The Studebaker Electric was a car manufactured by the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company of South Bend, Indiana , a forerunner of the Studebaker Corporation . The battery-powered cars were sold from 1902 to 1912.
8-517: Studebaker entered into the automobile manufacturing field in 1898 when Frederick S. Fish , as chairman of the executive committee, persuaded the board to supply $ 4,000, or $ 140,862 today, for the development of an electric vehicle . However, lacking the board's full support, the project yielded one car. The company did, however, enter into the field of producing bodies for electric taxis through Albert Augustus Pope ’s Electric Vehicle Company. Studebaker formally began production in earnest in 1902, and
16-489: The E-M-F Company of Detroit. E-M-F would build the entire car, which would then be distributed through Studebaker wagon dealers. Still, Studebaker continued to build electric vehicles until Fish decided to begin the process of seizing control of E-M-F in 1909, which Studebaker completed by 1910. By 1912, it became conventional wisdom that the future lay in gasoline-powered engines rather than heavy, sluggish electrics, and
24-695: The New Jersey Bar in 1876, and practised in Newark and in New York City from 1876 to 1890. He was city attorney of Newark (1880–1884), a member of the New Jersey General Assembly (1884–85) and a member of the New Jersey Senate from Essex County (1885–1887), serving as president of that body during his last term. In 1891, Fred Fish married Grace, the daughter of John Studebaker and entered
32-536: The Studebakers' wagon-making firm as a director and general counsel. In 1897, he became chairman of the executive committee. However, he was more than a lawyer—he was an aviation enthusiast, even before the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk . In 1895, he was talking about his ideas for a practical horseless carriage and, in 1897, the firm had an engineer working on a motor vehicle. He can therefore be identified as
40-496: The company chose battery-powered electric vehicles because they were clean, easily recharged, and worked well in urban centers without ever needing to visit a refueling depot ( gas stations ). Studebaker Electrics were available in a variety of body styles, many of which mimicked the bodies that the brand had long produced for its lucrative passenger carriage line. These included the Stanhope, Victoria, and Surrey. A four-passenger model
48-503: The corporation's president in 1909 and chairman of the board from 1915 to 1935. He is credited with introducing the manufacture of Studebaker cars, first electric , then gasoline-powered. His parents were the Rev. Henry Clay and Clarissa (Jones) Fish. He attended Newark Academy and entered the University of Rochester , graduating with a B.A. degree in 1873. He then studied law, was admitted to
56-534: The limited production of electric cars stopped. An official announcement from the newly re-incorporated Studebaker Corporation stated: Fred Fish (lawyer) Frederick Samuel Fish (8 February 1852 – 13 August 1936), born in Newark , was an American lawyer, politician and automotive manufacturing executive. Originally a successful corporation lawyer, he entered the Studebaker corporation through marriage and became
64-607: Was introduced in 1904. Fish realized early on that Studebaker's future did not rest in the limited electric car, but in the gasoline-powered automobile. Studebaker's field of expertise was in body building and product distribution, not engine building. This realization led to the creation of the Studebaker-Garford automobile in 1904. The joint agreement worked well until 1909-1910, when Garford attempted to divert chassis to its own brand of automobile. Studebaker, looking for an affordable car to sell, entered into an agreement with
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