The Rauch & Lang Carriage Company was an American

electric automobile An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more Traction motor, electric motors, using only energy stored in Electric vehicle battery, batteries. Compared to internal combustion engi ...

manufactured in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Ohio, from 1905 to 1920 and

Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. ...

, from 1920-1932.

History

The Rauch & Lang Carriage Company was incorporated in 1884, by Jacob Rauch and Charles E. J. Lang. Producing some of the best known and expensive carriages in Cleveland. The company entered the automotive business in 1903 by taking on the agency for the Buffalo Electric, and in 1905 offered an electric stanhope of its own manufacture.

Electric Motor Cars

50 stanhopes,

coupes A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

and depot wagons were built in the first year. In 1907 Rauch & Lang bought out the Hertner Electric Company who supplied Rauch & Lang motors and controllers; John H. Hertner became chief engineer for the Rauch & Lang automobile department. From 1907 the company made all parts of its car in its own factory. Production increased annually, but In 1911 Rauch & Lang had endured being sued by the Baker Motor Vehicle Company for infringement of patent relating to the mounting of rear springs.

Merger with Baker Electric

With declining electric car sales nationwide, by 1915 the two firms decided to merge. The Baker R. & L. Company was the result, though the firm became more popularly known as Baker-Raulang as did the cars. The Baker name continued only through 1916. Electric cars were available in several body styles, including some with four doors, which was unusual for an electric. A choice of front or back-seat steering was available. The Owen Magnetic was produced in the Baker R & L Company plants from 1916 to 1919. During 1919 a total of 700 Rauch & Lang electrics were built and the company entered automobile coach-building as Raulang Body Division of the Baker R & L Company. Another department was set-up to produce electric industrial trucks.

Chicopee Falls

In January 1920, Ray S. Deering, the president of the Stevens-Duryea Company of Chicopee Falls. Massachusetts announced that he had bought out the electric passenger car business of Baker R & L which he reorganized as Rauch & Lang, Inc. A new factory built next to the Stevens-Duryea plant in Chicopee Falls was occupied by Rauch & Lang. In 1922, Rauch & Lang, Inc. entered the

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...

field, with production of both electric and gasoline versions marketed under the initials of R & L. From 1923, taxicab production was the mainstay of the Rauch & Lang production. The electric taxi did not sell nearly as well, and the electric passenger cars were produced only in handfuls. From 1924 Rauch & Lang, Inc. was in financial trouble. An extension of time was granted, and the firm struggled on for a while longer. Late in 1928 half of the Rauch & Lang factory was leased to Moth Aircraft Corporation, and passenger car production ceased later that year.

Fate

Shortly before the 1929 Wall Street crash, an experimental 60 hp

gas-electric A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that combines a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) system with an electric propulsion system (hybrid vehicle drivetrain). The presence of the electric powertrain is intended ...

was built at Rauch & Lang in collaboration with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

engineers. It was sold to Colonel E. H. R. Green, son of multi-millionaire

Hetty Green Hetty Green (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916), nicknamed the Witch of Wall Street, was an American businesswoman and financier known as "the richest woman in America" during the Gilded Age. She was named by the '' Guinness Book of World Reco ...

. The stock market crash later that fall precluded any possible plans of production, but the third hybrid built in 1930 is extant. The company continued sporadic production of taxicab and coachwork into 1932.

Gallery

File:Red Brougham Profile view.jpg, 1890s Rauch & Lang Brougham File:Rauch & Lang Carriage Company advertisement, Theatre magazine, Jan 1911.jpg, Rauch & Lang Carriage Company advertisement, Theatre magazine, Jan 1911 File:Rauch & Lang 1912-1914 (4).JPG, 1912-1914 Rauch & Lang in a Salzburg Austria museum File:The Rauch & Lang Carriage Company, May 1913.jpg, Rauch & Lang advertisement - American Homes & Gardens magazine May, 1913 File:1916 Rauch and Lang.jpg, 1916 Rauch & Lang at

Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum is a transportation museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is part of the Western Reserve Historical Society's Cleveland History Center in University Circle, and its collection includes about 170 cars. It ...

File:1916 Owen Magnetic.jpg, 1916 Owen Magnetic, coachwork and assembled by Baker R & L Co. File:1922 Rauch and Lang Electric.jpg, 1922 Rauch & Lang Electric File:1930 Ruxton Model C Rauch & Lang Phaeton (3828638567).jpg, 1930 Rauch & Lang coachwork - Ruxton Phaeton

References

External links

Rauch & Lang at ConceptCarz

Secondhandgarage.com: Rauch and Lang company history

Ghostsofdc.org: What Happened to the Electric Car? Buy a Rauch & Lang Coupe (1909)
* * {{commons category, Rauch and Lang vehicles Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Historic American Engineering Record in Ohio Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Ohio Manufacturing companies based in Cleveland Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Massachusetts American companies established in 1905 Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1905 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1920 1905 establishments in Ohio 1920 disestablishments in Ohio Defunct companies based in Ohio Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States Electric vehicles Coachbuilders of the United States 1900s cars 1910s cars 1920s cars 1930s cars Brass Era vehicles Vintage vehicles Pre-war vehicles Cars introduced in 1905