Willie via EV wrote:
Yes, it was ugly, and crude, and not very reliable. Nevertheless, they
were able to find a market niche where people didn't care what it
looked like. They sold thousands of CitiCars.
Who are you calling "ugly"? :-) I accept crude and not reliable.
I'm with you, Willie! :-) I drove a ComutaVan for 7+ years as my daily
driver. I didn't care about ugly.
Yes, it was crude: like a 1940's army Jeep. But I was driving on good
roads, so the ride quality didn't matter. The ComutaVan was a bit
bigger, and could do 55 mph and climb hills just fine. I added a little
electric heater, and no A/C is needed in the North. I was happy.
From what little I know of CCars, I would say that the most horrible,
overwhelming weakness is the body material that falls apart after a few
sun years.
It was standard ABS plastic. They apparently did not use a UV-stabilized
grade. My ComutaVan was painted; its body was still pretty good even
when 20 years old. The only problems I had were that ice would build up
in the wheel wells, and sometimes break off bits of the 1" lip inside.
And, once I forgot to latch the hood down, and it blew off! I made
another one from a new sheet of ABS. I made a wooden form, and bent it
using a hot air gun. (Try to imagine making new body panels that easily
on any modern car.)
Were it not for that, my guess is that most CCars would
still be on the road. Had they managed a few tens of thousands, likely
there would be someone making fiberglass bodies for them now.
I've always thought it would be good if someone made an EV "skateboard"
like the old VW beetle floor pan. Then the customer could add any of a
number of fiberglass VW kit-car bodies, to suit his taste.
--
The belief that there is only one truth, and that oneself is in
possession of it, is the root of all evil in the world. (Max Born)
--
Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com
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