An electric tourist wagon prowled Toronto in 1903
We all know that electric vehicles are nothing new. Battery-powered vehicles began appearing not long after Karl Benz drove out of the garage in his first MotorWagen in the mid-1880s. The crew over at Hemmings Auto Blogs stumbled across this example in an issue of "The Canadian Magazine" from 1903. Apparently this electric drag was used to ferry sight-seeing tourists around Toronto around the turn of the last century. No other details are known but this vehicle probably didn't go very fast - probably a very good thing considering the rather high center of gravity and absence of any visible structure to keep the passengers within the vehicle. It was the style of EVs back then, as you can see in the gallery below.
Gallery: LA 2007: Lohner-Porsche
[Source: Hemmings Auto Blogs]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Woodenbee 10:40AM (12/31/2008)
Are those in hub motors on the Lohner-Porsche? that's amazing,
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Avinash machado 11:08AM (12/31/2008)
This would be a show stealer at a vintage car show.
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Throwback 12:36PM (12/31/2008)
Woodenbee said...
Are those in hub motors on the Lohner-Porsche? that's amazing,
Yes they are. Ferry Porsche was one of the greatest automotive engineers who ever lived.
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MetroMPG.com 5:23PM (1/03/2009)
I'll see your 1903 electric tourist bus and raise (lower?) you 2 years. Here's a photo of my friend's mother in a 1901 electric bus (with swastika logo), this one in NYC:
http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/family-friends-1901-pic-nyc-hotel-bartholdi-20-a-4540.html
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