"So ugly it's cute"
http://www.timesrecordnews.com/topstories/back-in-the-day-gremlin-electric-died-with-its-namesake-car-2898277b-217f-103c-e053-0100007f37a5-366555361.html Gremlin Electric died with its namesake car [20160126] Bridget Knight [image http://media.jrn.com/images/W0012558097--134936.JPG (Gremlin Electric) Credit: Picasa TRN archives ] Those who look at the rise of electric cars as a 21st century phenomenon obviously didn't live through the gas shortages of the 1970s. The rallying cry then was to outwit OPEC, which had strangled supply and sparked gas lines, odd-even rationing and a reluctant move to smaller, more energy efficient cars. Wichitan "Cotton" Whatley — like grease-monkey inventors nationwide — had another idea in his garage, the latest iteration of an electric dune buggy he'd rolled out in 1969. The Gremlin Electric, put on the market in 1973 after six years of tinkering, would travel 50 miles on a charge and could reach a maximum speed of 50 mph. While the $3,500 price was a bit steeper than typical cars of the era, the electric motor would cost next to nothing to repair, Whatley proclaimed. In addition to his brother Mike's dealership in Wichita Falls, Whatey had received responses from 54 car dealerships around the country who were interested in selling the cars. How well sales went isn't known, but the Gremlin Electric didn't last long. Whatley had noted only off-handedly that the only difficult part of making the cars was acquiring the AMC Gremlin car bodies, which were uniquely suited to his designs. After 1978, that became impossible. Americans had soured to the styling of this "so ugly it's cute" Gremlin model, and AMC stopped production. The idea of the electric car hadn't faded away, but Wichita Falls' part in it had. [© 2016 Times Record News] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin#Electric The Electric Fuel Propulsion Company (EFP) of Ferndale, Michigan produced a number of electric cars including the AMC Gremlin based, two-passenger X-144. Introduced in 1973 it featured a 20 horsepower (15 kW) direct current motor fueled by a 144-volt cobalt-lead storage batteries designed to reduce the formation of harmful gases during recharging, as well as a regular 12-volt battery to operate the cars lights, horn, and heater blower. Performance was claimed to be similar to a base gasoline Gremlin, including a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), but with a calculated lower cost per mile for the X-144 over five years and 20,000 miles (32,187 km) of use ... ... [related] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMC_Gremlin AMC Gremlin ice ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMC-Gremlin-/331762163273 1973 AMC Gremlin, Solid Body!!! Current bid:US $2,175 ... Last owner put a new engine in it, new carburetor, new radiator, new starter. I don't have any receipts. It sat inside the time he owned it. I bought the Gremlin in 2014 not running with flat tires. Hauled it home and put a battery in it, poured a little gas in the carb and it fired right up. I put new plugs in it then. Also put the alum AMC wheels on it with white letter tires. We drove it through a few parades that year. Only maybe drove it 50 miles total. Was running very good. Trans shifted real good. Brakes worked. We only started the Gremlin 3 times last summer. Carb was acting up didn't want to idle right. Body is very solid, has a few bubbles low starting(look at the pictures). Underside is very clean, only rust starting is right under the drivers feet where the floor panels join. It's not rusted through, just starting to show signs of rust. Pin that the drivers door shuts against will need to be fixed (it's loose). Has Levi's interior that will need to be redone. Car came with factory air but all the parts are missing under the hood. Title is clear but in the last owners name. With a little tinkering you could make this a dependable car just the way it is. I definitely would trailer it home right now as it hasn't been on the road for years. I will help load the Gremlin. Since I got it the car has always been stored inside. Gremlin can sit here as long as needed until you arrange transport. It is sitting 45 miles from town selling at ... ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMC-Gremlin-/191789440051 1974 AMC Gremlin Current bid:US $3,959 For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: http://evdl.org/evln/ {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-3-5k-Whatley-s-e-Gremlin-outwited-OPEC-shortages-r-50mi-ts-50mph-tp4680163.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
