It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that the world is slowly waking up to the fact we need more eco-friendly cars. While it may have come just that bit too late, car manufacturers are looking at ways in which we can make travel more eco-friendly. This is via either electric power or hydrogen power, with it looking like electric vehicles are to be the way forward, at least in the short and medium-term. Hydrogen though has very much shown potential, and we might see that come to fruition yet.
Sticking with electric cars though, and it might surprise some people to realize that EVs have been around for much longer than we might have thought. EVs can actually be traced right back to the 1920s, although these are much cruder forms of transport than what we have now. But in the 1970s, one car came out that had some potential but ultimately it came to nothing. This was the CitiCar, a car built in Florida by Sebring-Vanguard, that became something of a cult icon among car enthusiasts. It was aimed at biting a bit of an electric city car, but it sadly never really took off.
The Origins Of The CitiCar
The CitiCar can trace its roots back to the 1970 fuel crisis. This crisis had given the Sebring-Vanguard company in Florida, USA, the idea to build an electric car as a way around the crisis and other future fuel issues. The 1970s really didn’t look like they were going to be fun for car enthusiasts, with inflation and recession also set to play a role. The Sebring-Vanguard company was run by Bob Beamount, a Chrysler dealer from Upstate New York. He decided the time was right to try something new, and potentially save the future of the car.
What he came up with was a very odd, cheese wedge-looking car that was dubbed the CitiCar. This was based upon an earlier effort by Beamount at creating an electric car, that had pretty much just been a battery pack on wheels. It was seen as a simple, city car to get people from A to B, and to help people get around the issues revolving around the ongoing fuel crisis. The CitiCar was designed to be the most basic and cheapest car that could be made, yet still, meet the standards set by the NTSB.
Models And Details Of The CitiCar
The CitiCar range would ultimately be based around three models, each having a flat, diagonal front design. The models created were the SV-36, the SV-48 and then there was the third model, dubbed either the Transitional CitiCar or the 1976 ½ model. Each would gradually get more power, with the first edition of the CitiCar having just a 3.5 hp motor with six 6-volt batteries. This gave the car a top speed of 28 mph and a maximum range of 35 miles. There was even a van version created in 1977 which even saw US Postal Service usage. Remarkably, this unusual-looking car soon became quite appealing.
It was by the mid-1970s that people started to look at the car as something they wanted to buy. People started to think that it could be an alternative to the average motor car. However, what really hurt the concept was the battery tracks. Whilst the looks of the car weren’t great, the issue was that battery technology had not advanced much beyond what people had seen in electric cars from the 1910s even earlier. Had the CitiCar had much range and power, and shown a clear advancement in the development of battery technology, it might have caught on. The Sebring-Vanguard company ultimately went bankrupt in 1978.
The Sixth Largest American Car Maker
Remarkably though, despite the issues around battery technology, there was some demand for the CitiCar. Some 2,300 units of the CitiCar were produced, and enough had been made by 1976 that Sebring-Vanguard had actually become the sixth-largest auto manufacturer in the United States. The company found itself behind GM, Ford, Chrysler, AMC, and the Checker Motors Corporation, and ahead of Excalibur and Avanti Motors. It was a remarkable achievement, but it sadly only glossed over the fact that the CitiCar was never really going to be a success. It was perhaps the right idea, at not quite the right time.
A Classic Electric Vehicle
Nowadays, the CitiCar is seen as quite the collectible classic electric vehicle. Furthermore, the car's basic idea is now becoming mainstream, with electric vehicles such as the Honda e showing that we can have lower range, electric vehicles for city and urban usage. The electric car concept as a whole has certainly taken off over the last few years, to the point in which manufacturers are now looking towards solely EV futures. It may not have set the world on fire like a car from the likes of Tesla or other brands such as Polestar, nor really been that popular. But the CitiCar is a nice little novelty in the history of the automobile..
Sources: GR Auto Gallery, Motorious, TNW, Cars That Never Made It, Motor Biscuit, Progress Is Fine