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Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles Hosts 2nd Annual Electric Vehicle Show

by Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles

Jul 12, 2022

Due to popular demand, the Boyertown Museum will host its second annual electric vehicle show on Sunday, July 17 from 10am-2pm. A “Current” EVent II will feature examples of electric vehicles covering more than 100 years of history in the Boyertown Museum parking lot. Several vehicles from the Museum’s own collection will be featured. The Museum’s 1981 Volkswagen Rabbit, which proved extremely popular at last year’s show, will be back on display July 17. The Rabbit, built at Pennsylvania’s Westmoreland Volkswagen factory, was converted to electric by South Coast Technology of California (SCT). SCT contracted with the Battronic Division of Boyertown Auto Body Works to perform the electric conversion on over 100 Rabbits. The Boyertown Museum is housed in one of the former Boyertown Auto Body Works factory buildings. Also, the Museum will be exhibiting its 1993 Ford EcoStar, which has not been on display in over ten years. The Ford EcoStar was an experimental electric vehicle utilizing sodium-sulfur battery technology. Ford only built about 100 EcoStars, making this a very rare example.

Also on display for A “Current” EVent will be several ‘guest’ EVs, including a 1914 Detroit, a 1903 Baker Torpedo Kid Tribute Replica, two 1920s Auto Red Bugs, and a 1902 Studebaker Electric Delivery Carriage Replica. We want to thank the generous owners of these electrics—Ira Pital, Robert LaRavie, Tobey Ross, Jed Rappoport, and William Eggers—for lending their vehicles for this event. We are also excited to feature a 1895 Electrobat built in Philadelphia by Henry G. Morris and Pedro Salom. This car is believed to be the oldest still-running electric vehicle in the United States. We are extremely grateful to our friends at America on Wheels in Allentown, PA for making the display of this amazing vehicle possible.

Modern-day electric vehicles will also be on display. The Tesla Owners Club of Pennsylvania will be bringing more than 20 Teslas for the event. We also welcome a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach E Premium AWD Extended Range, as well as a 2018 Nissan Leaf. Other modern-day electrics and hybrids may also be on display.

We are thrilled to welcome back our friends at Entropy Racing of Sacramento, PA with their Electric Vehicle Sports Racers (EVSR)—fully electric race cars that have raced at tracks up and down the East Coast. Entropy Racing’s chief engineer Charlie Greenhaus will be presenting information about their race cars as well as performing battery swap demonstrations at 11:15am and 1:30pm. Other presentations during the event include “The Past and Future of Electric Vehicles” at 10:30am by board member and automotive historian Sam Fiorani, as well as “PA Volkswagens and BABW Conversions” at 12:30 by Sam Fiorani and Bob Dare, also a board member and former manager of engineering for Battronic Division of Boyertown Auto Body Works.

Food will be available for purchase from CD’s Place Catering and Eatery and Mister Softee. A “Current” EVent is free to attend. The Museum will be open for visitors at regular admission prices. Included with Museum admission that day will be blacksmithing demonstrations in our 1872 Jeremiah Sweinhart Carriage Factory. The Boyertown Museum also has several other electric vehicles on display in the Museum gallery, including a 1912 Commercial Truck Company flatbed used by Curtis Publishing of Philadelphia and a 1924 Walker Electric truck, among others.

A ”Current” EVent II is made possible through the generous support of the James K. & Nancy Lang Boyer Family Fund of the Berks County Community Foundation.

The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1965 by Paul and Erminie Hafer. The Museum, located at 85 South Walnut Street in Boyertown, Pennsylvania, preserves and displays examples of Pennsylvania’s road transportation history in the former factory buildings of the Boyertown Auto Body Works. Over ninety locally manufactured cars, trucks, carriages, bicycles, and motorcycles are on display, as well as two examples of roadside architecture–a 1921 cottage style Sunoco gas station and a 1938 Jerry O’Mahony diner. The Museum is open seven days a week, 9:30am-4pm. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and AAA members, and ages 15 & under are free. For more information, call 610-367-2090 or visit www.boyertownmuseum.org.

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