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The Nissan Leaf really kicked off the conversation around mainstream electric cars shortly before Tesla stole the ball and ran away with it. However, long before the scene-stealing Model 3, a tiny company in Florida thought that it could pave the way for EVs. The fledgling automaker came up with a tiny plastic wedge-like structure for the vehicle. The business thought this unusual machine could be an affordable answer to the 1970s oil crisis.

However, unlike the Leaf or any of the Tesla creations, this car wasn’t particularly practical. It also certainly wasn’t fast and surely wasn’t glamorous. Yet it became America’s first mass-produced, somewhat-modern EV. The vehicle even held the title of best-selling electric car in US history until 2011. So, let’s take a closer look at the improbable Vanguard Citicar.

The Unlikely Answer To The Oil Embargo

In 1973, the OPEC oil embargo took its toll on the country. Gas prices increased fourfold overnight as supplies came under pressure. Long lines formed at fuel stations. The oil supply decisions from far, far away almost brought America’s automotive industry to its knees. Suddenly, Americans were happy with the idea of ditching fossil fuels if they could, and certain enterprising individuals were happy to oblige.

Bob Beaumont was a former Chevrolet dealer in Central Florida, and he had a bold idea. He believed that he could build an affordable, practical electric car for everyday Americans. With that in mind, he set up Sebring Vanguard in 1974. After working for some time, the company came out with the CitiCar as its answer to the oil crisis. The vehicle wasn’t particularly inspiring, and, in essence, the machine drew inspiration from those ubiquitous Florida golf carts.

Beaumont figured that if the golf buggies around Florida could quietly shuttle retirees from point to point, why wouldn’t they work as a commuter car? After all, those carts had been around for some time and worked so well in their natural environment. The secret to the golf cart is its simplicity and lightweight design, and so Sebring Vanguard carried this philosophy through to the CitiCar. The company’s creation had a lightweight aluminum frame and came with zero frills. Most controversially, it had a triangular-shaped plastic body. The CitiCar was just eight feet long and weighed less than 1,300 pounds, making it much smaller than a modern Fiat 500.

The Golf Cart That Turned Into A Car

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Underneath the skin of the CitiCar was a 3.5-horsepower DC motor. A bank of six, six-volt lead-acid batteries was beneath the floor. The vehicle didn’t have a traditional transmission; instead, there was a controller that managed forward and reverse. For all intents and purposes, the CitiCar was a golf cart with a tiny bit more practicality and more protection from the elements.

Inside, folks found a pair of vinyl-covered seats, a basic speedometer, a steering wheel, and that was about it. There was no air conditioning (which must have been a huge problem in home-base Florida), no radio, no airbags, and you could forget about crumple zones altogether. The wedge-shaped body panels were ABS plastic, which the company screwed onto an aluminum skeleton.

Sebring Vanguard was very bullish about its creation and thought that the CitiCar would be a genuine alternative to gas vehicles. In its brochures, the company trumpeted a new era of independence from foreign oil and invited city dwellers to test it out. And yes, people did pay attention due to the gravity of the economic situation. Many of them didn’t seem to care that it looked weird or lacked basic creature comforts.

Could this have been the right car for the right time? When the CitiCar went on sale in 1974, you needed to fork out just under $3,000 for one, roughly $19,000 in today’s money. So, it was generally less expensive than most compact gasoline cars of the era.

Small Numbers And Lots Of Compromise

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If you wanted to use the CitiCar as your primary mode of transportation, you had to be realistic. It had a top speed of just 36 miles per hour and, on a full charge, its range was up to 40 miles. If charging issues are an issue today, they were definitely a stumbling block back then, as it took you up to eight hours to recharge your CitiCar from a standard home wall outlet. Zero to 60-mph acceleration times were irrelevant, of course, as it wasn’t able to go past 36 mph. If you were interested in cruising, it took around 10 seconds to get to 30 mph.

There aren’t many hills in Central Florida, but in other states, they’d be the car’s mortal enemy. If owners came across a steep exit ramp somewhere, they may have even had to get out and push. Still, the CitiCar had some advantages. If you were in busy downtown Tampa, where speeds rarely exceeded 35 mph, this machine made sense. The vehicle had a tiny footprint, so it was quite nimble in traffic. In addition, the CitiCar was quiet, as well as being emissions-free.

Sebring Vanguard heard the initial criticisms. In 1975, the company introduced the SV-36 and other variants. These models were generally more reliable, thanks to upgraded suspension and extra power. Eventually, there was a version with a staggering 6 hp at your command. Cynical statements aside, that boost may have made the CitiCar a more usable short-range commuter. Sadly, the batteries did not have a very long shelf life, and performance dipped in cold weather,. Because Sebring Vanguard did not have a dealer network, repairs were a nightmare. This meant that, in truth, most CitiCars ended up in garages rather than prowling suburban roads.

The Longtime Best-Selling EV In America

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Against the odds, the CitiCar held the record of being the bestselling electric vehicle in America for almost four decades. In fact, between 1974 and 1977, the company built around 2,300 of these vehicles and held the record until the Nissan Leaf fluttered into American lives in 2011. Most of the doorstop-shaped car’s success boiled down to timing rather than engineering brilliance, as the oil crisis meant that Americans were ready for almost anything that might have saved money on gas. Also, there was a small but very passionate niche of early adopters who refused to hear a bad thing about their CitiCar.

The sales momentum didn’t last. By the end of the decade, the gas crisis had stabilized, and the Big Three were rolling out far more efficient compact cars, such the Chevrolet Chevette. So, the CitiCar was no longer a valid proposition with its limited range, slow overall speed, and battery headaches. In 1977, the Sebring Vanguard went bankrupt. A separate company ran with the idea for a while, but the dream of a mass-produced EV eventually went back into hibernation.

Why the CitiCar Story Matters

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Today, it’s easy to mock the CitiCar with its limited capability, awkward styling, and golf cart DNA. However, its story still matters. The vehicle proved that there was a consumer demand for electric vehicles long before Tesla made the idea aspirational. If the right circumstances were in play, such as environmental awareness, high gas prices, and a willing market, consumers showed they were willing to go electric, even if the proposition was quite primitive.

The CitiCar laid the groundwork for what would happen several decades later. People got the idea that you could commute electrically with efficiency and economics in mind. The situation may have made it easier for Nissan, Tesla, and Chevrolet to overcome tougher EV adoption hurdles.

Meanwhile, if you can find a CitiCar today, it’s a cult buy. Avid collectors can upgrade them by swapping out the old lead-acid batteries for modern lithium-ion packs. The change makes them capable little runabouts. Expect to pay somewhere between $8,000 and $15,000 at an auction. By driving one, you may be able to turn some heads on your way down to the nearest shopping mall.

The Vanguard CitiCar was ugly and slow, but it was nevertheless revolutionary. The company built it to solve a problem that consumers didn’t fully understand as yet. For a brief, strange moment in the 1970s, it was the unlikely hero of America’s electric future.

Sources: Mecum. Wikipedia, CitiCars, ConceptCarz.