Detroit Electric

The Detroit Electric was an electric car produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. The company built 13,000 electric cars from 1907 to 1939.

The marque was revived in 2008 by Albert Lam, former Group CEO of the Lotus Engineering Group and executive director of Lotus Cars of England. to produce modern all-electric cars by Detroit Electric.

History

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 , an Edison nickel-iron battery was available from 1911 to 1916. The cars were advertised as reliably getting between battery recharging, although in one test a Detroit Electric ran on a single charge. Top speed was around , this was normal average top speed for cars at the time of release in 1907 and was relatively slow by 1939.

In 1909, around 600 vehicles were produced. For the year 1910, a forecast of 1250 vehicles was made in April.
In 1914 production had increased to 4669 cars.
Sales at Detroit Electric fell from 1,139 units in 1918 to 191 in 1920. 535 Detroit Electric trucks have been produced.
The number of employees in 1910 was 400 people.
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.

Alfred O. Dunk acquired the company in 1927 following the death of Anderson. The business continued to operate for some years, building cars in response to orders by word of mouth. The last Detroit Electric was shipped on February 23, 1939, though they were still available until 1942. In its final years the cars were manufactured only in very small numbers. Between 1907 and 1939 a total of 13,000 electric cars were built.
* Anderson's first vehicle was delivered to a Miss Grove in Chicago on September 30, 1907.
*The first models were the Model A Victoria, Model B Victoria, Model C Coupe and the Model D Brougham.
* The four-seater Model 10 had a wheelbase of 85 inches = 2159 mm. A6 Edison Nickel Steel cells could be chosen as battery, of which 40 cells were installed (225 Ah). As a Second option, 24 cells were possible as a lead-acid battery (168 Ah). This made ranges of possible. The cruise control allowed five settings. 5, 8, 13, 17 and 21 miles per hour were possible. (8, 12, 21, 27, 34 km/h) The vehicle weight was 1157 kg with the Edison cells and 1293 kg with the lead cells. The selling price was 2800 US dollars with a lead battery and 3400 US dollars with an Edison battery.
* The four-seater Model 11 had almost the same technical specifications as the Model 10. The wheelbase was shortened to 80 inches = 2032 mm. This reduced the vehicle weight to 1111 kg with the Edison battery and to 1247 kg with the lead-acid battery. The selling price was 2600 US dollars with a lead battery and 3200 US dollars with an Edison battery.
* The two-seater Model 12 with a folding seat for a third person had almost the same technical data. The wheelbase was 85 inches = 2159 mm. The vehicle weight was 1134 kg with the Edison cells and 1270 kg with the lead cells. The selling price was 2400 US dollars with a lead battery and 3000 US dollars with an Edison battery.
*The four-seater Model 14 had almost the same technical specifications as the Model 10. The vehicle had an open body with a sun canopy. The vehicle weight was 1043 kg with the Edison battery up to 1168 kg with the lead-acid battery. The selling price was 2200 US dollars with a lead battery and 2800 US dollars with an Edison battery.
* The two-seater Model 15 had almost the same technical specifications as the Model 11. The vehicle had an open body with a sun canopy. The vehicle weight was 998 kg with the Edison battery up to 1123 kg with the lead-acid battery. The selling price was 2000 US dollars with a lead battery and 2600 US dollars with an Edison battery.
* The Model 16 was almost identical to the Model 15. Only the soft top was in Victoria style. The retail price was $2025 with the lead-acid battery and $2625 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 17 broke new ground. The frame allowed a very lowered construction due to the underslung technique. The two-seater was equipped with individual seats. The wheelbase has been extended to 96 inches = 2438 mm due to the lying seating position. The rest of the technical data were the same as for the previous vehicles. The weight was 1043 kg with the Edison battery and 1180 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $2000 with the lead-acid battery and $2600 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 18 was a two-seater with a third seat behind the driver's cab. It also had two individual seats. The wheelbase was fixed at 87 inches = 2210 mm for the conventionally higher design. The weight was 975 kg with the Edison battery and 1043 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $1800 with the lead-acid battery and $2400 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 19 was a two-seater with a third seat behind the driver's cab. The seats were on a bench instead of individual seats. The wheelbase was fixed at 87 inches = 2210 mm for the conventionally higher design. The weight was 975 kg with the Edison battery and 1043 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $1800 with the lead-acid battery and $2400 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 20 was a two-seater with a third seat behind the driver's cab. The seats were on a bench instead of individual seats. The lighting was adapted to the roadster design. The wheelbase was fixed at 87 inches = 2210 mm for the conventionally higher design. The weight was 975 kg with the Edison battery and 1043 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $1700 with the lead-acid battery and $2300 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 21 was a four-seater. The wheelbase was fixed at 85 inches = 2159 mm. The weight was 1111 kg with the Edison battery and 1247 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $2700 with the lead-acid battery and $3300 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 22 was a four-seater. The wheelbase was fixed at 80 inches = 2032 mm. The weight was 1066 kg with the Edison battery and 1202 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $2500 with the lead-acid battery and $3100 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 23 was a two-seater. The wheelbase was fixed at 80 inches = 2032 mm. The weight was 953 kg with the Edison battery and 1077 kg with the lead battery. The retail price was $1900 with the lead-acid battery and $2500 with the Edison battery.
* The Model 90 was produced in 1922.
Notable people who owned Detroit Electrics cars included Thomas Edison, Lizzie Borden, Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Mamie Eisenhower, 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.

