American car manufacturers, indeed most car companies worldwide are exploring new ways to make a fuel efficient, cost effective electric or hybrid electric car. This 21st century cutting edge technology isn’t new. In fact, it’s been used effectively off and on for the last 130 years, with very few changes. Instead of trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel, they might take a look back to the 1800’s. That’s right, the late 1880’s saw the first commercial use of electric vehicles, and electric cars and trucks were used extensively during the late 19th and early 20th century! And like the not so distant past, cheap gas brought about their demise. The gas rationing during World War II brought a resurgence of manufactured electric vehicles, but after the war was over, and cheap gas became readily available again, the electric car again faded into obscurity. Like so many other American innovations and technologies, the Pennsylvania Dutch were right at the forefront of its development.

The Boyertown Auto Body Works produced Boyertown Built Electric vehicles, better known as Battronic Truck Company. Boyertown Electric Bus, Himmelsberger Carriage Works, The Hahn Motor Company of Hamburg, and the Commercial Truck Co of Philadelphia were some of the Pennsylvania auto manufacturers producing electric vehicles during the early years. Detroit wasn’t far behind; The Detroit Electric Car

Company was producing and selling its own version of the electric car. Its 1020 model went 80 miles between charges, and was roomy and comfortable. The Commercial Truck Company of Philadelphia had a hard time keeping up with its orders in 1915. They were producing a 28,000 pound, heavy duty truck, with the highest torque, most powerful motor of any vehicle made at the time. Many of the turn of the century electric vehicles were elegant passenger cars, stylishly copied after the fancy Victorian horse-drawn coaches that were so much the vogue among the wealthier society. These were much favored by fashionable ladies… they didn’t smoke or backfire, and they didn’t require cranking the motor over to get them to start. They were clean and simple… no clutch to break, no fuel problems or fiddling with the timing… just push on the throttle and go… in clean, quiet comfort. In fact, Thomas Edison gave Henry Ford’s wife a present of an Electric car. Any lady would rather ride in an elegant Electric Car than in her husband’s rather crude economy car, the Ford Model T.

World War II forced gas rationing upon the American people at home, and yet they still had to travel and do business. Horses and wagons were brought back onto the scene, but once again, so were the electric cars and trucks. In Pennsylvania, the Hahn Motor Company brought out a line of electric vehicles that could travel most of the day at almost 30 miles an hour. This was perfect for the merchant or family of the 1940’s. The Electric Bus of Boyertown, developed an electric bus that could comfortably carry 30 people. This was very popular in cities on the east coast and, in many areas, stayed in use until recent times.

So, what happened to electric powered cars? Several different times in our history electric vehicles were well on the way to becoming a mainstay of the American landscape, but cheap gas and oil prices made the electric vehicles less desirable, and interest in them waned... Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? What would they look like today if we had kept that course? What if the electric car that Thomas Edison gifted to Henry Ford’s wife had been the prototype for the popular Ford Model T? Well, we can’t answer those questions but, at the Kutztown Folk Festival, you will have an opportunity to view many early Electric Vehicles and ask questions of the vehicle historians of the Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles. The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles has one of the largest collections of antique electric vehicles in the country, as well as including a solar powered motorcycle and a prototype electric car built in the 1980’s that will rival the most contemporary gasoline vehicle on acceleration, speed and economy. These vehicles will all be on display at the Kutztown Folk Festival.