detroit electric car

An electric car that can go over 200 miles on a single charge?
What if we tell you that this modern miracle is almost 100 years old? How about a plug-in electric car from the early 1900's? In 1914, a Detroit Electric went 241 miles on a single charge, a new record! To be fair, the car had a top speed of 25 mph, but that was almost 100 years ago and the new electric cars can go 100 miles on a charge, perhaps, on a good day, downhill, with a little breeze and a nice smooth road . In 1914, they were traveling on dirt roads or cobblestones perhaps best

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 US$600, 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 mph (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 produc

Most people think that electric cars are a recent phenomenon. 

The truth is that in the early 1900's the electric car was a common site on the American road. Electric cars were used in a large part by women and doctors. Because hand cranking a car was difficult to say the least and could be downright dangerous the electric cars were very popular with women. The real killer for the electric car was the invention of the electric starter or at least the first working one in 1911 by Charles F. Kettering of Dayton Electric Laboratories (DELCO). There were of course other factors in the demise of the electric car. Thomas Edison and Henry Ford decided to work together to make the electric car the main transportation in U.S.. There goal was to have charging stations where people could "fill up" their cars. Henry's wife Clara refused to drive gasoline cars or "explosion cars" as they were called (mostly by electric car salesman". Henry Ford was reportedly quoted saying that he would die a failure if he did not die broke and planned on spending his fortune to make the electric car the mainstay of American transportation.