Andrew Lawrence Riker (1868–1930[1][2]) was an early automobile designer known for helping the U.S. car industry to transition from electric to gas-powered car manufacturing.[3] He began experimenting with electric vehicles in 1884. He formed the Riker Electric Motor Company in 1888 to make electric motors, and a year later formed the Riker Motor Vehicle Company in Elizabeth, New Jersey. (advertised as "Elizabethport".) The company was absorbed by the Electric Vehicle Company in 1901.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Providence_Horseless_Carriage_Race_1896.jpg/150px-Providence_Horseless_Carriage_Race_1896.jpg)
Riker was hired afterwards by Locomobile for their ICE development.
Riker was a Co-Founder of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1905 and served as the first president for three years.[1]
Wins
edit- 1896: Rhode Island State Fair (Providence, 7–11 sept.)
- 1900: Springfield-Babylon-Springfield (14 apr.)
References
edit- ^ a b "SAE International: Andrew L. Riker, SAE's First President". Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2007.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution: America On The Move: Riker electric automobile
- ^ Evans, Steve (22 June 2018). "Impeccably refined Locomobile". The Classic Cars.com Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
Further reading
edit- James J. Flink. The Automobile Age. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1988.
- Smithsonian Institution: America On The Move: Riker electric automobile
- A.L. Riker Photos and articles about the early years of the Riker Electric Vehicles