Detroit Electric

The first electric car appeared in 1834, almost 30 years before the combustion engine, which gave life to the first vehicle in 1861. This is a notable difference, although in reality, the commercialization of electric cars did not begin until 1852. And yes, they were cars with non-rechargeable batteries with very few kilometers of autonomy. It was in 1852 that the Frenchman Gaston Planté created rechargeable batteries., but their industrial manufacture was not possible until 1880 when Camille Faure came up with the electrochemical process that would make the industrial rechargeable battery a reality.

One of the pioneers of electromobility was Detroit Electric, or rather, the Anderson Electric Car Company Detroit, the full name of the company that manufactured the Detroit Electric. Incidentally, before switching to electric cars, the company was called Anderson Carriage Company and had been producing horse-drawn carriages since 1884. The production of electric cars, powered by a rechargeable lead acid battery with one or two electric motors, one for each axle. Between 1911 and 1916, and for an additional $600.00, these cars were available with an Edison nickel/cadmium battery.

Reliable sources say that these cars could travel 80 miles (130 kilometers) without recharging the battery, although advertising at the time said that in one test a Detroit Electric had traveled 211.3 miles (340.1 kilometers) on a single charge. The top speed was only about 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour), but that speed was considered adequate for city driving considering the limits of the time.

This electric vehicle was primarily sold to women drivers and doctors who wanted immediate access to a vehicle without the physical dependence on crank starting required by early internal combustion engine cars.

One of the curiosities hidden in the history of Detroit Electric is that both Thomas Edison and Herny Ford were among the investors. Both were convinced of the future potential of the electric vehicle.

A sign of the refinement of these cars for the public was their design, which included the first curved window glass to be used in a mass-produced car, an expensive and complex feature to produce at the time.

The company's production was at its peak around 1910 when 1,000 to 2,000 cars were produced per year. Also contributing to the success of the electric car was the high price of gasoline during the First World War. In 1920 the name of Anderson's company was changed to “The Detroit Electric Car Company” as a car manufacturer separate from the main body of business; a portion of the business was controlled by Murray and control of the motor business remained in the hands of Elwell-Parker.

As internal combustion engine cars were improved they became more common and cheaper, so sales of the electric car declined in the 1920s, but despite this, the company stayed in business until the stock market crash of 1929. The Company filed for bankruptcy, but was taken over and kept in business with more limited scale production for a few years when they produced cars responding to special orders. The last Detroit Electric was manufactured on February 23, 1939, but in its final years only very small scale cars had been produced.

Notable people owned Detroit Electric cars, including Thomas Edison, Charles Proteus Steinmetz and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. who owned a pair of Model 46 Roadster two-seaters. Clara Ford, Henry Ford's wife, drove a Detroit Electric starting in 1908 when Henry bought her a Model C Coupe with a special child seat, due to her late teens. Her third car was a Model 47 Brougham in 1914.

Source:

• Detroit Electric (1907 - 1939)
  https://www.autopasion18.com/HISTORIA-DETROIT%20ELECTRIC.htm
  
• Detroit Electric, el centenario fabricante de vehículos eléctricos
  https://www.eventosmotor.com/blog-premium/detroit-electric-el-centenario-fabricante-de-vehiculos-electricos/