Electric cars? John D. Rockefeller Jr was no fool

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 18 March 2008 09:11

Opinion and Analysis

Want to buy the car that only the super-rich of the 1910 and 1920s could afford? It’s the Detroit Electric, a car that should have seen the world choose electricity over petrol decades ago, but for the fact oil and petrol became so cheap as to give electric cars a shock that they’re only recovering from now.

CNET’s Michael Kanellos has reported on the imminent comeback of the electric car through a joint-venture between US electric car company Zap and their Chinese partner, China’s Youngman Automotive Group. 

Zap say they have been developing electric vehicles since 1994, and have already delivered more than 100,000 to the world market in 75 countries.

Current models include the Xebra Sedan electric car and the Xebra Truck, while two-wheel aficionados can buy the Zapino or Zappy 3 scooter, while the upcoming ZAP-X and ZAP Alias electric cars are in development with automotive legends, Lotus Engineering.

The electric car that was good enough for John D. Rockefeller Jr is going back on sale, if only in limited numbers, as a promotion for the reborn Detroit Electric company, which will be producing modern electric cars under the Detroit Electric brand from 2010.

According to the Detroit-Electric website, the car was an “American icon in the early part of the 1900s”, with the brand representing “the most popular electric car in history and the longest running electric car company, which operated between 1907 and 1939 by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit Michigan.” 

The ‘about us’ part of the website continues that: “At the time, the car was very popular, with customers like Thomas Edison, Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Henry Ford's Wife Clara, and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Detroit Electric is a name that we believe will speak to generations about the past and the future of automobiles.”

So, how far could the original Detroit Electric car travel all those decades ago on a single charge, as well as the latest news from Tesla Electric, whose 'Electric Roadster' has seen delay after delay? Please read onto page 2.