Editing Detroit Electric

{{AI-generated|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox automobile
| name = Detroit Electric
| image = Detroit-electric 1912 logo.jpg
| caption = 
| manufacturer = Anderson Electric Car Company
| aka = 
| production = 1907–1939
| model_years = 
| assembly = [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]
| designer = 
| class = 
| body_style = 
| layout = 
| platform = 
| related = 
| engine = <!--{{convert|NNN|cuin|L|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| transmission = 
| propulsion = 
| wheelbase = <!--{{convert|NNN|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| length = <!--{{convert|NNN|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| width = <!--{{convert|NNN|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| height = <!--{{convert|NNN|in|mm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| weight = <!--{{convert|NNN|-|NNNN|lb|kg|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}-->
| predecessor = 
| successor = Detroit Electric
| sp = us
}}
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.<ref name=GCR032013>{{cite web|url= http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1082994_all-electric-corvette-coming-next-month-from-detroit-startup |title=All-Electric Sports Car Coming Next Month From Detroit Startup? |author=John Voelcker|publisher=Green Car Reports|date=2013-03-19 |accessdate=2013-03-19}}</ref>

The marque was revived in 2008 by Albert Lam, former Group CEO of the [[Lotus Engineering|Lotus Engineering Group]] and executive director of [[Lotus Cars]] of England. to produce modern [[Detroit Electric SP.01|all-electric cars by Detroit Electric]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mlive.com/auto/2013/03/detroit_electric_10_things_to.html |title=Detroit Electric: 10 things to know about the new electric vehicle company |work=MLive.com |date=March 20, 2013 |first=Michael |last=Wayland |access-date=2025-02-19}}</ref>
{{clr}}

==History==
Anderson had previously been known as the Anderson Carriage Company <ref>{{cite web|url= https://archive.org/details/youtube-kBZOYxFhjtw |title= The Detroit Electric, take a ride in the Great-Grandfather of Electric Vehicles |date= 2023-12-09 |publisher= by Mike the Car Geek |access-date=2025-04-09}}</ref>(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 {{USD|600}}, an Edison [[nickel-iron battery]] was available from 1911 to 1916. The cars were advertised as reliably getting {{convert|80|mi|km}} between battery recharging, although in one test a Detroit Electric ran {{convert|211.3|mi|km}} on a single charge. Top speed was around {{Convert|20|mph|abbr=on}}, this was normal average top speed for cars at the time of release in 1907 and was relatively slow by 1939.
{{gallery|perrow=3
|File:1911 Detroit Electric.jpg
|1911 Detroit Electric at the [[California Automobile Museum]]
|File:Detroit Electric 1916.jpg
|1916 Detroit Electric in Brussels Autoworld Museum
|File:1920DetroitElectricAd.jpg
|1920 advertisement
|File:Front shot - Detroit Electric 1917 taken in Maffra, Vic, 2007.jpg
|1917 Detroit Electric in [[Maffra]], Victoria, Australia, 2007
|File:EdisonElectricCar1913.jpg
|Detroit Electric Model 47 (1917)
|File:1915 Detroit Electric.jpg
|Detroit Electric Model 61 [[Brougham (car body)|Brougham]] (1906)
}}

