Detroit Electric (1907 - c. 1936) was an automobile brand produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company. Anderson had previously been known as the Anderson Carriage Company, producing carriages and buggies since 1884. Production of the electric automobile, powered by a rechargeable Edison nickel-iron battery, began in 1907.

1920 advertisement

The electric vehicle was mainly sold to women drivers and physicians who desired the dependable and immediate start without the physically demanding hand cranking of the engine which was required with most early internal combustion engine autos. The cars were advertised as reliably getting 80 miles (130 km) between battery recharging, although in tests one 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 company production was at its peak in the 1910s selling around 3000 to 5000 cars a year. Towards the end of the decade the Electric was helped by the high prices of gasoline during World War I. In 1919 the name of the Anderson company was changed to "The Detroit Electric Car Company" to reflect its most popular product.

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, mostly building cars in response to special orders. Sources differ as to when the last Detroit Electrics were manufactured, giving dates ranging from 1936 to the early 1940s, but in its final years the cars were manufactured only in very small numbers.

Notable people who owned Detroit Electrics cars included Thomas Edison and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Clara Ford, the wife of Henry Ford never drove a Ford but a 1914 Detroit Electric.

A Detroit Electric is depicted in the Donald Duck comic books as the car of the character Grandma Duck.

See also

• List of automobile manufacturers

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