George Bacon was the chief engineer of an electric vehicle company. He suggested one day to his superiors that the company might consider using gasoline engines in their delivery vehicles to overcome limits on their vehicles’ range, top speed, and performance in cold weather. It’s an old argument. This was the Detroit Electric Vehicle Company (DEVC) and the year was 1922.
DEVC started life in 1884 producing carriages and buggies. It moved into electric vehicle production from 1907, using a rechargeable lead-acid battery. For an additional $US600 an Edison nickel-iron battery was available from 1911 to 1916. Range on the lead-acid battery was marketed at 130km (80 miles) although at least one test proved 340.1km (211.3 miles) on a single charge was possible.
Top speed was a modest 32kph (20mph) but this was considered ample for urban street use at the time. Unfortunately, Michigan has harsh winters and
