Detroit Electric says it's back on track and will produce 270,000 electric vehicles a year by 2012 with its new Malaysian partner. The company is working with Proton Holdings Berhad to produce electric town cars as well as "extended range" cars, i.e., cars that can go 200 miles and serve as more than commuters. The price targets are $23,000 for the town car and $33,000 for the extended range car. The car will be based around gas-burning cars designed by Proton. A couple of companies are trying to cut the costs of electrics by using a car assembled essentially by Chinese manufacturers or manufacturers in emerging markets. Wheelgo and Miles Automotive are both on the same path. Will it work? Will Americans go for Chinese or Malaysian cars? Proponents say yes -- look at Japanese car sales. Critics say no -- look at the sales and public perception of South Korean cars. The fates here are somewhat divergent. Detroit, though, also comes with its own special history. The company is trying to resurrect a brand from the turn of the last century. It made electric cars from 1907 to 1939.  In 1917, an all-electric Detroit might cost you anywhere from $1,775 to $2,375. It could go 60 to 100 miles on a charge and get all the way up to 25 miles an hour. "No other bridal present means so much, expresses so perfectly what you mean to say," one ad read. Huzzah! Plummeting gas prices, however, made gas cars more popular. Then the 1929 stock market crash killed it. In 2007, Detroit CEO Albert Lam and Zap's Steve Scheider teamed up to bring the name back. China's Youngman Automobile Group was going to make it. In the Summer of 2008, the alliance changed: Zap sold its interest in the business in exchange for $750,000 and the North American distribution rights. Zap has a long history of changing business plans. At the time, Detroit said it would look for European investors and technology. Stay tuned.