Tuesday 22 September 2015

Barrett-Jackson Auction To Feature Detroit Electric Model D

By Cornelius Nunev


One of the lots in the upcoming Barrett-Jackson classic vehicle auction in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a 1910 Detroit Electric Model D. Detroit Electric was a very popular electric car business in its day, when electric automobiles were a lot more well-liked than they are now.

Old technology not improving much

To get a consumer to buy brand new stuff, advertising businesses really stress that modern technology is better than old technology. It is one of the things people want you to believe.

Take the case of electric automobiles. The Nissan Leaf, for example, is hailed as a contemporary technological marvel, but electric automobiles were, believe it or not, around before the first World War. Not only that, but some from that era had a greater electric range.

In 2010, there was the Detroit Electric Model D made by Detroit Electric. According to the Daily Mail, it had a 100-mile range and will be sold in Arizona at a vehicle public sale soon.

Not the fastest car

Today, less than one percent of automobiles on the road are electric. In 1900, According to CNET, fully 28 percent of all vehicles being made were electric. They were mechanically simpler and quieter than gasoline-powered vehicles. They used the same technology; batteries powered electric motors, which drove the vehicle. At home, one plugged it into a charger.

Various corporations produced them, of which Detroit Electric was just one, though they were among the most popular. Besides a public endorsement from Thomas Edison, they sold about 20,000 vehicles between 1907 and 1939, according to The Truth About Vehicles.

Just a normal looking car

By modern standards, they didn't look like much, resembling a horse buggy with headlights stuck on the front. They weren't terribly fast either with a top speed of 25 miles per hour, though few passenger automobiles were considerably faster than that at the time. It had a maximum range of about 100 miles per charge.

The cost of a vehicle back then was outrageous since vehicles were virtually just made as toys for wealthy people. It cost a lot more than your average Nissan at a Nissan dealer in Everett. For $2,400, you can get a Detroit Electric Model D. That is the same as $135,000 now, according to the Daily Mail.

The Model D heading for public sale is expected to fetch between $70,000 and $80,000. There's even a modern version of Detroit Electric, formed by a group from the Netherlands, who formed a joint venture with Malaysian vehicle business Proton in 2009. The plan was to source an electric drivetrain from South Korea, fit them to Proton vehicles and sell them as Detroit Electric automobiles for around $25,000 per in China, Europe and the U.S. The company has fizzled since then.




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