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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
I'm D.J. Rasmussen, O.K.s friend since junior high, possibly your neighbor & this websites maintainer, whom strives to get each episode's show notes written, the transcript proofed and the audio posted to the internet within a few hours of that days KMMR air time. NOTE: recently been publishing most new releases by 4:30PM.
Thanks for visiting and I hope you enjoy the time we can spend together.
Wanna again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, new week, get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. What are your plans for the week to come? Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat $6.03 a bushel, 550lb steer calf $5.05 a pound, and a 100lb fat lamb in Billings at $2.91. But, guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:It's Jay and Joe's Motor Monday, so listen up. In the year 1902 while most Americans still trusted horses more than engines, the old wagon builders at Studebaker quietly stepped into the future, not with gasoline, with electricity.
OK Solberg:The company had already become famous for wagons and carriages. Presidents rode in Studebaker's. Settlers crossed rough country in Studebaker wagons. Soldiers used them in war. So when the automotive age began to stir, the company faced a question every carriage maker feared. So what replaces the horse?
OK Solberg:Many companies rush towards gasoline, but early gasoline cars were loud, smoky, dirty, and listen, dangerous to start. Ever see somebody cranking one of those? Have a lady try that. Have Thea, 98lbs. Drivers often broke wrists while hand cranking engines.
OK Solberg:Think about if mama wanted to go on her own. Fuel stations scarcely existed, roads were poor, reliability was uncertain, electric cars however seemed civilized. And so in 1902 Studebaker formally entered automobile production with electric vehicles. They were quiet. They did not require hand cranking.
OK Solberg:They started instantly. City people loved the simplicity. Women especially were targeted in advertising because the cars were easier to operate than gasoline machines of the day. The earliest models resembled elegant horse drawn carriages without the horses, but they were expensive. They were.
OK Solberg:A 1905 Studebaker electric car sold for roughly $1,650 all the way up to $2,200 depending on the model and equipment. Larger luxury versions reached as high as 3,500 by 1906. At a time when the average American worker might earn only a few $100 a year, these premiums were out of reach. Still buyers appreciated what the car could do. Most Studebaker electrics traveled about 30 to 50 miles on a charge.
OK Solberg:Good enough in town. Top speeds usually range from 12 to 20 miles an hour. That sounds painfully slow today, but in crowded city streets filled with horses, wagons, mud, and pedestrians, it was a perfect acceptable mode of transportation. Charging was primitive by modern standards. Owners plugged the cars into electrical service using a long cord.
OK Solberg:Lead acid batteries supplied the power, and those batteries, well, they were extremely heavy. That weight, limited range, and performance. Yet for wealthy urban families making short trips around town, the car worked surprisingly well. And for a time, electric automobiles were not oddities at all. Around the turn of the century, electric cars competed seriously against steam and gasoline automobiles.
OK Solberg:In many cities, they were considered the refined choice, quiet, clean, reliable. Studebaker produced electric cars from 1902 until 1912. During that decade, historians estimate the company built approximately 1,841 electric vehicles. But the world changed quickly. Gasoline technology improved at astonishing rates.
OK Solberg:Roads expanded beyond city centers. Drivers wanted greater range and well higher speed of course. Then came one invention that badly wounded the electric car and that was the electric starter for gasoline engines. When gasoline cars no longer required dangerous hand cranking one of the electric cars greatest advantages had just disappeared overnight. At the same time, gasoline become easier to obtain while batteries remained heavy, slow, and limited range.
OK Solberg:By 1912 Studebaker management concluded that gasoline engines represented the future of the automobile industry. The company officially ended electric car production after 9 years. One company statement admitted the superiority of the gasoline car had become apparent and so one of America's earliest electric car pioneers quietly walked away from electricity more than a century ago.
OK Solberg:Long before Tesla, long before charging stations, long before modern lithium batteries. But when roads were dirt, headlights were dim, and horses still outnumbered automobiles in most towns, Studebaker had already built an electric car. And now you know the best of the story.
OK Solberg:A bible verse to fit the bill from Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the iron is blunt and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed. Studebaker had wisdom and it helped them succeed for a long long while just like it says in Ecclesiastes 10 verse 10.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.