The All-Electric (EV) CitiCar: Powered by the Sun
I’m eagerly awaiting the 4-door, family-sized EV sedan rumored to be in the pipeline from the Canadian-based ZENN Motor Company (they already make a great 2-door model that’s even affordable to us non-celebrity types, picture above). I’d like to avoid going to the gas station at all when going to an Energy Fair or Green Festival. While our VW Jetta TDI gets more than 40 mpg, these days the cost for diesel (and biodiesel when I can get it) is quite a bit more than gasoline, and rising faster than gas.
For now, we’re moving around locally in a funky-looking, all-electric CitiCar, made in 1974. Our CitiCar is restored to roughly original condition (except for the wear and tear on the body itself) with the expert help of our neighbor who found two more after we found ours. It’s hard to go anywhere without people cutting me off — not out of rage — but curiosity or with a smile on their face. Sometimes getting a “head turner” doesn’t need to come at a huge price.
Which is my point. Why not own an EV for less than $8,000 (perhaps much less), today? The cost for our CitiCar plus new parts and new batteries ran just over $3,400, with the restoration and rewiring taking about a year, off and on — again, thanks largely to the electricity-savvy knowledge of our neighbor. Since the CitiCar is over 30 years old, we snagged collector plates and pay the registration fees only once, then we’re done for as long as we own the car. If you don’t mind the “used” appearance of a vehicle, you can ride around without having spent a dime at the gas station. Our CitiCar doesn’t possess the attractive styling of an EV1 from GM — but you won’t find even one of those on the road anywhere.
I’m amazed that there are still hundreds of CitiCars out there in garages, warehouses, or in a barn like mine was: motor on the seat and tires rotting. There were supposedly about 2,600 or so CitiCars manufactured by the Sebring Vanguard Company in Florida from 1974 to 1976, during our last American energy crisis. Whether because of liability insurance or crash test requirements, the company halted production and disappeared within a few years of rolling the first CitiCar off the line.
We like to think the car resembles a wedge of cheese because in Green County, near Monroe, Wisconsin, where there are more cheese factories than any other county in the US. The CitiCar negotiates the bumps a bit rough and the brakes need pumping to stop effectively, but with a top speed of about 35 miles per hour and 30 to 40 mile range, it gets us where we need to go for about 1-cent a mile. In a future blog, perhaps I’ll add a video of my 8 mile round trip to the bank — if there’s interest to see it on the go.
To completely stay on the renewable energy side and avoid electricity coming from coal-fired or nuclear power plants, we’re recharging the CitiCar with a .5 kW photovoltaic system — perhaps one of few solar powered cars on the planet.
So, until you save up enough for the Tesla or the next generation of long-range EV cars that fit more than two people, you might keep your eye out for an old CitiCar.
Image Credit: Zenn Motor Company
Since you have collectors plates I assume that means you don’t drive this car in the winter? Or do you? How does it handle in the Wisconsin winters on snow and ice (if you do drive it)?
I would absolutely love to see a video of you driving to the bank.
Thanks for your replies, Matt and Joel.
Indeed, our CitiCar is not a car designed well for snow or the cold. The manufacturer was based in Florida and perhaps had envisioned a market for the growing number of retirees moving to warmer climates and not needing large vehicles to get around town for groceries or a few errands. We only drive the CitiCar in Spring, Summer and Fall — and in good weather days.
We’ll work on the video of just the car, but until then you could view a YouTube video about our operations which includes footage of the CitiCar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ4QMy8jv0M
We lived in Alabama until our recent move to Wisconsin. Around 1980, after paying a ridiculous $1.00 for a gallon of gas, we bought a used CitiCar. I drove it to work every day for several years. That was about 15 miles round trip — but included the ascent of a rather steep “mountain.” The car performed well.
If I had had an electric-savvy neighbor I would still be driving the car. There was, after all, nothing much to go wrong with … no transmission, no engine, no AC, no emission control. I sold it when I had a problem that was over my head — which didn’t take much. (The purchaser wanted it for his teen-aged daughter to be sure she didn’t drive too fast.)
I’d be happy to get another one … even though a winter commute in WI would be pretty brisk!
[...] The All-Electric (EV) CitiCar: Powered by the Sun [...]
I was very interested in the city car article,wish i had a way to try and locate one of these.I remember a little car from the past called the king midget,it wasnt electric but might make a lightweight conversion.
My wife and I had a ‘81 Citicar that we bought in ‘82 from a Lakeland FL. Citicar dealer. We loved it. Someone stopped in the middle of the road right infront of my wife and it was totaled. It cost us nothing to drive because my job allowed me to plug it in while working. It went 45mph and traveled 40miles on a charge. We loved it and are looking for another.