Community Corner
From Caddys to Corbins to Hot Autumn Nights, Edmonds Loves The Automobile
Edmonds grew up with the automobile, and innovative cars continue to shape our town.
In the early 20th century, America fell in love with the automobile.
Along with a profusion of new motor cars, roads rutted by wagon wheels and churned by horse hoofs were graded and paved to serve the seemingly insatiable needs of the motoring public. (see Patch article “”)
Locally, the indomitable Yost family was at the center of bringing the automobile to Edmonds (see Patch article about the Yost garage, “”). Allen Yost, family patriarch, brought the first automobile to Edmonds in 1911, an E-M-F 30 roadster. These cars were notoriously faulty (detractors said the initials stood for "every morning fix-it"), so the following year Yost replaced it with a new Cadillac. His son George Yost became the family chauffer.
Find out what's happening in Edmondswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Edmonds' first auto agency was operated by Ernest Heberlein from his hardware store in the Schumacher Building on Main Street. Impressed by Yost's E-M-F roadster, he sold Flanders automobiles (Walter Flanders was a partner in the E-M-F company and a former production manager for Henry Ford). Heberlein also had a gasoline tank installed under the sidewalk in front of his store as a convenience to his customers.
Today, Edmonds retains its enthusiasm for automobiles, embracing both the old and the new. The annual Edmonds Classic Car Show, Hot Autumn Nights, has become a local tradition, where hundreds of car enthusiasts gather to show off their restored and classic autos.
Find out what's happening in Edmondswith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Following in the tradition of Allen and George Yost, current Edmonds City Councilmember Steve Bernheim turns heads when he hits the road in his 2001 Corbin electric vehicle. Capable of speeds up to 70 mph, Bernheim charges the car in his garage using the output from rooftop solar panels.
“I’m committed to the idea of alternative energy,” Bernheim said, “and the Corbin fits right in. I use it for errands around town, and for longer trips recharge it at stations in Seattle, Everett and Kirkland.”
Bernheim speculates that in the near future Edmonds will see more electric vehicle charging stations in the downtown core and elsewhere.
Asked what he loves most about the Corbin, Bernheim says, “Summer time, windows down, in the express lane on I-5.” (see Councilmember Bernheim and his Corbin in the 2008 KOMO-TV video)
Allen and George Yost would be proud.