In 1909, around 600 vehicles were produced. For the year 1910, a forecast of 1250 vehicles was made in April. <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080066197&seq=47 |title= Anderson Carriage Company |date=1911-01-01|publisher= Michigan manufacturer & financial record v.2 no.33 1910 |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref>
In 1914 production had increased to 4669 cars.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.forneymuseum.org/FE_Detroit_Electric.html |title= 1914 production |date=2025-01-01|publisher= Forney Museum |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref>
Sales at Detroit Electric fell from 1,139 units in 1918 to 191 in 1920.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://earlyelectric.com/timeline.html |title= 1918 Sales; 1920 Sales|date=2025-01-01|publisher= earlyelectric.com |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref> 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.<ref>Michigan Manufacturer and Financial Record, Volume 45 (1930). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Michigan_Manufacturer_and_Financial_Reco/neQTAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Dunk++%22Anderson%22+%22Detroit+Electric%22++%221927%22&printsec=frontcover Page 3]</ref><ref>{{citation |quote=In 1927 Dunk acquired control of the Detroit Electric Car Company following the death of W. C. Anderson |page=209 |title=How Detroit Became the Automotive Capital: 100th Anniversary |author=Robert G. Szudarek |year=1996}}</ref> 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.<ref>[[G.N. Georgano]] ''Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886-1930''. (London: Grange-Universal, 1985).</ref> 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.<ref name=GCR032013/>
* Anderson's first vehicle was delivered to a Miss Grove in Chicago on September 30, 1907.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://earlyelectric.com/timeline.html |title= Anderson's first vehicle |date=2025-01-01|publisher= earlyelectric.com |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref>
*The first models were the Model A Victoria, Model B Victoria, Model C Coupe and the Model D Brougham.
* The four-seater Model 10 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=13 |title= Model 10 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015080066197&seq=39 |title= 225 Ah |date=1911-01-01|publisher= Michigan manufacturer & financial record v.2 no.33 1910 |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> As a Second option, 24 cells were possible as a lead-acid battery (168 Ah). This made ranges of 80 to 200 km (50 to 125 miles) 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=15 |title= Model 11 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=17 |title= Model 12 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=19 |title= Model 14 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref>  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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=21 |title= Model 15 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=23 |title= Model 16 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=25 |title= Model 17 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-06}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=27 |title= Model 18 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-09}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=29 |title= Model 19 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-09}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=31 |title= Model 20 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-09}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=33 |title= Model 21 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-09}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31175005986081&seq=35 |title= Model 22 |date=1911-01-01|publisher= The Detroit Electric / Anderson Electric Car Co. (1911) |access-date=2025-04-10}}</ref> 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 <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.detroitelectric.org/1922_model_90.htm |title= Model 90 |date=2025-01-01|publisher= detroitelectric.org |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref> 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.<ref name=GCR032013/> 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 (carriage)|brougham]].

Genzo Shimazu, founder of the Japanese battery company [[GS Yuasa|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 vehicle]]s 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.<ref name="Yuasa">{{cite news |last1=Hsu |first1=Ben |title=A 105-year-old electric car was restored in Japan on this day, Electric Car Day |url=https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/yuasa-detroit-restoration/#more-89991 |work=japanesenostalgiccar.com |date=20 May 2022}}</ref>

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===
{{Upscaled images|section|date=April 2025}}
{{gallery
|File:Detroit Electric Model 10 (1911).jpg
|Model 10
|File:Detroit Electric Model 11 (1911).jpg
|Model 11
|File:Detroit Electric Model 12 (1911).jpg
|Model 12
|File:Detroit Electric Model 14 (1911).jpg
|Model 14<ref>{{cite web|url= https://hymanltd.com/vehicles/4089-1912-detroit-electric/ |title= Model 14 Conversion from a Model 25(1912)|date=2025-01-01|publisher= Hyman  |access-date=2025-04-11}}</ref>
|File:Detroit Electric Model 15 (1911).jpg
|Model 15
|File:Detroit Electric Model 16 (1911).jpg
|Model 16
|File:Detroit Electric Model 17 (1911).jpg
|Model 17
|File:Detroit Electric Model 18 (1911).jpg
|Model 18
|File:Detroit Electric Model 19 (1911).jpg
|Model 19
|File:Detroit Electric Model 20 (1911).jpg
|Model 20
|File:Detroit Electric Model 21 (1911).jpg
|Model 21
|File:Detroit Electric Model 22 (1911).jpg
|Model 22
|File:Detroit Electric Model 23 (1911).jpg
|Model 23
|File:Detroit Electric Model 601 (1911).jpg
|Detroit Electric Model 601 (1911) 907 kg loading capacity
}}

