Woods Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

s in

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, between 1899 and 1916. In 1915 they produced the Dual Power (U.S. Patent # 1244045) with both electric and internal combustion engines which continued until 1918. The company was started by

Clinton Edgar Woods Clinton Edgar Woods (February 7, 1863 - 1930) was an electrical and mechanical engineer, inventor, manufacturer of automobiles in Chicago and New York City.Sophia Smith (1903) ''Mack genealogy. The descendants of John Mack of Lyme, Conn., with a ...

who literally "wrote the first book on electric vehicles." Woods' Motor Electric Vehicle Exhibit from the May 1899 Electric Show at Madison Square Gardens

Woods' Motor Electric Vehicle Exhibit from the May 1899 Electric Show at Madison Square Gardens

The 1904 ''Woods Stanhope'' was a stanhope model. It could seat 2 passengers and sold for

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

1800. Twin electric motors, situated at the rear of the car, produced 2.5 hp (1.9 kW) each. The car weighed 2650 lb (1202 kg) with a 40 cell battery. The 1904 ''Woods Victoria'' was a

carriage A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping an ...

-styled model. It could seat 2 passengers and sold for

1900. The same twin electric motors as the Stanhope were used, though a 4-speed

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

was fitted. The car weighed . 40 batteries were also used, with an top speed.

Founding

The Woods Motor Vehicle Company was founded on the 28th of September 1899 with a capitalization of $10,000,000. It was incorporated under the laws of New Jersey. It assumed the patents of the Fischer Equipment Company of Chicago and a factory at 110-120 East Twentieth St., Chicago with plans to upgrade another facility at 547 Wabash Avenue in Chicago for another factory. Frederick Nichols of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada, was installed as the first president and C.E. Woods was installed as one of the company's directors.

Early hybrid

At $2,700, The Dual Power Model 44 Coupe of 1911 to 1918 had a 4-cylinder internal combustion engine as well as electric power. Below the car was electric powered and above it the conventional engine took over to take the vehicle to a maximum of around . It is today considered a historic

hybrid electric vehicle 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 intende ...

. Some sources wrongly state that the Woods Dual Power car manufactured by the

Woods Motor Vehicle Woods Motor Vehicle Company was an American manufacturer of electric automobiles in Chicago, Illinois, between 1899 and 1916. In 1915 they produced the Dual Power (U.S. Patent # 1244045) with both electric and internal combustion engines which c ...

Company in Chicago also used the Entz transmission. The Woods Dual Power had a drive-train based on Roland Fend's U.S. patent number 1,303,870, using a clutch between the gas engine and the electric motor, allowing the engine to also drive the car through the armature shaft of the motor, which itself was connected to the driveshaft. The Woods car was similar in many ways to today’s hybrids. It used both a gasoline engine and an electric motor to propel the wheels, had regenerative braking to recharge the batteries and in some circumstances the car could charge the batteries while running on gasoline.

Patents

* : ''Automobile'' (dual propulsion units)

References

* ''Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly'' (January, 1904) Veteran vehicles Brass Era vehicles Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Illinois Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Defunct brands {{Veteran-auto-stub Highwheeler 1900s cars 1910s cars

Founding

Early hybrid

Patents

See also

Other Early Electric Vehicles

References