1911 Rauch & Lang Electric Roadster
This car was originally owned and driven by Elizabeth Cunningham, mother of famed America’s Cup yachtsman and race car driver Briggs Cunningham Jr. It is a rare surviving example of an unrestored Rauch & Lang Roadster.
An advertising slogan was Noiseless - - Odorless - - Clean. Electric cars quickly deemed appropriate for women to drive and were seen on Bellevue Avenue in Newport on afternoon promenades. It was a new freedom, without the fuss of preparing a horse drawn carriage.
“The Car That’s Safe - Any woman can run the car safely. All the power and a strong brake are controlled through one simple lever. The car can’t possibly start ‘til this lever is first in the neutral position. Yet all the power can be shut off instantly with the lever in any position. The car is proof against carelessness on the part of the operator.”
The Rauch & Lang Electric were advertised as the handsomest coupe on the market — "as cozy and luxurious as any woman would have it — as able and efficient as any man would demand it to be." Advertisers spun pent-up demand to imply social prestige, being one of those lucky enough to purchase one of the 1,200 cars made that year. Described as “The highest priced automobile on the market. Its value is readily apparent to those who seek in a car artistic and mechanical perfection." And, “Rauch & Lang Electrics are so easily controlled a child can run one with perfect safety.”
“In the beauty of finish and luxury of appointments, they are the ne plus ultra of carriage makers’ art. All points of mechanical excellence including SAFETY LOCKING DEVICE and ELECTRIC BRAKE CONTROL are fully patented and used exclusively on RAUCH & LANG CARS.”
Electrics cars comprised over 1/3 of the car market in these early days, equaling sales of gasoline and steam powered cars. In 1911 the electric roadster cost $2250, when a Ford Model T Runabout cost $900.
