Detroit Electric

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Detroit Electric (1907 - 1939) was an automobile brand produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. Anderson had previously been known as the Anderson Carriage Company (until 1911), producing carriages and buggies since 1884. Production of the electric automobile, powered by a rechargeable lead acid battery, began in 1907. For an additional $600.00 an Edison nickel-iron battery was available from 1911 to 1916. The cars were advertised as reliably getting 80 miles (130 km) between battery recharging, although in one test a Detroit Electric ran 211.3 miles (340.1 km) on a single charge. Top speed was only about 20 miles per hour (32 km/h), but this was considered adequate for driving within city or town limits at the time.

The Detroit Electric was mainly sold to women drivers and physicians who desired the dependable and immediate start without the physically demanding hand cranking of the engine that was required with early internal combustion engine autos. A statement of the car's refinement was subtly made to the public through its design which included the first use of curved window glass in a production automobile, an expensive and complex feature to produce.

The company production was at its peak in the 1910s selling around 1000 to 2000 cars a year. Towards the end of the decade the Electric was helped by the high price of gasoline during World War I. In 1920 the name of the Anderson company was changed to "The Detroit Electric Car Company" as the car maker separated from the body business (it became part of Murray Body) and the motor/controller business (Elwell-Parker).

As improved internal combustion engine automobiles became more common and inexpensive, sales of the Electric dropped in the 1920s but the company stayed in business producing Detroit Electrics until after the stock market crash of 1929. The company filed for bankruptcy, but was acquired and kept in business on a more limited scale for some years building cars in response to special orders. The last Detroit Electric was shipped on February 23, 1939,^{[citation needed]} (though they were still available until 1942),^[1] but in its final years the cars were manufactured only in very small numbers.

Notable people who owned Detroit Electrics cars included Thomas Edison, Charles Proteus Steinmetz and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who had a pair of Model 46 roadsters. Clara Ford, the wife of Henry Ford, drove Detroit Electrics from 1908, when Henry bought her a Model C coupe with a special child seat, through the late teens. Her third car was a 1914 Model 47 brougham.

Detroit Electrics can be seen in various automobile museums. For example, in the Belgian AutoWorld Museum in Brussels, and in Altlußheim, Germany.

[edit] 2008 revival

7th February 2008 In a joint announcement, the US electric car pioneer and China Youngman Automotive Group have said they are reviving the 100 year-old electric car brand Detroit Electric for an automotive joint venture to bring new vehicle technologies to market by 2009, and beyond that the possibility of bringing new manufacturing and ‘green collar’ jobs to California. The ZAP Alias, which is under development for the joint venture, will be one of several vehicles being planned to carry the Detroit Electric brand. ZAP is planning a presentation on Detroit Electric for North American auto dealers at NADA 2008. Detroit Electric was an early 20th Century electric car, “perhaps the most popular in history,” according to ZAP. The Anderson Electric Car Company started building cars under the Detroit Electric brand over 100 years ago. ^[2]

[edit] References

1. ^ Georgano, G.N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985).
2. ^ [1] Detroit Electric Car to Return After 100 years

[edit] External links

• 1916 Detroit Electric Touring Car short article and photograph
• Detroit Electric car at Forney Museum article with photos of a 1914 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe
• photo of 1931 model Detroit Electric
• Autovision (Museum)German Museum with a number of electric cars(e.g. a Detroit Electric)
• Detroit Electric 1917 car Photos of a 1917 Detroit Electric car in Maffra, NSW at a wedding