Around 1915, gasoline-powered cars prevailed over electric cars. Battery-powered vehicles, however, remained popular with female drivers in cities. They valued them for their reliability and ease of use. In addition, they could not explode, as sometimes happened with gasoline-powered cars. Clara Ford, Henry's wife, drove a Detroit Electric. What her husband made of the fact that she didn't drive a Ford is not known. The Detroit models could travel 80 miles on a single charge, with a top speed of about 20 mph.