Ohio Electric Car Company

Ohio Electric Car Company was a brass era electric car company founded in 1909 in Toledo, Ohio.

History

James Brown Bell, Henry P. Dodge, Rathbun Fuller, Robert E. Lee and Henry E. Marvin founded the company in September 1909. The company was based in Toledo, Ohio. In 1910 the production of automobiles began. The brand name was Ohio. Initially part of the Milburn Wagon Company facility was used before moving OECC to its own facility in 1911.
Twelve vehicles were built in 1910, 300 in 1915 and 650 the following year. In 1915 M.V. Barbour became the president, C.M. Foster the vice president and general manager, and Herman H. Brand the secretary and treasurer. In 1917 George W. Shaw became the president. At that time business was already declining, so half of the company activities consisted of building bodies for other car manufacturers.
The production ended in 1918.
There is no connection to the Ohio Motor Car Company, which used the same brand name from 1909 to 1912.

Vehicles

Ohio Electric offered only electric cars, emphasising in the ads how they were particularly easy to drive. Their cars were steered with a steering lever that could be operated from both the front seat and the back seat. Ohio Electric also emphasised their patents on the double drive and magnetic control, as well as their usage of magnetic brake. The electric motors came from Crocker-Wheeler.
In 1910 there was only one model called the Shaft Drive. This is the only indication of cardan drive in Ohio Electric, otherwise chain drive is not mentioned for any model.