It looked like a customized Karmann-Ghia. The entire body wheel was a glass-reinforced resin molded into one piece. The frame was aluminum with four wheel suspension -- fabricated in one hour by two men working at the Stinson Aircraft Co. in San Diego.
The pilot model tested by Motor Trend had a range of about 80 miles. It had four 12 volt batteries in series, or 48 volts located under the luggage shelf behind the seats that powered two direct current motors placed above each of the two half shafts.
The entire future of the electric car centered on the efficiency of batteries -- then and now!
orm p. 29 , Motor Trend, August 1959:
"As for the future...if you will think for a moment -- those satellites revolving around the earth that blip-blip for weeks send their blips courtesy of ultra-light -weight batteries. They're still sort of semi-classified, but that really doesn't matter -- at this time one of those batteries costs as much as the whole Charles Townabout. But when these featherweights are mass produced, watch those costs come down. In the meantime, lots of credit and lots of luck to these modern-day electric car pioneers."
This blog will expand on themes and topics first mentioned in my book, "The Automobile and American Life." I hope to comment on recent developments in the automobile industry, reviews of my readings on the history of the automobile, drafts of my new work, contributions from friends, descriptions of the museums and car shows I attend and anything else relevant. Copyright 2009-2020, by the author.
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