Back in 1974, Vanguard began production of the Citicar. It was the brainchild of Robert Beaumont, and although he was from the north east, he produced all of these cars in Florida. For around $4500, you could have your very own fully electric vehicle. It seated 2 comfortably, could probably hit 38 mph, and would make it a distance of 50 miles on one charge! Take that Volt! Sure you appear to be driving a cheese wedge, but haters with gasoline engines aren’t saving the environment like you are. Sadly, just 3 years after production began, strict government regulations drove the Citicar company to its electrified grave.
The company was broken up into pieces and sold at auction. A gentleman named Frank Flowers from New Jersey purchased the largest piece of the Citicar company and by 1979, he was successfully producing the ……..wait for it……… “Comuta-car”. That’s right folks, no longer would you be in an upscale Citicar, you were now surrounded in a safety net of proper New England slang. For all intents and purposes, The Comuta-car was a Citicar, but with numerous improvements, including a larger motor, and a rally stripe option (lolwut?). Following the Citicar’s destiny, production ceased after just 3 years. Like most automotive stories, there is a bright side; take a guess at who has the record for the most post-war electric vehicles every produced? Not-so-fast Tesla. Apparently, this Citicar / Commuta-Car vehicle still holds that record! Congratulations you little electric wedge of cheese!
Now that you are totally amp’ed up about the C-cars and their amazing history, let me sweeten the story yet again by revealing that there is a Citicar for sale on eBay right now for one third of the original purchase price! What a value! It’s banana yellow, has a small crack in the hood, and doesn’t charge when you plug it into the wall. All of which are mere details. The starting bid is $1000, but there is a buy it now price for $1500. So what do you say? Are you mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared to go green with 1970’s technology?
eBay Item # 250766266276
Citicar flyer borrowed from: http://www.didik.com/
my automotive college in Boston has one those in the garage it no longer accepts a charge
Really? That’s awesome! What college? Franklin?
Benjamin Franklin
Institute of Technology
http://www.bfit.edu/
Wow, I almost went there! Then I realized that driving into Boston everyday would be less than fun, and decided against it. Ah well!
I took The T every day because there was nowhere to park. atleast our subway trains are from the 1970’s
Especially in the winter!