosed models.
Period examples used a 72-volt electrical system (typically twelve 6-volt batteries) and rode on approximately an 80-inch wheelbase with leaf spring suspension and rear-wheel brakes. Top speed was in the range of 20 to 25 mph.
Baker merged with fellow Cleveland manufacturer Rauch and Lang in 1914, forming Baker, Rauch & Lang. Baker-branded cars continued for a short time thereafter before the name was phased out, as the proliferation of the electric starter and improvements in gasoline automobiles tipped the market decisively toward internal combustion power.
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