1914 Rauch & Lang Electric Brougham

Originally a carriage building company, Rauch & Lang took on the agency for the Buffalo Electric car in 1903 and offered their own electric car by 1905. With the burgeoning popularity of electric cars, Rauch & Lang soon established itself as a maker of top quality machines and they proved especially popular with women thanks to the reliability and lack of hand cranking to start the engine. Despite the limitations of battery life, the range was typically between 30 and 75 miles - plenty given most people only attempted short trips in automobiles at the time and ideal for driving within city limits. The Rauch & Lang electric car was normally fitted with stately carriage-type coachwork, with sumptuous interior appointments and an upright appearance thanks to the flat roof and lack of a radiator. Production of electric cars peaked around the time of the First World War- due in part to the rise in petrol prices - then gradually declined as improvements to the internal combustion engine were made but Rauch & Lang were still managed to build 700 cars in 1919. With interest in alternative powered automobiles rising all the time, pioneering electric cars - known as "Juicers" - will become increasingly collectible.