Jay Leno's Baker Electric Car

That moustache is perfectly at home in a 110-year-old mobile phone booth.

"I have an electric car" "oh a tesla?" "no, an edison"

Baker Electrics were also popular with doctors who still made house calls. Better not to have to crank a car in the cold at night.

You're kidding me It's 110 years old. And he just got in, and off he went. That's insane!

its a blessing that mr leno not only has the money to rescue so many old vehicles but isn't frightened to drive them or show them to the public. plus he talks like a normal guy not like a 'I have it and you'll never see it' kinda guy. he explains things in laymans terms so I can understand how it works. and there is no bragging about how much its worth or how much he spent.

My mother said there was a elderly lady in her hometown that had a Baker Electric. During WWII with rationing for gas, tires, and many other things almost no one was able to drive a car... but she did, almost the only one on the road.

It's like a cross between an Amish buggy and a Smart Fortwo. Strangely enough, I want one.

That story of the lady taking her Baker electric to and from the hotel, from the 1930s to, like, 2001, is incredible! Talk about longevity...

110 years ago, we had clean compact electric cars! There's something wrong here.

My Grandmother had one of these in 1915, and used to commute to her classes at Cupertino elementary school, she taught 1st 2nd and 3rd grades. I sadly never saw the car, as it was long gone when I was born in 1942, but I saw pics of her driving it ! Thanks to guys Like Jay who lovingly restore these great machines of our past !!!

Back in the 1960's we had a lady who drove one of these to church every Sunday. She did not like to backup so we would make sure her spot was clear.

Why is no one talking about how quiet it is, this car perfect for inner cities, small, quiet no emissions.

The only electric car I'd ever consider owning. The quality of the armatures dates back to a time when armature winding was an actual trade, and they were all hand wound. My friend has an 80-year old desk fan with a hand wound motor. It is absolutely silent and vibration free, just amazing, still works perfectly. My Chinese fan from K-mart didn't even last two summers.

100 miles on a charge imagine how far you could go if the tech hadn’t stopped for a century

This electric car is quite exquisite. It's in amazing condition, has the most gorgeous interior, and would obviously be quite practical even today.

I think the car was built tall to accommodate the hats ladies wore, some of which were also tall and kept in place with hat pins, therefore they would not need to remove their hats to drive in one. Very convenient!

I'd buy one of these new today for shopping and tootling round the neighbourhood. So cool.

Dear Jay, I remember growing up and visiting my Grandparents home. The house was full of broken lamps. I never quite understood how and why there were so many of them sitting around their house. Later in life, I asked my Dad why they had so many broken lamps? My Dad told me, at the turn of the last century my Great grandmother left my Grand-dad in her Electric car while she took care of a few shopping errands in up town Dayton, Ohio. He was an antsy kid who could not sit still. He decided to take the car for a drive...You know the rest of the story: He crashed the car through the plate glass window of A Light Fixture Store... My Great Grandfather had to buy all the broken lamps. Note: Less then a decade later, my Grand-dad was in the Army teaching men how to drive Lumber trucks full of cut Spruce trees. The lumber was used to make the WW1 fighter planes. When he was not in the Army, he worked in the family Meat Packing Plant. As a young man, he made meat deliveries to the ladies in the Red-light district, Hay Market Square. His father told him to only take payment in cash...No tit for tat.

In the 1935 film 'The Bishop Misbehaves', the said Bishop and his sister have one of these cars, potentially the same make, although I understand at the time many of the electric car manufacturers used the same design, so they are difficult to identify. Watching this video made me realise that in the film it is the Bishop's sister who is driving it. Great video and thank you so much for posting it!

This car had a 100mile range in 1909! The 2009 Mitsubishi I-MiEV had a range of 45-75 miles. Wow! It’s a shame it never caught on as its more reliable and of simpler design than an internal combustion engine. An electric motor has far less parts and uses much less oil. We could’ve had EVs with 1000+ mile ranges and great “normal” styling unlike the Nissan Leaf, BMW i3 and many others. That said I love the liveliness of an internal combustion engine and they do have more character. Thanks Dennis for uploading this.