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Electric Cars for Well-to-do Women

17 artifacts in this set

This expert set is brought to you by:

The staff at The Henry Ford

Though expensive, electric cars started instantly (without hand cranking) and ran cleanly and quietly. In the early 20th century, they were touted as elegant, comfortable, and easy-to-operate – ideal vehicles for the style-conscious female consumer.

Detailed Description

1914 Detroit Electric Model 47 Brougham, Personal Car of Clara Ford

Automobile

Clara Ford, wife of Henry Ford, drove this Detroit Electric. In the years before World War I many women chose electric cars because they started instantly without hand cranking and had no difficult-to-shift transmission. The superintendent of the Detroit Electric factory employed his daughter, Lillian Reynolds, to sell to women -- including Clara Ford, who drove this car into the 1930s.