Genzo Shimazu, founder of the Japanese battery company Japan Storage Battery Co. ''(known today as GS Yuasa)'', imported two Detroit Electric cars shortly after starting the company in 1917. Using his own batteries, he drove them around Tokyo to demonstrate the effectiveness of battery technology. Shimazu used them as daily drivers for 29 years until his retirement in 1946. With a return of interest in electric vehicles at the beginning of the 21st century, GS Yuasa restored one of the vehicles to running condition with a modern lithium-ion 24-volt battery in 2009, registering the date, May 20, as Electric Car Day in Japan.

Detroit Electrics can be seen in various automobile museums, such as the Forney Transportation Museum in Denver, Colorado; Belgian AutoWorld Museum in Brussels; The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan; and the Museum Autovision in Altlußheim, Germany. A restored and operational Detroit Electric, owned by Union College, is located in the Edison Tech Center in Schenectady, NY. Another restored and operational 1914 with the Edison battery option (Nickel-Iron vs. Lead Acid) is located at the National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada. One 1914 model Is also located, restored and fully operational, near Frankenmuth, Michigan and another is at the Motor Museum of Western Australia in Perth, Australia, a 1914 Brougham in excellent condition.

Gallery

Overview of production figures

Trucks were produced from 1910 to 1916.
Ambulances were produced from 1916 to 1919.
The last entirely new car was made mid 1926, and the balance of cars sold as "new" ('til February 1939) were remanufactured cars with borrowed (Willys, Dodge) bodies.

In popular culture

The Disney cartoon character Grandma Duck drives a red car with license plate number "1902" that appears similar to a Detroit Electric.

A Detroit Electric is featured in the Perry Mason episode The Case of the Borrowed Baby (season 5, episode 26, broadcast date April 14, 1962).
The Detroit Electric Car Company is featured in D.E. Johnson's crime novel ''The Detroit Electric Scheme'' published in September, 2010.

Comedian Jay Leno restored (restomodded) a Detroit Electric between 2015 and 2020.

2013 Concept Car

See also

*History of the electric vehicle

References

External links

{{commons category, Detroit Electric vehicles

1916 Detroit Electric Touring Car
short article and photograph


article with photos of a 1916 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)

1922 Detroit Electric Coupe
at The Henry Ford

1913 Detroit Electric looked after by the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association


Electric vehicles introduced in the 20th century
Vintage vehicles
Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit
Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States