For Sale: A 1917 Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric Car from Cleveland, Ohio

This is a 1917 Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric, it is an electric car from the early days of the automobile, at a time when there were electric, petrol and steam powered cars all in production and competing to become the common standard.

Ultimately, gasoline cars would win out because they combine affordability with the ability to travel long distances. That said, many prefer electric cars because of their quiet operation, reliability, and the fact that they don’t leak oil or emit smoke.

Highlights – The Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric

• Rauch & Lang’s 1917 JX7 Electric represents an era when electric, gasoline, and steam-powered cars vied for dominance. Electric cars were favored for their quiet operation, reliability, and cleanliness, but gasoline-powered vehicles ultimately prevailed due to their affordability and long-distance capabilities.
• Rauch & Lang, founded in 1884 as a transportation company, switched to electric vehicles in 1903. They gained popularity, especially among women who preferred them to hand-cranked gasoline cars. The company merged with Baker Motor Vehicle Company in 1915 to form Baker R & L Company.
• Despite producing over 700 electric automobiles per year by 1919, Rauch & Lang faced declining sales as gasoline-powered cars with electric starters became more widespread. The company was acquired by Stevens-Duryea in 1920, produced both electric and gasoline-powered taxis, and ceased operations during the Great Depression.
• The restored 1917 Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric features new batteries, a black exterior, white cloth interior, and unique seating with a bench seat in the back and a swiveling captain’s chair in the front. It is controlled by foot pedals, a side lever, and a black folding tiller for steering.

Rauch & Lang – Pioneers of the electric vehicle

Jacob Rauch and Charles E. J. Lang founded the Rauch & Lang Carriage Company in 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio. The company initially produced horse-drawn carriages and quickly gained a reputation for quality workmanship, with correspondingly higher prices.

The company began experimenting with horseless carriages in 1903, the early years of the automobile, and opted for electric propulsion rather than gasoline or steam. At that time, electric starters for gasoline-powered automobiles were not widely available, so owners of gasoline-powered automobiles had to crank their engines by hand to start them.

This requirement for hand-driving meant that many women avoided driving themselves and generally preferred electric cars when it simply wasn’t a requirement.

With the growing popularity of the automobile, Rauch & Lang’s transportation business began to decline while their car sales increased year by year.

The writing was on the wall, and in 1907 they purchased the Hertner Electric Company to acquire their electric motors and controllers, and to bring on board the company’s founder, John H. Hertner, as the new chief engineer.

The Great War and the merger

By 1908, Rauch & Lang was producing over 500 automobiles per year in a wide range of models. The company continued to grow until the outbreak of World War I, which saw automobile sales begin to slow. They merged with their former rivals, the Baker Motor Vehicle Company, and together the two companies were renamed the Baker R & L Company.

By 1919, the Baker R & L Company was producing over 700 electric automobiles per year. However, sales of gasoline-powered automobiles had begun to far outstrip those of electric and steam-powered cars, largely due to the increasing use of electric starters that made them easier to use.

So it would be the electric motor, even if it was a small starter, that would be the catalyst for the downfall of the first electric cars.

In 1902, the Stevens-Duryea Company of Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, purchased the Baker R & L Company, renamed it Rauch & Lang, Inc., and moved it to a new plant in Chicopee Falls. The new company built gasoline and electric taxicabs until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed forced it out of business.

Interestingly, in 1929, shortly before the company closed, Rauch & Lang engineers were working with a team of General Electric engineers on an experimental 60-hp gasoline-electric hybrid automobile.

Rauch & Lang’s 1917 JX7 Electric

The car you see here is a restored 1917 Rauch & Lang JX7 Electric that now benefits from the installation of seven new batteries, four in the front and three in the rear to maintain the correct weight distribution.

This Rauch & Lang is finished in black over a white cloth interior. The seating arrangement is unusual: a sofa-style bench seat in the rear and a swivel captain’s chair in the front. The driver sits on the left-hand side bench seat and his controls include two pedals and a side lever, with a black folding tiller for steering.

This car is scheduled to go up for auction at Worldwide Auctioneers at the end of August. If you’d like to learn more or register to bid, you can check out the listing here.

Images courtesy of Worldwide Auctioneers

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