I'm very interested if anyone knows more about the car in the pic. I can't find anything about a Baltimore Motor Company. There was a Lord Baltimore motor company, but they were only in business for one year, 1913, and this car looks newer than that. anyone got anything?

[The car is a circa 1920 Packard. - Dave]

Does anybody know any history about Baltimore brand automobiles? I have information that there were about 3 different companies incorporated to build Baltimore cars from about 1899 to 1906 but it indicates that none of them were successful. I would like to learn what years these cars were built.

You can scoff all you want, but trolleys and streetcars used a similar device for over thirty years. I guess a couple of broken ankles beat getting ground up under the wheels.

Soylent Green is People!!!

"Catch" cows, they were angled to plow them off to the side of the tracks and clear the path of the train. I'm thinking that design would have been a better option here.

Obviously this is for pedestrians who are already in a seated position in the middle of road, and are jollily bouncing across an intersection. Although I guess technically they wouldn't be pedestrians then.

Looks like it would make the car difficult to start, too. Note the crank behind this contraption.

[Most cars of this vintage had electric starters as well as cranks, for use if the battery was dead. - Dave]

would be a six-inch steel spike pointing straight out from the center of the steering wheel.

I agree. This doesn't look safe whatsoever. It wouldn't even make a decent snowplow! But I applaud the auto company for at least trying to make a safety feature.

I remember reading about these. They were meant to function the same way as a cow catcher does on the front of train locomotive. Unfortunately, they had a tendency to break the pedestrian's legs and ankles at speeds above 2 mph.

I can't believe anyone would think this would be "safe". Was it supposed to scoop up pedestrians, sit them down and take them for a ride?