== Overview of production figures ==
[[Image:Michigan manufacturer & financial record v.2 no.33 1910.jpg|thumb|right|Production figures and financial figures of Anderson Electric Car Company in 1909 and 1910]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year !! Production !! Model 
|-
| 1907 || align="right"|10 ||A, B, C, D
|-
| 1908 || align="right"| || 
|-
| 1909 || align="right"|600 || 
|-
| 1910 || align="right"|1250 ||
|-
| 1911 || align="right"| || 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 601
|-
| 1912 || align="right"| || 14, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33
|-
| 1913 || align="right"| <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.detroitelectric.org/images/detroi19.jpg |title= Model number |date=1920-01-01|publisher= detroitelectric.org |access-date=2025-04-13}}</ref> ||35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42
|-
| 1914 || align="right"|4669|| 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48
|-
| 1915 || align="right"| || 51, 52, 53, 54, 55
|-
| 1916 || align="right"| ≤ 1799 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112054727372&seq=88 |title= Serial number |date=1926-01-01|publisher= Branham automobile reference book, showing the location of serial and motor numbers on all the leading passenger cars and trucks |access-date=2025-04-12}}</ref> || 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61
|-
| 1917 || align="right"|≤ 1799 ||62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69
|-
| 1918 || align="right"|≤ 1200 || 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76
|-
| 1919 || align="right"|≤ 785 || 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85
|-
| 1920 || align="right"|≤ 506 || 78, 81, 82, 85
|-
| 1921 || align="right"|≤ 271 || 85, 86, 87, 88
|-
| 1922 || align="right"|≤ 184 || 85, 90, 91, 92, 93
|-
| 1923 || align="right"|≤ 349 <ref>{{cite web|url= https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015020227487&seq=59 |title= Serial number |date=1929-01-01|publisher= Branham automobile reference book, showing the location of serial and motor numbers on all the leading passenger cars and trucks |access-date=2025-04-12}}</ref> || 90, 91, 92, 93
|-
| 1924 || align="right"| || 90, 91, 92, 93, 94
|-
| 1925 || align="right" | || 95
|-
| 1926 || align="right"| ||95
|-
| Sum|| align="right"|≈ 12.300 + 535 trucks
|}
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 of 1939) were remanufactured cars with borrowed (Willys, Dodge) bodies.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://earlyelectric.com/carcompanies.html |title= Trucks and Ambulance|date=2025-01-01|publisher=early Electric
|access-date=2025-04-12}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The Disney cartoon character [[Duck_family_(Disney)#Grandma_Duck|Grandma Duck]] drives a red car with license plate number "1902" that appears similar to a Detroit Electric.<br />
A Detroit Electric is featured in the Perry Mason episode [[Perry_Mason|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 ([[Restomod|restomodded]]) a Detroit Electric between 2015<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambert |first=Fred |date=December 29, 2015 |title=Jay Leno is "restomodding" a 1914 Detroit Electric car [Video] |url=https://electrek.co/2015/12/29/jay-leno-is-restomodding-a-1914-detroit-electric-car-video/ |access-date=May 12, 2024 |website=Electrek}}</ref> and 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrány |first=Máté |date=2020-11-17 |title=It's Crazy How Many Cars Jay Leno Is Restoring at Any Given Moment |url=https://www.thedrive.com/news/37680/its-crazy-how-many-cars-jay-leno-is-restoring-at-any-given-moment |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=The Drive |language=en}}</ref>

==2013 Concept Car==
{{Main|Detroit Electric SP.01}}

==See also==
*[[History of the electric vehicle]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Detroit Electric vehicles}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080319013508/http://www.ctrc.org/projects/trolleys-and-trolleybarn/1916-detroit-electric-touring-car.html 1916 Detroit Electric Touring Car] short article and photograph
* [http://www.forneymuseum.org/FE_Detroit_Electric.html Detroit Electric car at Forney Museum] article with photos of a 1916 Detroit Electric Opera Coupe
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20021231014014/http://www.ktsmotorsportsgarage.com/amelia01/pages/detroit.shtml photo of 1931 model Detroit Electric]
* [http://www.autovision-tradition.de Autovision (Museum)] German Museum with a number of electric cars (e.g., a Detroit Electric)
* [http://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/237667 1922 Detroit Electric Coupe] at [[The Henry Ford]]
* [https://veva.ca/Detroit-Electric 1913 Detroit Electric looked after by the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association]


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[[Category:Vintage vehicles]]
[[Category:Defunct manufacturing companies based in Detroit]]
[[Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States]]