Wires to Wheels
Wires to Wheels: Electric vehicles in canada and beyond
September 8, 2022 - August 31, 2023
An Italian physicist puts paper and acid together and makes lightning. A Dutch genius builds a motorized model. A Belgian daredevil breaks a land-speed record. A Canadian lawyer wants a slick new ride. This is the story of the electric car.
The electric car has been around for much longer than most of us realize; its roots in Canada date back to the 19th century. Discover the history of electric vehicles, from early experimenters to the electric boom years before the First World War, the dominance of gasoline in the 1940s and 50s, the alternative-energy revival of the 1970s, and the new reality of electrics on our roads.
The museum’s 1914 Galt Gas-Electric is one of the highlights of Wires to Wheels.
Explore online
Thanks to funding from Digital Museums Canada, Wires to Wheel is now available online in both languages in an accessible format.
Explore Wires to Wheels virtually through Digital Museums Canada.
Watch and Listen
Wires to Wheels is also available in seminar form, as part of the CAM’s Third Thursday Talks series. Click the links below to listen to these virtual seminars on the Museum’s Youtube page.
Share your stories and photos
A key fob for Rauch & Lang electric cars.
Did you or a family member build, own or operate an electric vehicle? Share your family stories and photographs with the Canadian Automotive Museum to help us tell the story of electric vehicles in Canada. Stories and images can be emailed to ddepencier@canadianautomotivemuseum.com.
In particular we are looking for:
Images of Canadian-owned and operated electric vehicles from 1900-1939.
Stories of personal projects building or converting electric cars.
Memories of first drives in hybrid or electric cars. Why did you try one? What convinced you to switch to electric?