If only cars could talk. Imagine the stories that Clementine could tell.

 Clementine is Marshall Miller’s 1916 Detroit Electric Model 62. She is one of two remaining Detroit Electric Cabriolets known to exist. Miller acquired her from Galen Handy of Culver City, Calif., early this year. Miller also owns a 1917 Detroit Electric.

 Handy is the son of Jamison “Jux” Handy who was a corporate officer of the Detroit Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Co. when the company was dormant. Jux spent years trying to revive the brand.

 Jux bought this cabriolet in Detroit in November of 1935. He moved to California in 1939 and married Rosemarie in 1942. He had the cabriolet shipped from Detroit to California for Rosemarie, who named the car Clementine. Because she was electric, Clementine was not affected by gas rationing during World War II.

 Clementine was once photographed with a surfboard lashed to her running board. It’s not hard to visualize her gliding silently through California traffic. As if her delicate demeanor didn’t distinguish her from her gas-powered brethren, she once wore a license plate that read “No Gas.”

 Clementine was originally delivered with wire wheels. At one time, however, the wire wheels were replaced with wooden “artillery” wheels that were sturdy and robust. They were yeoman wheels for a tough time and they remain today.

 The Handys drove Clementine until the 1970s, when she went into storage.

 Miller was smitten with Clementine’s charm once he had her in Kansas City. Plans for restoration were put on hold because a car can only be original once.

 Miller and his mechanic, Alan Macmillan, are rejuvenating Clementine without disturbing her patina. She has new batteries and her wood has been strengthened by injections of sawdust and resin.

 Clementine will be displayed on Saturday, June 27, at the Kansas City Art Institute’s Art of the Car Concours. For information go to www.kcai.edu/concours.

 In spite of her ordinary name, Clementine is a grande dame. It’s fitting that her gown, although a bit tattered by time, is still intact for all to appreciate.