By Jeremy Carroll
C & G Staff Writer

ROYAL OAK — Among the rows and rows of classic cars and hot rods in the Northwood Shopping Center Aug. 16 sat Jack Beatty and his 1916 Anderson electric car.

“I was wondering if I would fit in here, but it’s going well,” said Beatty of Ann Arbor. “They told me they wanted to represent the past, present and future. I’m not quite sure if I’m representing the past or the future.”

Beatty is the owner of a rare vehicle, an early electric car powered by 14 batteries and a total of 84 volts.

The car was entered in the green category of the first-ever Dream Show, which featured 50 automobiles, most of them hot rods and classic cars, but several of them electric.

Beatty has owned the car since 1981, but began really restoring it in 1999, with it being finally completed in 2004.

“It’s nice to take downtown to drive,” he said.

The car gets about 40 miles on single charge and has a maximum speed of 25 mph.

Not far from Beatty was a small van, powered by 17 batteries that are each the equivalent of a battery that runs a golf cart. The 1981 Jet Electric Van was manufactured by Jet Industries and Dearborn resident Dave Muse drove it from Dearborn to show at the event.

“I did have to stop at a friend’s house to recharge,” he said. “This was a long trip.”

The vehicle, when originally built, sold for $7,995, he said, and gets between 30 and 50 miles on a charge.

“For its time, it was really reasonably priced,” Muse said.

He bought the vehicle on eBay for $2,000 and restored it using Subaru parts, which the manufacturer used as well.

“I get stopped all the time,” he said. “People want to know how far it goes on a charge, how fast. Stuff like that.”

He said the car tops out at 60 mph. He takes it out on work assignments and, even replacing the batteries every 2,000 miles, it still only costs about 6 cents a mile, which includes the cost of electricity.

“As gas prices get higher and higher, more people are getting interested in electric vehicles,” Muse said.

There are conversion kits out that allow individuals to change certain vehicles to electric, he said.

Both Muse and Beatty were with the Electric Auto Association of Michigan. You can visit the group online at www.michiganeaa.org.