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1917 Owen Magnetic Model M-25 Touring. The Owen Magnetic, and ancestor to today's hybrid cars, was one of the most unusual and technologically advanced cars of its time. The drive mechanisms had no direct connection between the internal-combustion engine and the rear wheels. Instead, the engine powered a generator attached to the rear of the engine's crankshaft and caused a horseshoe-shaped magnet to spin. This imparted energy to a steel armature fitted into the air space inside the whirling magnet, causing it to spin via magnetic imbalance. This in turn induced current in the armature of a conventional electric motor, which provided energy to real wheels. Only 974 Cars were built. Owner: Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, Fairbanks, AK. Photographed at the Pacific Northwest Concours d'Elegance held September 7, 2014.