
The CitiCar Is an Electric Cheese Wedge from the 70s [video] - reddotX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilIozuRmTQs
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chrisseaton
Why's he so snarky about it? It seems like the design is intentionally low
cost. It's not supposed to be luxury car. Could have been perfect at the time
for people who just need to go a couple of miles every now and again. Just an
enclosed golf-cart really. What's wrong with that?

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CaliforniaKarl
“All citicar’s Have defroster switches; none of them have actual defrosters.”

It’s too bad he didn’t say why (presumably he wasn’t able to find out), but I
think that deserves at least a little bit of snark.

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underwater
The Wikipedia page says having a defroster button was a federal regulation.

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jamestimmins
This presenter is incredibly entertaining. He seems to strike a nice balance
between a classic car expert and a very amused normal person. This was super
pleasant to watch!

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tlb
My friend had one of these in the 80s. Even though it was pretty clunky, I've
wanted an electric car ever since, but nothing seemed practical until the
Tesla.

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oblib
He didn't say how they were sold - dealers - mail order, etc, or how they were
marketed.

I don't recall ever seeing one, or even hearing of them, which makes me wonder
if they were marketed at all in Los Angeles back then. I wouldn't be surprised
to learn they were not.

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jonathankoren
Surprisingly, I found one in Carterville, Illinois back in the early 2000s.
It’s the only one I’ve ever seen outside an episode of “3-2-1 Contact” back in
the early 80s.

I distinctly remember watching television, seeing a street full of these
things and thinking, “Why would anyone want an electric car? They look
stupid.” And you know what? The did. Every electric car looked stupid,
including General Motors’s EV-1. That is until the Tesla Roadster.

Tesla may eventually flame out in a pile of debt and mismanagement, but Tesla
changed the industry by making practical electric cars that looked like cars
that someone would want to buy. There’s no going back from that. Kudos.

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oblib
I'm surprised I never heard of them. Any car company startup that sold over
2000 units in a year back then would have been very notable.

I suspect it's because they really weren't a good car for LA which was built
for cars from almost the beginning. The hills and traffic would've be horrible
for the CitiCar.

And yes, Tesla has changed the industry and has been the only American car
company that really has in the past 70 years, which is truly remarkable. I'm
still amazed at how much they've moved the entire industry.

I hope they keep on going. What they (we) really need, and I'd expect they're
working on it, is a smaller, more affordable car. "A car for the masses",
something in the $15-25k range. It won't need any of the self driving
functions and 100-150 mile range would be enough for the target market.

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elihu
Cheese Louise:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzcIoq2ing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXzcIoq2ing)

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pkulak
I can't imagine why electric cars had such a bad reputation until 2011...

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Jarred
My old roommate repaired one of these a few years ago and drove around in it
often (in Mountain View). It was a bit impractical because of the max speed
(30mph) and range, but fun to ride in once

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dbogue
Interesting to see this car drive through the streets I grew up on in
Ferguson, Missouri.

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joshu
i kinda want one. feels like a fun restoration project.

