Barrett-Jackson Auction To Feature Detroit Electric Model D

Electric vehicles are actually early, as they were being sold well before Henry Ford cooked up the Model T in every color as long as it was black. One particular old electric, a Detroit Electric Model D, is hitting an auction in the future.

Not really better

People think that better technology is better than old technology. Advertising corporations and manufacturers love it when you think that, because prepared obsolescence is how they get a person's wedding tackle in a vice grip and squeeze until cash comes out.

People think electric automobiles are an excellent invention, such as the Nissan Leaf. The truth is that electric vehicles have existed since the early 1900s. In fact, some of the electric vehicles from that period were better than the ones we have now.

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 vehicle

About 28 percent of all automobiles in 1900 were electric automobiles because they were quieter than gas-powered automobiles and were much simpler to make. There were similar technologies used to make them, but electric motors used batteries. It took no time at all to plug the vehicles into a charger at home. According to CNET, less than one percent of cars are electric.

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

Slow car

The vehicles were pretty simple and did not do a whole lot. They went 25 miles per hour and looked like a horse buggy with headlights. The nice thing was that they could go 100 miles for every charge.

The cost of an automobile back then was outrageous since automobiles were pretty much just made as toys for rich 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.

It is anticipated that the Model D will get $70,000 to $80,000 in the public sale. There was a Detroit Electric business started in 2009 to create an automobile with vehicle business Proton that is similar. It sold for about $25,000 at the time in different countries, but it dissolved quickly.