Videos: 1974 electric CitiCar, 1990 GM Impact

by Lascelles Linton (RSS feed) on Oct 14th 2007 at 3:09PM

There was a big push for electric cars in the '70s because of energy concerns. There was another big push in the '90s because of a California law. The two videos below the fold are of the two iconic cars from those bygone decades: First, the triangle on wheels, aka the CitiCar ~~City Car~~. In a 1974 video, we get a look at the batteries, which were located directly under the seat. Second, is a video from 1990 all about the GM Impact (later renamed the EV1). The Impact videos tells the story of how Paul inspired GM to make the car. Hopefully, 10 and 30 years from today, we'll have more than old videos of the current crop of electric cars, and those that should be coming out very soon.

[Source: YouTube]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, GMC

Tags: citi car, CitiCar, electric car, electric cars, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, ElectricCar, ElectricCars, ElectricVehicle, ElectricVehicles, ev1, gm impact, GmImpact

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

BlackbirdHighway 8:03PM (10/14/2007)

I remember around 1979 I met some guys who had City Cars in the Wierton West Virginia area. These were truly the "glorified golfcarts" approach to electric cars. Those guys had a lot of trouble and were making lots of modifications due to the many steep hills in West VA. The cars would get about 40 miles per charge in under the best conditions - going slow on flat roads.

When you look at the progression from the City Car to the EV1 to the Tesla, and imagine what the next generation will be like, it certainly seems that the electric car is going to catch on, it's just a matter of time.

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MetroMPG.com 9:39AM (10/15/2007)

FYI: "CitiCar", not "City Car".

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Lascelles Linton 9:40AM (10/15/2007)

MetroMPG, Changed. Thanks!

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GoodCheer 10:39AM (10/15/2007)

Boy that EV1 video is heartbreaking to watch isn't it? So much optimism and so much promise, and all thrown away.

"4 out of 5 people would consider owning an electric car."

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Wes 9:44PM (1/02/2008)

I own an original 1974 citi car - I may be interested in selling it - do you know the current value?

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