CHAPTER SEVENHenney's Kilowatt and GM's EV1: Ahead of Their Time
The next chapter in the history of EVs (electric vehicles) opens nearly half a century after the early EVs succumbed to cars with internal combustion engines (ICEs). In 1959, the Henney Kilowatt was introduced as “The New Electric Powered Automobile.” The Kilowatt was the brainchild of American businessman C. Russell Feldmann (1898–1973). Feldmann's first company, the Winton Engine Company, eventually became the Diesel Engine Division of General Motors. Feldmann had been president of the Eureka Williams Company and the National Union Electric Company, a producer of automobile radios.
Eureka Williams started out as the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company in 1909. In 1945, it merged with the Williams Oil-O-Matic Company, a manufacturer of oil-based refrigerators and heaters for home use. The name of the company was then changed to Eureka Williams. The company expanded its product line to include school furniture, air conditioners, and heaters. The Henney Motor Company, located in Freeport, Illinois, purchased Eureka Williams in 1953. It subsequently became a division of the National Union Electric Corporation in 1959.
To design the body of the Kilowatt, Feldmann used the coachwork division of the Henney Motor Company, located in Canastota, New York. It turns out Henney was a long-time coach maker, having been in the business since 1868. It was affiliated with Ford Motor Company and the Packard Automobile Company, having ...