Just some more or less random thoughts:
C-car (Citicar and Comuta-Car) bodies were made of ABS. Sebring-Vanguard
and later CVI (Commuter Vehicles Inc) thought that painting them with
catalyzed acrylic enamel would give them enough UV resistance. But here we
are 35-40 years later, and if you want one of these cars, trust me, you want
one that's been stored indoors as much as possible.
This one looks like it's been repainted. All the badges are missing, and it
looks as if some of the decals may have ben painted over. No telling
whether the new paint is UV-resistant enough, or what it hides.
Although it has a front license plate, I see no indication that a rear plate
was ever attached. That seems odd. I suppose it's possible that if a
former owner painted it, he removed the rear license bracket and filled the
holes.
Mechanically, this is one of the early Terrell axle cars. The motor is only
rated 3.5hp. Motors on the later Dana axle cars were rated 6hp. On the
other hand, I believe I recall that these cars were somewhat lighter.
This early, it probably has draggy aircraft disc brakes, too. Later cars
were fitted all round with the same drum brakes used on some Cushman
scooters.
Unless someone has looked after the brakes recently, you'll most likely have
to rebuild them. Moisture gets in and corrodes the master and wheel
cylinders. I can't say what this car uses, but later C-cars used a 1967
Rambler Ambassador dual master cylinder.
Other isses are visible and/or described in the listing. I doubt that any
of them would be a total deal breaker, but you should know that you're
getting a very early C-car with none of the later usability improvements.
Two big improvements were the rear glass hatch, which made it a much more
practical grocery getter even if it did leak water, and the sliding glass
door windows. The early cars' side curtains made the car a miserable
experience in winter. OTOH, the later sliding windows didn't let in much
breeze in the summer.
Also, you couldn't lock the doors on those early cars! This one's missing
"ignition" key is no impediment. All a car rustler needed to drive a C-car
away was a clip lead and a flashlight to see under the dash - if any of them
had wanted one.
On the plus side, these cars are incredibly easy to work on. There's no
single component so heavy that you can't lift it. You don't even need a
jack to change the motor, though I don't think I'd want to try to R&R the
transaxle without one or two.
Then there's the price. New, 1975 Citicars cost just under $3000. That was
kind of steep for what they were; at the time you could buy a new Toyota
Corolla for about $300 less. (Sound familiar?)
As I write this, bidding on this one stands at $420 with reserve not met.
These cars do seem to have a minor collectors' following. I expect that
someone will bid that price up further, but it won't be me. I had my C-car
fling and I'm done.
Mine was a 1980 Comuta-Car, which was considerably improved over this model.
It was without a doubt the noisiest, most uncomfortable vehicle I've ever
been in. The solid axle and leaf spring all round suspension was like a 1950
truck's, and it rode and handled worse than any truck.
The ride over potholes would jar your teeth loose, and you never knew where
you'd end up if you hit a bump while taking a turn or braking. At least
mine had shock absorbers. The early Citicars didn't.
Only with gentle braking could I count on the car stopping in a reasonably
straight line. Hard braking usually ended with the car at a 45 degree angle
to the road, or worse.
Obviously safety wasn't its long suit. It had seatbelts, but they weren't
of much use with the windshield a couple inches from my forehead. Part of
what eventually killed the car, if not its drivers, was the NHTSA's tests
showing that the steering column would impale the driver in a frontal
collision.
I was always a little uneasy driving it, not so much for its size and lack
of crashworthiness as for the terrible handling and the abysmal brakes.
Its hill climbing (in)ability drove me NUTS. Mine had the 5.17:1 "speed
axle," which was supposed to only go into cars sold in flat areas. I burned
out a few sets of motor brushes going up grades, until I fitted a 350 amp
transistor controller. After that, I couldn't climb hills at all without a
running start.
For all that, I had a blast with it, commuting in it and jumpstarting co-
workers' ICEVs with it in the winter. My other half Margaret would take her
life in her hands in the passenger seat, and with her 75lb dog stuffed into
the space behind the seats, fogging up the back window with his panting,
we'd jounce our way round town.
Fun times. But I'll stick with the memories, thanks.
BTW, it did draw a lot of attention, both welcome and unwelcome. I got
compliments, and a few catcalls ("Get a real car, you f***in' hippie!"). I
had to allow extra time for errands in case someone stopped me in the
parking lot to ask about it. I was once pulled over by a cop who just
wanted to know what it was! Girls were inexplicably drawn to it.
Unfortunately, most of them were about high-school age. :-(
You can read Consumer Reports's review of a 1975 Citicar here :
http://www.evdl.org/docs/cr_ev.pdf
Spoiler: the article is really, really negative. Sebring-Vanguard were
livid and they sued CU for libel. They lost.
David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
EVDL Administrator
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